Teenagers living at Parkway Gardens will leave their mark this summer thanks to an upcoming onsite mural project in partnership with After School Matters. The project resulted in three colorful murals, which will soon be installed on South Martin Luther King Drive.

After School Matters’ #BeautifyYourCommunity mural program directed 10 high school students and a chaperone to create the murals collaboratively through technical skill development and teamwork, as well as providing them with trips to downtown Chicago. Art exercises conducted by program leaders in the first two weeks of the program helped teenagers gain the expertise and confidence needed to sketch, paint and complete the murals.

The three murals, titled “Positive Productivity,” were designed by local artist Erick “ROHO” Garcia to represent growth and optimism. “The silhouette of trees arranged throughout the design represent the beauty of nature,” Garcia wrote in his artistic statement, “and are symbols of individual growth as well as growth in the community.”

The Related Affordable Foundation supported the creation of “Positive Productivity” with a grant to After School Matters. After School Matters is a Chicago-based nonprofit whose mission is to help Chicago public high school students explore and develop their talents through safe and supportive activities outside of school. After School Matters programs include sports, STEM, journalism and career programming. The Related Affordable Foundation has also collaborated with After School Matters at Parkway Gardens on the Peacemakers program, which empowers Chicago students to fight violence and build community where they live by designing and carrying out service projects to meet their neighbors’ needs.

Parkway Gardens residents received a sneak preview of the murals at the End-of-Summer Celebration held on August 27. Along with the mural preview, residents enjoyed games, took advantage of COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, and learned about After School Matters’ fall programs at Parkway Gardens.

The murals will be installed this fall.

The Related Affordable Foundation is proud to support Peacemakers at Parkway Gardens, an After School Matters program that empowers Chicago teenagers to counter violence through positive contributions to their communities. Through Peacemakers, teens plan and carry out signature projects in their neighborhoods, ultimately building their critical thinking and collaboration skills while encouraging civic engagement.

As Peacemakers is participant-driven, students are motivated to identify their own solutions and implement them as leaders. One of these young leaders is Whitney M. Young Magnet High School Sophomore Nyla Williams.

Through the Peacemakers program, Williams gave talks about the principles of Kwanzaa and helped distribute COVID-19 safety supplies to her community. Her experience in Peacemakers has even inspired Williams to “start something of [her] own” as she looks ahead to potential careers.

“Our goal is to leave a legacy for the people who come behind us,” Williams says.

Williams adds that Peacemakers gave her the confidence to voice her opinions on community needs, and that the program helped her stay connected in a difficult season by providing a safe space to talk about current events affecting her community.

“It’s like a second family to me,” Williams said of her Peacemakers’ group. “We’re really close and we work very well together. Every day, we go around and do a check-in—we say how we’re feeling mentally and physically and how we’re doing in school.”

After School Matters launched the Peacemakers programs in the summer of 2017 in partnership with Chicago CRED. During its first summer, Peacemakers programs operated in 21 Chicago neighborhoods and served 1,100 teens.

After School Matters is a nonprofit that provides after-school and summer programs to nearly 19,000 Chicago public high school teens annually. After School Matters programs support teens in exploring their passions and developing their talents, while gaining critical skills for work, college, and beyond. After School Matters programs are project-based, led by industry experts, and provide a pathway to progress in skills development and independence. Teens earn a stipend while participating in programs in the arts, communications and leadership, sports, and STEM. Over the span of three decades, After School Matters has engaged more than 350,000 Chicago teens.

“After School Matters believes that teens' voices are essential for shaping both the present and future of our city,” said Melissa Mister, Chief Program Officer at After School Matter. “Our Peacemakers programs support teens' development as leaders and changemakers in their communities. As the pandemic has widened the opportunity gap for low-income youth of color, the Related Affordable Foundation's generous investment in our Peacemakers programs at Parkway Gardens has helped ensure that our teens continue to have equitable access to high-quality program opportunities.”

In partnership with international human and civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Jeffrey Brodsky, Kiera Ellis and Yanet Garcia from Related Midwest’s leadership team participated in a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion in real estate, with a specific focus on construction and development. The Related Midwest team explored how the company is helping to transform the industry into being more inclusive, from creating a company-wide framework to working closely with local community members and organizations.

Vice Chairman Jeffrey Brodsky spoke about the company’s commitment to ensure that the benefits and results created from each project filter all the way down to the community level and help locals. To achieve this, the Related Midwest team has been developing and enacting best practices for decades offering career and wealth building opportunities and incorporating community members’ feedback in developments. Now, the team is developing a broader framework using these best practices that can be implemented by Related offices nationwide and provide benefits to more communities.

Senior Project Manager Yanet Garcia added more insights into how equity, diversity, and inclusion are being demonstrated at Related Midwest in tangible ways, especially within the contracting and hiring processes. Hire360, a platform co-founded by Related Midwest team members, provides career, business and educational resources to the Chicago community. A few of the platform’s goals are to hire from within the community, to provide ongoing career support and to help locals’ businesses access the resources they need to succeed. The program aims to help locals and their businesses become more competitive in the market and create more opportunities for communities that face higher barriers to entry. 

Director of Public Affairs Kiera Ellis discussed how the company strives to give community members a voice throughout the development process. Related Midwest’s Community Inclusion Council has brought together trade advocacy groups—such as Black Contractors United, U.S. Supplier Developers Council, and Asian Contractors United—with community leaders and business experts to advise the company on how to better implement diversity, equity and inclusion in their practices. The CIC has allowed the company to bridge the gap between the development side and community participation, providing an opportunity for locals to hold the company more accountable and to voice their opinions, which will affect the future of the industry and their city.