A Newsletter from
Onward Neighborhood House
For more information, contact
Emilie Bowman
at 312-666-6726
Spring & Summer 2012
Board of Directors
Prentice H. Marshall Jr.
President
Mark Stenftenagel
Vice-President
Tamar B. Kelber
Secretary
Carrie L. Distler
Treasurer
Jorge Balestra
Eric Clamp
Jon Clopton
Daniel Greiwe
Shalini Hanoman
Elaine Quinn
Kelly A. Schwind
Joel Scoble
Ann Shuman
Andrea Van Gelder
David Villalobos
Rian Wren
Mario F. García
Executive Director
Starting Early to Help Our future Generation Succeed
Nuestro Futuro Initiative, “Our Future”, a program
of The Chicago Community Trust, has granted
Onward House funding for two consecutive
years, and its impact has been enormous. The
initiative seeks to enable “the Latino community
to pool resources for greater impact in
addressing problems of common concern.”
At Onward House we used the funding to
improve the language acquisition and literacy
skills of children
in our Prevention
Initiative classrooms
for two-year old
children at the
Belmont Cragin
location. Starting to
teach these critical
skills at an early age
will allow children
in the classroom to
enter our Preschool
Education program
and move onto
kindergarten
equipped with
a sense of selfreliance and
stronger language skills. The initiative also
promotes cultural diversity and confidence.
made dramatic improvements in their language
development.”
The results of the 2011/2012 grant show that
before the program started, every child was
below or met the developmental expectations
for their age group. Since the grant has been
implemented, the children in the Prevention
Initiative program have shown noticeable
progress in all areas of development, with
the largest
advancement
in language
and cognitive
development.
One of Onward’s Early Head Start teachers
Kristen Vignaroli, developed resource binders for
teachers and parents that included information
about child development, stages of dual
language acquisition and suggested teaching
methods as well as activity ideas and book lists
to assist students in learning.
Our favorite success
story, and featured
on the Nuestro
Futuro web page,
is that of Onward
student, Yadira.
When Yadira
started at Onward
House, she did not
say a word. She
was diagnosed
with a language
developmental delay. After receiving support
from Onward House and a speech therapist,
“she speaks with confidence, expressing
what she wants,” says teacher Samantha
Krawczykowski. Her mother agrees and said
that “Yadira does not stop talking”. Yadira’s
story is just one example of how Onward’s
plan of collaborating tactics in the home and
classroom have helped students develop
language skills.
Thanks to implementations like these Kristin
says, “The children are now more confident
in speaking their home language and have
This year, Onward plans to expand the initiative
to the 3-5 year old classrooms to better prepare
the students for kindergarten.
News from the
Executive Director
Darica Charles influence is evident at Onward’s West
Town location. As the site manager, she makes sure
everything operates smoothly. Her upbeat personality
and boundless energy have been a positive influence
on staff and students alike for the past seven years.
Darica originally started work at Onward House as
the school age coordinator and later became site
manager where she oversees the facility, supervises
the teaching staff and supports them in the classroom.
Darica began her career as a teacher’s assistant
at a private day care center in the Belmont Cragin
neighborhood. Darica originally intended to
become a psychologist but after responding to an
advertisement for a preschool teacher’s assistant
position while going through school, she changed
her mind. “I fell in love with teaching,” she said.
Prior to working at Onward House, Darica was a
preschool and kindergarten teacher at the Mary
Crane Center in Chicago. Her former supervisor
at the center came to work at Onward and when
the school age coordinator position opened up,
she encouraged Darica to apply. “The school
age coordinator position pushed me out of my
comfort zone and prepared me for the challenges
I face every day as site manager,” Darica added.
Dear Friends of Onward Neighborhood House:
The long-term effects of quality early education are hard
to dispute. It is a cost effective means of enhancing the
social, emotional, intellectual and physical health of
children. And, according to a report from the National
Association of Elementary School Principals, “It increases
the likelihood of academic success.” We are a daily witness
to the profound effect that early childhood education
has on the cognitive, linguistic and social development
of the children we serve. A case in point is our article
on Nuestro Futuro which illustrates how a language and
literacy intervention program helps children develop
stronger language skills and compete in kindergarten.
This newsletter highlights our growing partnership with St.
Peter’s United Church of Christ in Belmont Cragin. Pastor
Jeremy and the church council have been steadfast
supporters of our mission and programs as we both
continue to explore new ways to support our community.
Always ready for a new professional challenge, Darica
recently received the Aim4Excellence National
Director Credential. “The program taught me about
different aspects of the job I have little experience with
such as strategic planning, fundraising and marketing
while learning how to improve other aspects such as
parent involvement and teacher support. In addition
it gave me an opportunity to reflect on my values,
beliefs and what it means to be a strong leader.”
