Portage Park Mutual Aid Fund
Donation protected
Who we are
Portage Park Mutual Aid Network is a group of neighbors who have come together to support one another during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are a part of a mutual aid response network of many grassroots networks across Chicago.
This is an autonomous mutual aid network, not a charity effort. Our goal is to enable our community to come together to help provide essential needs to neighbors who are currently in need of some assistance. We know that right now there are fewer resources and more uncertainty than ever before, but we can build the strength of our community and make a real difference to those around us by coming together and directly helping one another.
What we have been doing
Since March, our network has conducted phone check-ins with seniors and has delivered groceries and masks to community members in need of them. We have also been building the network and spreading awareness within Portage Park and surrounding areas, as well as coordinating with other Chicago mutual aid networks in larger efforts like establishing a warehouse to aid in food distribution.
What we’d like to do
We would like your support to expand our mutual aid efforts within the Portage Park area and redistribute aid to heavily impacted areas of the city. We know that many of you already support food banks and other resources helping our community. You can make your donations go further by supporting our distribution of resources and identification of community members who need access to those resources.
While our efforts thus far have been concentrated in the Portage Park area, we also recognize that we are a part of the larger Chicago community. We want to support wellness across Chicago, particularly in South- and West-side neighborhoods that have been hard hit by decades of economic barriers. Recent rioting and resulting property damage has been largely concentrated in the South and West sides of the city, which already had a number of food deserts. The pandemic has also placed a disproportionately heavy burden on our Black and Latino/Latinx community members, who have suffered from significantly higher rates of infection and death from Covid-19 due to healthcare disparities. Given both this and the long history of segregation, redlining, and other forms of systemic oppression in both Chicago and the nation as a whole, it seems especially important to stand in solidarity and redistribute aid to our neighbors who are part of these underserved communities.
As a result, we intend to use half of the funds raised to support distribution of groceries, masks, and sanitation supplies in the Portage Park area. Our Portage Park-allocated funds will be used to respond to requests in the order they are received. Between this fund and volunteer support, we will aim to create financial and resource wholeness for all neighbors who are seeking support. The other half of the funds raised will be redistributed to established groups serving heavily impacted communities in other parts of the city via mutual aid groups across the South and West sides of Chicago, as well as few local nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving Black and Latino/Latinx communities.
How to contact us
Please email us at [email redacted] if you have any questions about the network or if you or someone you know is in need of assistance. If you are not in our area, we can help you get in contact with the Chicago Mutual Aid network closest to you.
If you are interested in getting involved in the network, email us at the address above for that. We can always use more help with fundraising, calling seniors, grocery & mask distribution, or general organizing / planning.
Portage Park Mutual Aid Network is a group of neighbors who have come together to support one another during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are a part of a mutual aid response network of many grassroots networks across Chicago.
This is an autonomous mutual aid network, not a charity effort. Our goal is to enable our community to come together to help provide essential needs to neighbors who are currently in need of some assistance. We know that right now there are fewer resources and more uncertainty than ever before, but we can build the strength of our community and make a real difference to those around us by coming together and directly helping one another.
What we have been doing
Since March, our network has conducted phone check-ins with seniors and has delivered groceries and masks to community members in need of them. We have also been building the network and spreading awareness within Portage Park and surrounding areas, as well as coordinating with other Chicago mutual aid networks in larger efforts like establishing a warehouse to aid in food distribution.
What we’d like to do
We would like your support to expand our mutual aid efforts within the Portage Park area and redistribute aid to heavily impacted areas of the city. We know that many of you already support food banks and other resources helping our community. You can make your donations go further by supporting our distribution of resources and identification of community members who need access to those resources.
While our efforts thus far have been concentrated in the Portage Park area, we also recognize that we are a part of the larger Chicago community. We want to support wellness across Chicago, particularly in South- and West-side neighborhoods that have been hard hit by decades of economic barriers. Recent rioting and resulting property damage has been largely concentrated in the South and West sides of the city, which already had a number of food deserts. The pandemic has also placed a disproportionately heavy burden on our Black and Latino/Latinx community members, who have suffered from significantly higher rates of infection and death from Covid-19 due to healthcare disparities. Given both this and the long history of segregation, redlining, and other forms of systemic oppression in both Chicago and the nation as a whole, it seems especially important to stand in solidarity and redistribute aid to our neighbors who are part of these underserved communities.
As a result, we intend to use half of the funds raised to support distribution of groceries, masks, and sanitation supplies in the Portage Park area. Our Portage Park-allocated funds will be used to respond to requests in the order they are received. Between this fund and volunteer support, we will aim to create financial and resource wholeness for all neighbors who are seeking support. The other half of the funds raised will be redistributed to established groups serving heavily impacted communities in other parts of the city via mutual aid groups across the South and West sides of Chicago, as well as few local nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving Black and Latino/Latinx communities.
How to contact us
Please email us at [email redacted] if you have any questions about the network or if you or someone you know is in need of assistance. If you are not in our area, we can help you get in contact with the Chicago Mutual Aid network closest to you.
If you are interested in getting involved in the network, email us at the address above for that. We can always use more help with fundraising, calling seniors, grocery & mask distribution, or general organizing / planning.
Organizer and beneficiary
Andrew Foertsch-Jans
Organizer
Chicago, IL
Brian Solem
Beneficiary
