November 3, 2014 Dear friend of archi

Creative
Community
Change
November 3, 2014
Dear friend of archi-treasures,
In 2011, when Adrian Mercado first became involved with archi-treasures at Germano Millgate
Apartments in South Chicago, he was poised to become just another statistic about young black
men in our City. As studies report, 92% are unemployed1 and 1 in 200 between 18 and 34 will be
the victim of a nonfatal gunshot wound2 – these are just a few of the dismal numbers that tell a
story we should all be concerned about.
After three summers employed by archi-treasures at the low income housing development where
he lives, archi-treasures gave Adrian the opportunity to mentor other youth at Germano as site
supervisor of this year’s summer program. “I’m really glad that I had the chance to work with
archi-treasures and to show other young black men in my community that success is possible.”
With your support, archi-treasures changes lives by working with people to change the place
where they live.
Germano Millgate Apartments, where Adrian lives, is a 350-unit complex originally built to house
steelworkers; it is now home to 2000 low-income residents. As South Chicago declined with the
closing of US Steel’s South Works in 1992, Germano became increasingly isolated as more and
more properties became vacant and abandoned. Although large and teaming with life, the property is nearly invisible to those who don’t live there.
Thanks to supporters like you, archi-treasures has employed residents to work on participatory
design/build projects at Germano for five years. This past summer, our “a-team,” under the supervision of Adrian Mercado, created a dazzling new mural, Welcome to Our World, that is visible
to the over 8,800 vehicles that travel 87th Street daily. Imagine the pride that this brings to the
Germano community, especially to the young people who created the mural and to the community
members who contributed ideas.
You can join us in this important work by making a contribution to archi-treasures’ annual campaign.
There are two easy ways to donate: send us a check or contribute at www.architreasures.org
where you can also learn more about our programs.
It is the collective support and action of people like you that make this work possible.
Respectfully,
Joyce Fernandes
Executive Director
The Alternative Schools Network, Trends in Teen Employment in Chicago, Illinois, and the United States, Jan.,2014.
Moser, W (2014, April), Big Numbers, But a Surprisingly Small Network, Chicago Politics & City Life, Retrieved from
http://www.chicagomag.com.
1
2
3339 West Division Chicago, IL 60651
|
t. 773 772 4416
|
f. 773 772 4418
|
www.architreasures.org