Donna Webb, Onward’s Program Director, says
she has “great respect for Darica’s knowledge,
dedication, and commitment to the children, families,
staff, and the agency.” She is truly vital in Onward’s
continued success in accomplishing our mission.
Onward Update Page 2, Spring/Summer 2012
We welcome our new funders Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice
Foundation and the Fred J. Brunner Foundation. We also
thank the John Buck Company Foundation and the Helen
Brach Foundation for their support.
We truly appreciate the efforts of everyone who is
involved with Onward House. It is only with the support of
our families, friends and funders that we can continue to
move forward and serve those who need us most.
Mario F. García
Partnership with St. Peter’s
brings changes to Belmont Cragin
“Neighbors are the folks next door, across the street
or alley that you can count on when you need help,
can lean on when you need support.”
Anita Fuchs, Cookie Sale Coordinator, St. Peter’s United Church of Christ.
St. Peter’s United Church of Christ,
located across the street from our
Belmont Cragin site, has become
one of our best neighbors and
strongest relationships. We rent the
gymnasium at the church so our
students have a place for sports
and exercise and our teachers
use the church’s parking lot.
Leading the connection between
the organizations is St. Peter’s
Pastor Jeremy McLeod and our
executive director Mario F. Garcia.
The two men are working together
to meet the urgent needs of the
community and have reached out
to other nearby organizations.
The “Miracle Quarter Mile” as
Pastor Jeremy calls it includes,
in addition to Onward House
and St. Peter’s, Austin Special,
Northwest Community Church,
Centro San Bonifacio and Austin
Special Development Training
Center, Schubert Elementary
School, all within a few blocks
of each other. “We all share the
same mission of trying to be of
all you need is
“flexibility and
imagination”
Pastor Jeremy, St. Peter’s
United Church of Christ.
service to the residents of Belmont
Cragin,” Pastor Jeremy said. Pastor
Jeremy hosted a breakfast so that
leaders from organizations in the
Miracle Quarter Mile could get
acquainted and work to identify
partnership opportunities to
benefit the community.
The organizations hope to host a
community information fair. This
would give each organization the
opportunity to share more about
their mission and services offered,
and learn from members of the
community how we can better
serve them.
Another way that Onward
Neighborhood House and
St. Peter’s hope to partner is to
address food insecurity: a problem
plaguing many Belmont Cragin
residents. In order to provide
access to healthy food, the
organizations decided to form
a partnership and open a food
pantry in the church before the
end of 2012. There are no food
banks in the area so people in
need of this service must currently
travel to one of two pantries
located three miles away from
St. Peters for assistance.
Onward House operates a small
food pantry at the West Town
site that in recent years has
been facing greater demand
for food from both our childcare
families and area residents.
Last year, the pantry distributed
18,053 pounds of food to 3,217
individuals. Opening a pantry in
St. Peter’s will give Onward House
the opportunity to reach an even
greater number of people in need
and ensure that one of the most
basic needs of Belmont Cragin
residents is met.
Pastor Jeremy looks forward
to continuing to generate
conversations in the community to
see what else the Miracle Quarter
Mile can accomplish for residents.
According to him, all you need
is “flexibility and imagination” in
order to successfully carry out
the mission of the neighborhood
organizations and to benefit the
community.
Onward Update Page 3, Spring/Summer 2012
600 North Leavitt Street
Chicago, IL 60612
6th Annual Night of Bright Futures’ Gala
Thanks to all of our sponsors, donors, attendees and the Onward House Auxiliary Board for helping to raise $52,000 at the
6th annual ‘Night of Bright Futures’ gala. We hope to see you there next year!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Onward Neighborhood House’s Annual Charity Golf Outing, presented by Transparent Container and
Inteliquent, will be held at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club on Thursday, September 13. Since the first event five
years ago, the golf outing has raised over $250,000 in support of Onward’s Belmont Cragin location.
To register or for more information contact Irene Rodriguez at 708-236-1331.
Give us a Click!
Onward Neighborhood House, founded in 1893, has served
Chicago’s West Town Community for more than 100 years.
Its mission is to empower families and individuals in need to
achieve their full potential in a community-based setting
through participant-driven educational, recreational and social
service programs. Today, this mission is put into action through
an Early Childhood Education Program; School-Age Program;
Family Support Program; Food Pantry; Senior Services; and a
Community Computer Resource Center. Onward House serves
approximately 950 families and over 5,500 individuals annually.
Onward Update Page 4, Spring/Summer 2012
Staying connected to Onward
House is now easier than ever!
Visit our Web site,
www.onwardhouse.org,
or ‘like’ us on Facebook at
facebook.com/onwardhouse to
receive agency updates, view
event photos, join the mailing
list or make an online donation.
We hope you will be
able to make a financial
contribution toward our efforts.
All donations directly support
Onward Neighborhood House
facilities and programs.