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RDLF News: Issue 33
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Logan Scholars: Diana's Open Door
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This summer, Program Officer Jessica Jones-Lewis interviewed two recipients of the Logan Scholarship, a Kelly High School program led by Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) and funded by the Reva and David Logan Foundation.
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The scholarship supports 5-6 women at Kelly with their undergraduate degrees. The $20,000 award helps to close the financial gap that remains after all their financial aid and scholarships are applied, a deficit that otherwise prevents many young people from graduating. In addition to tuition costs, the scholarship has evolved to include support services and an emergency fund for all the unexpected costs associated with attending college. It’s been an enormous success.
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Our first interviewee is Diana, who majored in English and Creative Writing and graduated May 2025. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Hispanic Literature.
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"I immigrated here 9 years ago. The way I explain it to people is: there are 10 doors, and 9 out of 10 are open for people who were born and raised here. 8 out of 10 are going to be closed for me, just because I didn’t have some knowledge or privileges that other people have here. I need a key for those doors, and anything I can get—either college, internships, university—it’s pretty important to me.
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I didn’t have to stress about money, I didn’t have to be in a major I hated. That really helped me succeed. And I do give all the credit to the scholarship and I would love for other people to have that and to help in any way I can to make that happen."
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On the Front Lines
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Photo credit: Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times
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Reverend David Black, Foundation grantee and friend, was callously attacked by ICE agents while he was praying and peacefully protesting outside of the Broadview ICE facility last month.
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The picture above by Ashlee Rezin and the video captured by Amanda Tovar are a clear depiction of the indiscriminate violence being perpetrated against the civilians of Chicago, but also of our power and conviction to stand up for our community.
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Heroes like David, as well as many of our partners on the front lines, are working every day to protect and nourish our community members. These are our neighbors who, in this moment, are fearful to leave their homes or send their children to school. Our Chicago partners inspire us and give us hope as we continue resisting the intentions of ICE and the Trump administration, despite escalating challenges and obstacles.
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We encourage all our readers to Know Your Rights and contribute as you can according to your personal safety risk.
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"Too often people treat democracy as a spectator sport. In truth it is a creative practice requiring the spiritual disciplines that belong to artists: presence, imagination, and the willingness to get messy in the process of creating something beautiful. I am grateful for the communities I serve and co-create with - artists, activists, and grassroots leaders who have long been devoted to being the better world we need."
- Reverend David Black
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Locked Achievements Exhibition
at Little Village Library
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The exhibition showcases the digital art and poetry that youth have created through SGLAI programming at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. In addition, three students attended the launch in person to lead the audience through activities and perform their original music.
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Dahlia, one of the students present at the exhibition, shared this reflection:
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“Elgin, (SGLAI Artistic & Executive Director) you filled the first page of my notebook with gratitude. Thank you for the amazing experience today. I never would have imagined something like this—it truly touches my heart and gives me a glimmer of hope for my future. All of this really means something to me. If we didn’t cross paths, I would’ve never been pushed out of my comfort zone and learned about the potential that I had… You are changing lives. Your friends are changing lives. You are bringing hope to a world full of hopelessness.”
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Nonprofit Legal Resources
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Nonprofits in Illinois and beyond are facing heightened federal scrutiny for their programs around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as well as related threats to their federal funding.
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This collection of legal resources is intended to provide helpful information and resources for nonprofits in Illinois as well as referrals to available free legal help to help navigate these issues.
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Open Applications
- Sparkplug Foundation: The Sparkplug Foundation is accepting LOI's for their three focus areas: Education, Community Organizing, and Music. The LOI deadline is October 15th.
- MdW Summit: MdW Summit is a gathering of the artists who run artist-run projects, platforms, and spaces from across the Midwest, coming together to share boundary-pushing work, connect with other artist organizers, and weave some midwestern cultural ecology. The application deadline is October 20th at 11:59 PM CST.
- Nordstrom Community Grants: The Community Grants program is designed to support hyper-local grassroots organizations addressing critical community needs within their focus areas, which are 1) providing basic needs, food, shelter, and clothing and 2) creating opportunities that help youth and families achieve economic mobility. The application deadline is October 31st.
- McDonald’s Chicago Community Impact Grants Program: This initiative will provide project-based funding to Chicago-based organizations serving young people, with a focus on the following two priority areas: 1) direct services and initiatives focused on workforce readiness and development and holistic support services that directly enhance their core workforce programming, and 2) direct services and initiatives focused on food access and insecurity. The application deadline is October 31st.
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South Side Weekly, Invisible Institute: "'The ones that are getting out are coming home to no home,' Watson said. According to her, after the raid occurred, building management stole or threw out residents belongings, including visas and important documents."
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Inkstick Media: “Trump’s rhetoric aligns with what we know about the Pentagon’s new national defense strategy, the draft of which 'places domestic and regional missions above countering adversaries such as Beijing and Moscow,' according to officials briefed on the document who spoke to reporters from Politico."
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New York Focus: "Even though there have been reports of solitary confinement, abuse from guards, and lack of medical staff at the federal facility in Batavia, some people detained in the county jails have told New York Focus that the isolation and conditions make federal detention centers seem more appealing."
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Capital & Main: "The finding doesn’t square with the state’s national image as a bastion of forward-thinking policies, and it may not represent how Californians think of themselves, said Ryan Pfleger, senior policy research analyst at the Civil Rights Project and a co-author of the report. But it is further evidence of a longstanding reality."
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Investigate Europe: "A suspected scam network operating out of Serbia duped an estimated 70,000 people worldwide into making bogus investments, profiting €250 million in the process."
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Take a look at these events coming up from our grantees and partners:
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What did you think?
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We craft this newsletter for you. If you have any comments or suggestions, please reply to this email and you might see your ideas implemented in our next issue.
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We have an open call for content from our partners to highlight the brilliant work they're doing in the community. If you are a current grantee or partner with The Reva and David Logan Foundation, please send your content to Sabrina Boggs, Communications Coordinator at sabrina(at)loganfdn(dot)org. Please note that we will not share fundraising campaigns.
Thanks for reading, and see you next time!
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