The Boulevard of Chicago

The Boulevard of Chicago is participating in the Target Circle program! You can vote for us and help direct Target’s giving to benefit our organization. Make sure you have “your store” set to a location within Chicago to ensure The Boulevard shows up as an option. Download the app if you don't have it already and start earning those votes! Check out how to vote for The Boulevard below. For full program details and restrictions visit Target Circle. https://target.com/circle

The Boulevard is so grateful for the continued support and partnership of Winnetka Congregational Church!

Our 2023 Grant Awardee Friday Feature is The Boulevard of Chicago. WCC is grateful to have a partner like The Boulevard to work together and serve the community.

The Boulevard is a low-barrier medical respite facility on Chicago’s West Side, offering medical care, behavioral care, and social support in response to the varying needs of people experiencing homelessness in Chicago. Their commitment and Housing First philosophy directly correspond to the City of Chicago Plan to End Homelessness and the national care standards established by the National Institute for Medical Respite Care.

For more information about The Boulevard, visit https://www.blvd.org.

The WCC Grant Award Committee awarded $158,000 in grants to 31 agencies in December 2023. Grant funds come from net proceeds of Winnetka Congregational Church Rummage sales and the Chicago Community Trust endowment.

We are thrilled to be able to support so many agencies doing such vital work in the community!

The Boulevard of Chicago held a Juneteenth celebration for our clients and staff earlier this week. Juneteenth is a federal holiday that recognizes the official ending of slavery in the United States, and is a wonderful opportunity to center and celebrate African-American lives and culture.

The Boulevard’s 2024 Luncheon fundraiser was a huge success! Thanks to our generous supporters, we've raised $203,485.50 to date, exceeding our original goal of $200,000.

We are deeply grateful for the many contributions we received. Every gift makes a meaningful difference in the lives of the men and women we serve each day. It was so exciting to celebrate The Boulevard's 30 years of life-changing work.

It's not too late to donate toward the Luncheon - donate today: https://shorturl.at/Tx6DQ

The Boulevard of Chicago would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone who was a part of our 30th Anniversary Luncheon fundraiser yesterday. Thank you to our sponsors, donors, guests, volunteers, staff, and everyone else who was involved. We were all able to come together to celebrate The Boulevard's 30 years of life-saving work, in addition to raising funds that will help us continue that important work!

Keep an eye out for more event recaps soon.
https://blvd.org/donate

The Boulevard's 30th Anniversary Luncheon Fundraiser is tomorrow! We look forward to celebrating The Boulevard's life-changing work. Check out our event eProgram for a sneak peek: https://shorturl.at/OKQd2

Only two more weeks until The Boulevard's 30th Anniversary Luncheon Fundraiser! A huge thanks goes out to our wonderful event sponsors!

Purchase your tickets today: https://blvd.org/event/2024-luncheon-fundraiser

The Boulevard of Chicago was proud to host a roundtable discussion last week about the state of homelessness in Chicago. Thank you to the Chicago Mayor's Office, Chicago Department of Housing, Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, Chicago Funders Together to End Homelessness (Michael Reese Health Trust) and many organization leaders for coming together to address housing insecurity and new housing initiatives.

The Boulevard is committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness for Chicago's most vulnerable individuals. Learn more about our programs here: https://www.blvd.org/programs

Thanks so much to Old St. Patrick's Church for the Valentine’s Day treats they put together for our residents!

Join us for a drink at Marty's Martini Bar (1511 W Balmoral Ave in Chicago) this Sunday, January 7, from 2-5 p.m. for a Martinis that Matter fundraiser, presented by The Boulevard's Associate Board. Proceeds will benefit The Boulevard's programs and services.

Martinis that Matter is a community giving-back program started by Marty’s Martini Bar in 2011. Marty’s Martini Bar recognizes that organizations need a way to reach out to the community and to build and nurture relationships that will help them fund their missions. This program was born with the desire to give back to community groups, charities and organizations.

https://blvd.org/event/martinis-matter-2024-fundraiser

The Boulevard is thrilled to be one of seventeen organizations in Illinois receiving funds from The Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI) to increase access to medical respite care services for people experiencing homelessness.

