Community Corner
SOS IL Goes Green for Earth Day with its Community Center
The 11,000 square foot Center was built entirely utilizing sustainable materials and has renewable energy sources to serve more than 5,000.
SOS Children’s Villages Illinois, a non-profit, child-welfare agency that serves at-risk youth and children in foster care, is going green for Earth Day on April 22 to highlight its newest environmentally-friendly facility, the Roosevelt Square Community Center. Opened in October 2020, the Center serves the children and families that live in the 14-home Village located adjacent to the facility. This first-of-its-kind Center utilizing sustainable architecture is located at 13th Street and Blue Island Avenue. Information and updates on the new building and its many environmental benefits can be found at https://www.sosillinois.org/sustainable-features/.
To celebrate Earth Day, SOS Illinois is promoting going green, as this Center is the first public building in the city permitted to be fully constructed from Cross Laminated Timbers (CLT). The eco-friendly features of the new center complement the nonprofit’s Village Model of Care, a sustainable model of foster care that stabilizes families, strengthens communities, and builds lasting change for future generations.
“Our vision for this Community Center was to create an epicenter for academic, therapeutic, social, and recreational activities for youth in our care,” said Tim McCormick, Chief Executive Officer, SOS Children’s Villages Illinois. “With the use of these sustainable materials and resources, the Roosevelt Square Community Center stands as a resource for SOS Illinois families and the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as a beacon of responsible development in the City of Chicago for many years to come.”
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Eco-Friendly Features
The architectural planning, inspired by generous donations, included the use of eco-friendly materials, like CLT and Glulam columns and beams, as well as sustainable and renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, energy efficient appliances, and light fixtures. The site location and inclusion of an urban garden, both further promote the organization’s commitment to responsible development.
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Solar Power at the Center
Since the Center opened in October of last year, the solar panels have tracked the amount of energy produced. After half a year, reports show that 7.32 MWh's of electricity were produced every 3-months. During this time span, the megawatt hour output has been estimated in CO2 reductions and trees planted. We calculate thus far approximately 22,250 lbs. of CO2 has been offset with the equivalency of 175 trees planted.
Architectural Planning
The Center was designed by internationally recognized architect Juan Moreno, President and Founder of JGMA, to reflect SOS Illinois’ mission to connect children to a community of love. The building’s architectural lines gesture upward as a symbol of hope. The community center also has been designed to serve as a communal space for community residents - a safe place where residents can meet and connect to public resources, and serve as a learning center, providing financial and educational training. Due to restrictions related to the pandemic, the building has not yet been able to fully open to the public.
Additionally, the building is situated on the site to welcome the community, by providing a generous entry plaza and learning center immediately adjacent to Blue Island Ave.
More about The Roosevelt Square Community Center
The construction of the 11,000+ square foot facility will serve over 5,000 individuals annually from University Village, Lower West Side/Pilsen, Little Village, North Lawndale, and other surrounding neighborhoods. The Center is an urban prototype for the delivery of human services that provides:
- Academic, therapeutic, social, and recreational outlets for youth and families served at SOS Illinois
- A communal center for neighborhood residents – a safe place where they can meet in the community and connect to public resources and engage in training, activities, seminars, and special events
- Family meeting rooms and learning center providing financial and educational training
The centerpiece Goya Learning Kitchen has been designed to educate the community about health and nutrition, the culinary arts, and hospitality. A key component of the culinary program includes relevant job skills training. The centerpiece of a 3,000 square foot multi-purpose space, the Goya Learning Kitchen was designed to promote culinary demonstrations and hands-on learning. Additionally, a community garden will further promote the sustainable features at the Center, as well as create a farm-to-table aspect to the culinary program. For more information about the Center click here.
About SOS Children’s Villages Illinois:
SOS Children’s Villages Illinois, founded 30 years ago, is a 501(c)3 child welfare agency that provides an individual licensed home in a supportive, community environment that marshals all the resources needed to help children heal and achieve their permanency goals. The Village Model of Care prioritizes the following: 1) Children live together with their siblings; 2) Children receive care and support from a full-time, professionally trained, and licensed Foster Parent; 3) Children thrive in a private, single-family home; 4) Children are supported by the Village, designed as an intentional community of care; and 5) The entire family is supported through our Family Strengthening Services to keep families in-tact whenever possible.
SOS Children's Villages Illinois unites brothers and sisters in foster care and provides a safe space to heal for at-risk youth. Currently, the organization operates four sites: three Villages providing sibling group foster care at an 18-home Village (opened in 1993) in Lockport, Illinois; a 19-home Village (opened in 2004) in the Auburn Gresham, Englewood neighborhood of Chicago; a 14-home Village (opened in 2014) in the Roosevelt Square Community of Chicago, as well as Casa Tepeyac (acquired in 2011), a facility that offers preventative and in-home services in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago.
SOS Children’s Villages Illinois celebrates a 100% high school graduation rate, compared to a national average of 50% for children in foster care. In 2020, SOS Illinois was awarded Charity Navigator’s highest rating of Four-Stars and recognized by GuideStar with a Platinum Seal of Transparency. For more information on SOS Children’s Villages Illinois visit: sosillinois.org.
For more information about SOS Children’s Villages Illinois, please contact:
KRISTINE KAVANAGH
