The vision of ABOVE AND BEYOND is to innovate and create the most effective addiction treatment in America, and provide it to Chicago’s poor and homeless, at zero cost to them, provided in convenient walk-in locations in their neighborhoods. We establish long-term relationships with them for support, and assist with housing and employment.

Aspire’s mission is to support the successes of children and adults with developmental disabilities, strengthen their families and build embracing communities. We envision a community where people of all abilities live, learn and grow together.

Breakthrough's mission is to partner with people affected by poverty to build connections, develop skills, and open doors of opportunity. Breakthrough provides education and youth development activities, sports and fitness programs, workforce development training, transitional and permanent housing, mental and medical health care, among other services. Breakthrough's vision is to create a safe, stable and engaged East Garfield Park community where success is the norm and families enjoy prosperity

Causing A Stir (CAS) aims to increase inclusion, education, leadership and mentorship within the hospitality industry for women, people of color and LGBT. CAS provides interactive workshops, scholarship programs, a platform to connect and network, and news of employment opportunities for underserved and underrepresented communities in the hospitality industry. CAS highlights the career achievements of hospitality professionals in Chicago and other communities. We work strategically with other organizations to create a valuable community for all hospitality professionals. Born from a luncheon of 10 female bartenders and hospitality professionals of color who gathered to discuss the frustrations of the bar community, CAS was founded because the group agreed there was a need within the Chicago bar community for increased racial inclusion, educational opportunities for minorities, and mentorship for people of color.

The Center for Enriched Living (CEL) exists so that people with developmental disabilities can be fully included in the community, achieve personal success, and enjoy a good quality of life. CEL provides a wide variety of social, recreational, and educational enrichment programs that are available seven days a week for people of all abilities, from teens to seniors. Activities include: bowling, mini-golf, pizza parties, summer camps, open mic events, yoga, movie nights, vacations, music in the park, arts nights, and more. CEL also works with individuals with developmental disabilities and community partners to provide paid, meaningful employment. Began in 1968 after two mothers approached a social worker at a local community center to ask for help in finding after-school programs for their children with developmental disabilities, CEL now serves more than 450 people annually throughout the Chicago area in a spacious, Universally Designed, 20,000-square-foot facility that includes a gymnasium, art room, teaching kitchen, technology hub, and accessible garden.

Code Platoon is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to transform veterans and military spouses into professional software developers through an immersive, educational bootcamp, mentorship, and internship program. In the 14-week program, we employ hands-on, in-person training with each group of students to teach software design principles, modern software languages, and best practices. We optimize our students’ success by matching them with an industry mentor, who serves as a support system and connects them with a professional network of software developers. Training with Code Platoon frequently culminates in a paid internship with one of our corporate sponsors, and most of our graduates are hired into permanent roles within six months of graduation. Highly sought after by employers, our graduates report a median salary of $68,000 within six months of graduation and $100,000 within two years of graduation.

THE HATCHERY CHICAGO is the area’s premier food-and-beverage business incubator to help local entrepreneurs scale successful companies. Through our incubation programming and production facility, we provide space, financing and resources under one roof. Located in the underserved neighborhood of East Garfield Park, THE HATCHERY helps build businesses that will then create economic growth and new job opportunities in our community. Our workforce development programs seek to create a deep pool of local qualified candidates for the jobs created by our entrepreneurs. Providing our neighbors with free certifications, support, classes and job training, shared-kitchen hours, and industry connections, we view the food industry as a widely accessible path out of poverty.

I Grow Chicago aims to grow Englewood from surviving to thriving through community connection, skill building, and opportunity. We assist every generation of Englewood residents with every aspect of their lives through nearly 15 different programs, all run by community members and volunteers. Our programs provide mentorship and skills training, restorative justice and community building, yoga and mindfulness, urban farming and food access, and other supportive services. Residents learn the tools they need to stop violence before it starts – from how to take a deep breath before reacting to how to apply for and succeed in jobs. Located in an area of previously abandoned homes and vacant lots, I Grow Chicago’s “Peace Campus” serves more than 3,000 people each year and has transformed one of the most dangerous blocks in Englewood into a symbol of hope and transformation.

Founded by a teacher who saw one of her most talented former students working for minimum wage as a housekeeper, i.c.stars seeks to create economic opportunities for people who are highly talented but lack career opportunities because of their socioeconomic background. Our two-year, development-and-leadership program combines project-based learning, full immersion teaching, and industry networking. The highly selective program, which accepts only 20 candidates out of 200 applicants for each class, focuses on Chicago-area, low-income young adults who demonstrate promising technology talent and an extraordinary dedication to positive community impact. Fundamental to i.c.stars is our belief that the more adversity we have faced, the more resilient we become.

