Project HOOD Communities

What an incredible night of partnership, teamwork, and impact! 🙌✨

When organizations come together with a shared purpose, amazing things happen. The dressers assembled by the students were placed on the showroom floor, and the first two selected this morning were the top competition winners! 🏆👏
We are proud of the hard work, creativity, and dedication shown by our students. Opportunities like these continue to make a real difference in the lives of the people we serve and strengthen our community connections.

Thank you to We’re already looking forward to the next collaboration! 💙

Construction class with real impact! 🔨🛋️🪚

Yesterday, our Construction Cohort partnered with for a hands on furniture building and repurposing competition.

In just 90 minutes, our students worked together, competed hard, and created pieces that will soon be selected by families in need across Chicago.
With 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams, the competition brought energy, teamwork, and plenty of fun — but more importantly, it built camaraderie, confidence, and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Special thanks to Chicago Furniture Bank, an incredible nonprofit that helps furnish homes for more than 4,000 families each year. Knowing that the work created by our students will directly impact families over the next few days made this experience even more meaningful.

When partnerships come together with purpose, we can create real change in our communities.

This was never supposed to rest on the shoulders of one man.
This movement has always belonged to the people.

For years, Pastor Corey Brooks walked so the world would pay attention to the pain, potential, and promise living in our communities. And now, the mission continues because the work is bigger than a walk. It’s about building safer streets, stronger families, opportunities for young people, and hope where hopelessness once lived.

Now it’s our turn.

We are asking every person who believes in transformation, healing, accountability, and the future of Chicago to WALK WITH US.

Not just in words.
In action.
In sacrifice.
In generosity.

Every gift helps us continue funding life-changing programs, mentoring youth, restoring families, creating opportunities, and building spaces where people can heal, grow, and thrive.

Here’s how you can join the movement:
🚶🏾 Walk one mile in your neighborhood
📲 Post it and challenge 3 others
❤️ Give whatever you can
💥 Tag someone who believes our communities are worth fighting for

$5 amplifies the message.
$25 spreads awareness.
$50 mobilizes local support.
$100 advances the mission.
$500+ helps fund youth and community programs that are changing lives every single day.

The vision is alive.
The movement is growing.
And we need you to walk with us.

Give today at:
www.projecthood.org/walkwithus

Huge shoutout to our partners at The Kindness Campaign or inviting the Project H.O.O.D. team to Reading Day at Park Manor Elementary School

Today, our Executive Director Dez had the opportunity to read to two different 1st grade classes through stories from Lilo & Stitch and Wicked. The students laughed, read along, acted out scenes, and completely lit up the room with their energy and imagination. Each student also left with a themed book and toy to make the experience even more memorable.

Moments like this remind us that literacy is more than reading—it’s confidence, creativity, exposure, and opportunity. As Malcolm X said, “Education is the passport to the future,” and Nelson Mandela called education “the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”

We love serving our community and investing in the next generation. Check out the smiles on these future leaders! 💛📚✨

We can’t do it alone. Walk with us as we continue investing in the next generation by giving today at www.projecthood.org

Another day at the office. 💼🏗️

Today’s all-staff meeting was about more than HR updates as we prepare to move into the new center. It was about preparing for the future, strengthening our culture, and investing in the entire team that helps make the vision possible every single day.

Because the truth is, sustainable impact is never built by one person alone. It takes committed people, shared vision, healthy leadership, and a team willing to grow together.

“None of us is as smart as all of us.” — Ken Blanchard

And as we continue building for what’s next, we understand that preparation matters. The future belongs to organizations willing to grow intentionally, develop people, and build with wisdom before the doors even open. 🚀🔥

The center is coming.
The vision is expanding.
And we’re preparing for what’s ahead.

💥🙌🏾 YOUTH EXPLOSION was AMAZING today!

Huge shoutout to Alderwoman Jeanette B. Taylor 20th ward 💪🏾✨ for leading an incredible event that brought together 30+ community organizations 🤝🏾 to provide resources, support, opportunities, and hope for our young people ❤️🔥

Today proved that when we come together, we can create REAL impact in our community ✊🏾🌍

The energy was powerful. The unity was real. The future is bright. 🚀💯

Project H.O.O.D. is more than an organization.
It’s a movement that never sleeps.

From community outreach to corporate boardrooms…
From content days to construction sites…
From mentoring young men to building a center in the heart of a community many gave up on… we are committed to helping people obtain destiny.

Every conversation matters.
Every opportunity matters.
Every life matters.

Some people see a building.
We see futures being rebuilt.
We see fathers restored.
We see businesses launched.
We see young people choosing purpose over pain.
We see communities healing in real time.

Whether we’re feeding families, hosting healing conversations, creating pathways to employment, capturing stories that inspire hope, or laying bricks for the new Robert R. McCormick Leadership & Economic Opportunity Center… the mission stays the same:

To serve those who need it most and remind people that their story is not over.

This work is personal.
This work is sacred.
And we’re just getting started.

Project HOOD celebrates progress of center, violence-free zone on South Side Roughly a 1,000 men came together to celebrate the progress of the Project HOOD Center on Chicago's South Side, while officially declaring it a violence-free zone.