This initiative will run through June of 2024. In that time, The Boulevard will build capacity to expand our medical respite program. See the press release below for all the details. To learn more about our program, visit our website at https://blvd.org/.

"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." — Marie Curie

Make a donation today to help make The Boulevard's work possible. Help us break the cycle of homelessness and rebuild peoples' lives: https://blvd.org/donate

A big THANK YOU to all those who attended or supported A Celebration of Home & Healing, The Boulevard's 2023 Luncheon fundraiser on June 8. Photos below - please share!

Thanks to All Chicago for their support of our event and our work!

Our 2022 Grant Awardee Friday Feature is The Boulevard of Chicago. WCC is grateful to have a partner like The Boulevard of Chicago to work together and serve the community.

The Boulevard of Chicago provides high quality, cost-effective medical respite care, holistic support and housing services to help ill and injured homeless adults break the cycle of homelessness, restore their health and rebuild their lives.

For more info visit https://blvd.org.

The WCC Grant Award Committee awarded $228,000 in grants to 31 agencies in December 2022. Grant funds come from net proceeds of Winnetka Congregational Church Rummage sales and a portion of the Outreach budget. We are thrilled to be able to support so many agencies doing such vital work in the community!

Happy ! Back in 2008, the Pierce Family Foundation awarded one of its first grants to The Boulevard (formerly Interfaith House) for the purchase of a van to transport residents to and from medical appointments. (See photo of PFF Chief Technologist David Krumlauf and PFF President Denis Pierce.) Over the years, the Pierce Family Foundation has continued to be one of our most loyal and generous funders.

We look forward to presenting the Pierce Family Foundation with The Boulevard's Enhancing Lives Award at our 2023 Luncheon fundraiser on Thursday, June 8. Get your tickets today: https://blvd.org/event/2023-luncheon-fundraiser

The Boulevard looks forward to having Dr. Jim O'Connell as Keynote Speaker during our Luncheon fundraiser on June 8.

Dr. O'Connell is the President and founding physician of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Considered by many to be the "father of medical respite care" in the US, Dr. O'Connell established the nation's first medical respite care program for individuals experiencing homelessness in September 1985 in Boston. In 1995, Dr. O'Connell designed and implemented the nation's first computerized medical record for a homeless program.

Learn more about Dr. O'Connell and The Boulevard's luncheon fundraiser: https://blvd.org/event/2023-luncheon-fundraiser

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

Today, our nation honors the life and legacy of MLK by serving those around us in need. The Boulevard serves our clients every day by providing them the support they need to take that first step to rebuild their lives. Join us by getting involved or making a donation today: https://blvd.org/

As 2022 comes to a close, don't forget that The Boulevard's year-end Resilience and Renewal campaign is still on-going and needs your support! Please give to the extent you can — every gift, big or small, makes a difference: https://blvd.org/event/join-our-resilience-and-renewal-campaign

Last week, The Boulevard hosted a holiday party for our residents - fun was had by all! Best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Today is Giving Tuesday, an opportunity to help those in need – like Troy, a former resident at The Boulevard.

Before she was referred to The Boulevard, Troy was experiencing homelessness and staying on and off with friends and family for over two years. She was living in an environment of instability and drugs. Troy wanted to get better for her fiancé and her kids. "I didn't want to be a burden to my family," she said. "And I needed to get straight for me."

When Troy arrived at The Boulevard, she was able to start over with the help of our staff. A year later, she moved into her first apartment. When she proved to herself that she was stable, Troy moved in with her fiancé; last year, they bought a house on the South Side and happily hosted their family for the holidays.

Like Troy, many of The Boulevard’s clients are resilient – they just need a place to recover and support to meet their challenges. The Boulevard provides compassionate care to our residents every day, giving them the opportunity to renew their lives. You can help our clients this holiday season through our Resilience and Renewal campaign!

