#CNDA28 

Winner, The Richard H. ‪@driehausfdn‬ Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Development Award
The residents of North Lawndale have long confronted the interconnected effects of institutional racism, poverty, legal system involvement and marginal access to quality jobs and viable career opportunities.
The ‪@NlenOrg‬ (NLEN) serves under- and unemployed residents of the North Lawndale neighborhood and surrounding communities. Their clients include citizens returning from incarceration and others who face the day-to-day hardships of living without enough income to support themselves and their families.
NLEN’s new workforce development campus embodies the organization’s commitment to improving the quality of life for North Lawndale residents. Through visionary leadership and investing, this underutilized community asset, which was once the home of the Community Bank of North Lawndale, was transformed into a symbol of community pride and hope. The new campus doubles NLEN’s capacity to serve the community, allowing them to serve 5,000 people annually and positioning NLEN to meet their strategic goal of lowering the unemployment rate in N. Lawndale by 10%-by bringing their reentry and employment training programs, other assets and community resources under one roof and serving as a welcoming community hub.
The North Lawndale Employment Network campus also includes a honey production and manufacturing facility increasing capacity to grow the Sweet Beginnings, LLC, social enterprise honey business and accommodate more participants with transitional jobs; a rooftop apiary; a storefront café; job readiness and digital training space; community rental space;
a Wintrust retail bank branch; and NLEN staff offices. Not only does NLEN’s campus directly respond to the community’s needs for job readiness, employment, financial and digital access training, and supportive services, but it was also designed to be a beautiful and inclusive place to learn, inspire professionalism and enable the community to gather. With NLEN’s programs and assets now under one roof, the campus is a springboard for innovation and a catalyst for community engagement, economic advancement, and individual and community restoration and transformation.