MISSION OF THE 
W. A. KELLEY COMMUNITY CENTER
834-836 North Central Avenue
Chicago, IL 60651
773-921-0744

The mission of the W. A. Kelley Community Center is to help train and prepare people for a more productive life through education, mentoring, recreation, after-school programs, bus ministry, and social exposure.

This center is a tool through which we can work to signify our commitment to education, safe and organized recreation for our youth, health screening for disadvantaged individuals, and mentoring for adults and our young people.  We want people to tell their stories of success through dedication, hard work, obedience and patience because these positive images will leave a lasting impression, and hopefully give some meaningful direction to our youth.  The W. A. Kelley Community Center will be that medium.

The W. A. Kelley Community Center activities focus on the area bounded by North Avenue on the North, Madison Avenue on the South, Cicero Avenue on the East, and Austin Avenue on the West.  It is in the heart of the historic Austin community.  The Austin area contains some neighborhoods in most of the indicators of urban distress.

The Center seeks to train and rehabilitate through education, mentoring, cultural history, recreation, after-school programs (which include GED and computer classes), bus ministry, and socialization exposure.  Cultural diversity will be taught in a non-threatening approach.  Counseling will address issues such as peer pressure, education, parental understanding, health, drugs, gangs, teen-age pregnancy (including birth control), and ethics.

The plight of our community is bleak unless assistance is given to provide accessible services to the children and youth during the after-school hours of 3:00pm-7:00pm.  Our children are usually left without supervision because most parents cannot afford to pay for after-school care, whereby, leaving children vulnerable for gang activities, which often leads to violence and crime.

Another problem to be addressed is the high percentage of African American children that are in the penal system due to childhood neglect.  The mentoring matching component will seek to reduce juvenile crimes and violence by providing:  structure, motivation, and cultural enrichment that the mentor will provide while being excellent role models.  We believe that this program will give people another chance in life.  In essence, it will help to end the vicious cycle of violence, drugs, and crime.

The family component of the program is to promote family reunification through counseling, family outings, and cultural events.  Providing young adults and parents with tutorial assistance toward their GED and vocational skills training will enhance family finances program.  Some parents and young adults could earn more income if they qualify for a better job.  Financial planning, budgeting and parenting workshops will better equip parents to take care of their families successfully for the family is the backbone of our society.  So if we can provide services to families, then we know that we can affect improvements in the lives of all children.

Economic empowerment training is another component where people learn how to open their own business, create their own product, and market their services.  People will learn the economic principles of business and ownership.  Its focus will be to teach youth what the methodology involved in becoming their own boss.

There will also be training for college students, and adults.  This program will teach them that the objective of a college education is not simply to obtain a better job, but to become economically empowered through ownership.

We will offer classes and seminars on investments, mutual funds, options on futures and the stock market.  People will be taught the principles investments and real estate purchases.

For more information please contact:

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