Learn how you can get involved today: https://blvd.org/event/join-our-resilience-and-renewal-campaign

A Thanksgiving Message from Richard Ducatenzeiler, Boulevard CEO

I’ve been with The Boulevard for only a few short weeks, but I’ve already gotten to see and take part in the great work this organization does day in and day out. In this week of giving thanks, I want to extend my gratitude to The Boulevard’s Board and staff for their warm welcome. Sincere thanks as well to Bob Urso, who steered the ship with calm and wisdom as our Interim Chief Executive Officer, and who has extended himself generously to assure a smooth transition. Finally, thanks to all of you, our supporters, partners and friends, for helping us provide life-changing care to our neighbors in need.

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving!

The Boulevard helps to improve the health and well-being of our residents by providing them with three nutritious meals a day. With Thanksgiving this week and the rest of the holidays right around the corner, The Boulevard's Share-A-Meal program is the perfect opportunity to get involved and help out!

We invite you to donate a holiday meal for our 40 residents. You can prepare a meal and deliver it, or have a meal catered. Either way, you’ll be making a difference. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

Please join us in welcoming The Boulevard’s new CEO, Richard Ducatenzeiler!

Richard comes to The Boulevard with more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience in human services and housing development. Richard most recently served as the Executive Director of Franciscan Outreach and prior to that served as the Executive Director of North Side Housing and Supportive Services. As a Chicago native, he is committed to serving our city’s most vulnerable residents and making an impact toward ending homelessness in Chicago. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Continuum of Care and worked on the creation of the city’s original Plan to End Homelessness in 2002.

Read more: https://blvd.org/blog/richard-ducatenzeiler-joins-boulevard-chicago-new-ceo

There's always more work to be done in The Boulevard’s gardens. This summer, volunteers weeded, planted, and cleaned up our facility grounds. A big thanks to our volunteers from Christian Brothers College High School, Vestavia Hills Baptist Church, and members of The Boulevard’s Associate Board!

Email [email protected] for more information on volunteering.

Join us TODAY from 2-5 pm — hope to see you there!

Join us for a drink at Marty's Martini Bar (1511 W Balmoral Ave in Chicago) this Sunday, July 10, from 2-5 p.m. for a Martinis that Matter fundraiser, presented by The Boulevard's Associate Board. Proceeds will go toward The Boulevard of Chicago.

Martini’s that Matter is a community giving-back program started by Marty’s Martini Bar in 2011. Marty’s Martini Bar recognizes that organizations need a way to reach out to the community and to build and nurture relationships that will help them fund their missions. This program was born with the desire to give back to community groups, charities and organizations.

Learn more: https://blvd.org/event/martinis-matter-fundraiser

Join us for a drink at Marty's Martini Bar (1511 W Balmoral Ave in Chicago) this Sunday, July 10, from 2-5 p.m. for a Martinis that Matter fundraiser, presented by The Boulevard's Associate Board. Proceeds will go toward The Boulevard of Chicago.

Martini’s that Matter is a community giving-back program started by Marty’s Martini Bar in 2011. Marty’s Martini Bar recognizes that organizations need a way to reach out to the community and to build and nurture relationships that will help them fund their missions. This program was born with the desire to give back to community groups, charities and organizations.

Learn more: https://blvd.org/event/martinis-matter-fundraiser

The Boulevard extends a huge thank you to our sponsors, partners, donors, registrants, staff and everyone else who was involved in our successful Virtual Gala event. Thanks to our generous supporters, we've raised $219,543 to date, exceeding our original goal. Every single dollar will go to The Boulevard’s critical programs and services that help men and women who are experiencing homelessness restore their health and rebuild their lives.

If you haven’t already, there’s still time to donate: https://igfn.us/f/3p0v/n

View the full Virtual Gala program here: https://blvd.org/event/gala2022

Thank you to everyone who tuned in last night for The Boulevard’s 2022 Virtual Gala! If you weren’t able to join us last night, you can view the full event here: https://www.blvd.org/event/gala2022

During the Virtual Gala, we honored All Chicago President & CEO Carolyn Ross with The Boulevard’s Enhancing Lives Award; we witnessed the incredible journey of Delores who was given a chance to restore her health and rebuild her life; and we were brought together to learn more about the impact The Boulevard’s important work has on those experiencing homelessness.