In Her Shoes Foundation (IHSF) is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to embrace and encourage the potential of all women and girls by providing positive influences, learning opportunities, leadership development, and community partnerships. The flagship program – “Ready Set Girls Academy” – is a curriculum that provides teens in middle school and high school with life skills, coping techniques, and self-esteem improvement. IHSF’s professional development program for women – “Ready Set Women Academy” – offers practical tips and guidance on issues from pay negotiations to resume support, leadership to work-life balance, and positive personal growth to workplace achievement. Lastly, the “Giving Back Program” offers volunteer opportunities and partnerships in the Chicago community. After serving as a crisis counselor to young girls and women on the South Side and North Shore of Chicago for more than a decade, Kasia Wereszczynska founded IHSF to further inspire and empower girls and women across Chicago.

Launch U is a college and career mentoring program that pairs young professionals as mentors to high achieving but underserved scholars during their senior year of high school and beyond.

Lawrence Hall is a community-based service agency embracing at-risk youth and their families by instilling resilience, healing and changing lives for good. Serving over 1,200 youth and families annually, Lawrence Hall cares for newborns to 24-year-olds. Our five-core programs – "Project Work” (job training, placement and mentoring), “Foster Care” (safe, secure and nurturing homes), “Education” (therapeutic day school and experiential learning), “Therapeutic Treatment” (residential treatment and canine, music, art and recreational therapies), and “Living” (transitional and independent living) – are designed to promote overall well-being and empower young people who have experienced trauma. With locations throughout Chicago, Lawrence Hall is invested in communities and dedicated to providing preventive programming and services that can allow families and young people to thrive.

One For One supports young adults living in Chicago’s most dangerous and violent communities. For more than a decade, our organization has been dedicated to breaking the cycle of violence by enriching the lives of youth, allowing them to connect and thrive within their communities and beyond. Through programming, workshops, mentorship and employment, we provide opportunities that nurture values and integrity, and help individuals forge a positive future. Our signature “Keeping Grounded Greenhouse Program” offers immersive job training and ongoing workshops to high school students in a safe and nurturing environment on a 4,000-square-foot urban farm. Originally founded as the Ferrer Foundation and focused on children of incarcerated parents, the organization has evolved its mission over the years to best serve youth living in Chicago communities where violence is prevalent.

PROJECT ONWARD is a nonprofit studio and gallery for professional artists with mental and developmental disabilities. PROJECT ONWARD supports the professional development of artists with exceptional talents and challenges – ranging from autism to mental illness – and provides these artists with workspace, materials, professional guidance, exhibition opportunities and access to markets to sell their work and advance their careers. In opening the studio and gallery to the public and activating the space with free public programs, PROJECT ONWARD seeks to promote art as a powerful tool for understanding and valuing the real and potential contributions of our national population with disabilities. At PROJECT ONWARD, art has become a unique medium for comprehensively and constructively discussing mental illness and developmental disabilities and re-framing the discussion around these artists’ abilities.

We teach Chicago's overlooked talent how to sell software, then help them land careers with top-tier employers. Our mission is to reshape hiring trends in tech for underserved communities by providing workforce and business development training. Almost all of our candidates are under-represented minorities from the South and West Sides of Chicago. With a job placement rate of 83% and an average starting salary of almost $50,000, we pride ourselves on helping candidates find meaningful work and more financial success than they would anywhere else. We believe in a world in which lasting workplace inclusion generates positive ripple effects across families, industries, and communities.

Recipe For Change (RFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides dignity and opportunity to the detainees of Cook County Jail through an introduction to healthy food, good nutrition, and the art of quality cooking. During the three-month culinary education program, the detainees are challenged to learn the finer points of cuisine, memorize intricate recipes, and demonstrate a knowledge of kitchen safety protocols, proper serving techniques, and table manners. The program’s participants also learn the importance of teamwork, focus, and accountability. Expecting the same discipline and dedication from the detainees as he does his own restaurant employees, Italian Chef Bruno Abate founded RFC to teach the skills and confidence necessary for detainees to secure employment after their release from prison.

StreetWise is one of the largest “street papers” in the United States and focuses on news that is “socially conscious and Chicago-centric.” Our mission is to empower the entrepreneurial spirit through the dignity of self-employment. We provide Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive services, workforce development resources, and immediate access to gainful employment by becoming a StreetWise vendor. By purchasing and taking the magazine, you are providing a "hand up, not a hand out" to one of our 150+ vendors working towards self-sufficiency. Founded in the early 1990s, StreetWise is a practical solution to the crisis of homelessness in Chicago: give homeless men and women a chance to help themselves and gain personal dignity by selling a newspaper to earn income rather than begging for money.

The mission of WOMEN TECH FOUNDERS is to inspire more women to pursue a career in technology and leadership. WTF tells the stories and lessons learned of women who are already making waves in the field, so that we can inspire, educate and connect women in the tech ecosystem, from startup founders to funders and leaders. We use storytelling, video and networking events to build deep connections, drive inclusiveness through profitablity, and infuse diversity into tech. Our vision is a tech industry that drives everyone’s potential to reach their dreams, advance business, and change the world.