Neighbor-Space

05/08/2026

Meet Vicky, Lead Gardener at Madison Street Garden, one of the largest community gardens in GPCC’s Garden Network! Madison Street Garden has been creating opportunities to build community around food and gardening for over a decade. Their work has deeply benefitted from the work that the Youth Garden Corps does every summer. In recent years, the numbers of gardeners involved in maintaining the garden has decreased, but the Youth Garden Corps provides assistance to ensure that the garden can grow the food that feeds our community and supplies the Neighborhood Market with amazing produce.

The Madison Street Garden creates a fertile learning environment for the Youth Garden Corps to learn about community gardening, Garfield Park’s food system, and the people involved in feeding their community. Vicky believes that it is crucial for youth from Garfield Park to have this knowledge so they can bring it with them as they become more active members of their community. Even if the youth don’t become involved in urban agriculture in their careers, they will have respect for the workers who do.

But above all, Vicky emphasizes that the work that the Youth Garden Corps members do is essential to Garfield Park’s food system as a whole! If the youth didn’t help w**d Vicky’s garden, you wouldn’t see their beautiful produce at the Community Market. If we didn’t have any produce at the Market, we wouldn’t have a Market at all. The Market partners with other small businesses that build on our mission of increasing access to healthy food in Garfield Park.

Join Vicky today in supporting the Youth Garden Corps! Donate at the link in the comments below. And if you'd like to donate your time, you can also find information about how to volunteer in at the link in the comments.

We have raised $3,259.25 in donations and pledges, which have been matched by an anonymous donor in honor of Angela for a total of $6,518.50! We only need another $340.75 to maximize our matching donation and to help us reach our goal of $10,000. If you are interested in donating via check or donor-advised fund, please contact Development and Communications Manager Patrick Gallagher Landes at [email protected].

05/01/2026

Please support the Youth Garden Corps. Did you know that Wellness Director Angela Taylor has been building community through gardens for over 20 years? When Angela moved to West Garfield Park nearly 30 years ago, she began cleaning up the empty lot next to her and turning it into a community garden, helping to found the Garfield Park Garden Network, which hosts our Youth Garden Corps every summer.

By donating to the Youth Garden Corps, you can support this program, which has been building a grassroots network of youth who feel they can support their community through gardening and urban agriculture. Join Angela in supporting the Youth Garden Corps!

Donate today!

https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/hVgbnHdp_EJsqIJeQenqSQ

They've raised $1,850.75 in donations and pledges, which have been matched by an anonymous donor in honor of Angela for a total of $3,701.50! They need another $1,749.50 to maximize their matching donation and to help them reach their goal of $10,000.

04/13/2026

Please help us bring back the pool to South Chicago!

Making Waves for South Chicago will open Water Week with purpose, convening civic, corporate, philanthropic, and community leaders to catalyze investment in restoring a critical neighborhood asset: a fully accessible indoor pool on the South Side. Since opening Salud, 101 housing units preserved by....

02/11/2026

As part of NeighborSpace's City in an Orchard program, we're offering a series of FREE tree pruning workshops. To learn more visit:
http://neighbor-space.org/city-in-an-orchard-a-neighborspace-community-orchard-project/

09/10/2025

We’re excited to invite your input as we continue designing the community space at Sangamon and Cullerton along El Paseo.

Community engagement began in 2020–2021, and your feedback has already helped shape the physical site and our newest design concepts. Now, we’re gathering ideas to guide the next phase—and we want to hear from you!

📣 Share your thoughts in our online survey

We’re entering the next phase—where ideas become textures, tones, and tactile moments. As we shape the design, we’re thinking not just about beauty, but about durability, maintenance, and how volunteers will care for this space over time. Your input now helps us choose materials that feel good, last long, and honor the rhythms of community stewardship.

A place reflective of community. The beauty of a community-managed space is that it invites direct impact—iterative, responsive, and handcrafted with love. It’s not just built for us, it’s built by us.💚

🗓 Save the date: Our next Community Design Meeting is Tuesday, Sept 30th from 6 pm to 8 pm
📍 Mural Park ( 924 W. 19th Street)

This project is made possible through OSIF funding and in partnership with:
✨ El Paseo Community Garden (Community Stewards)
✨ NeighborSpace (land trust)
✨ Borderless Studio (community engagement consultants)
✨ 25th Ward Alderman (thank you for your support!)

07/28/2025

Neighbor-Space Hideout Inn Veggie Bingo

07/09/2025

07/05/2025

We’re excited to invite you to a Community Design Meeting as we continue developing our neighborhood’s green space—together. With support from our alderman and recent approval for Open Space Impact…

06/02/2025

Community meetings for the city's Green Infrastructure Strategy begin tonight! These interactive public meetings are an opportunity for residents to learn what green stormwater infrastructure is and share their thoughts on how it could help make their neighborhood greener and healthier.

05/16/2025

In honor of Angela Taylor, we just chipped in. Friends, please consider making a contribution to this wonderful community organization.

"I wanted to acknowledge the incredible work Angela Taylor has been doing over the years with the Youth Garden Corps. I believe it is an excellent grassroots program that creates a sense of belonging for young adults in Garfield Park and the community as a whole." - Raj S.

The above quote comes from a donor to the Youth Garden Corps Appeal this year, and it really gets to the spirit of why this program is so important to support the system of wellness that we have been building in Garfield Park for 13 years. But did you know that Angela Taylor has been building community through gardens for over 20 years? When Angela moved to West Garfield Park nearly 30 years ago, she began to clean up the empty lot that was next to her home and turn it into a community garden, partially as a way to continue the legacy of her father, who was a prolific gardener.

Angela’s gardening became a natural way for her to meet community members who are also interested in feeding their families and communities through gardening. One day, she was working with the Garfield Park Conservatory to improve her garden and was waiting in the Conservatory’s foyer, shelling peas and talking with people coming and going. Slowly, a small crowd of people gathered around her, helped her to shell peas, and talked about food and gardens. This unexpected gathering of community members became a driving motivation to create more community gardens in her community.

Angela has countless stories of the people who she has met through her work in her gardens, including Gina Jamison. Angela worked with Ms. Gina to design and install the Kuumba Tre-Ahm Community Garden, which is now a pillar of our Garden Network and hosts the Youth Garden Corps each summer. The Youth Garden Corps builds on this legacy, by ensuring that neighborhood youth have the opportunity to build cross-generational community with people who are making Garfield Park a healthier place to live.

Like Raj, you have the opportunity to support this program that has been building a grassroot network of youth who feel like they can support their community through gardening and urban agriculture. If you know any youth who may be interested in joining this legacy, they can apply here.

We have raised $2,800 in donations and pledges for the Youth Garden Corps, which have been matched by an anonymous donor in honor of Angela Taylor, bringing us to $5,600. We need another $800 to maximize our matching donation and another $2,800 to help us reach our goal of $10,000. The appeal ends next week, so there’s not a better time to donate than now!

If you are interested in donating via check or donor advised fund, please contact Development and Communications Manager Patrick Gallagher Landes at [email protected].