Pictured
#1 Jennifer Rule, Christy Webber and Sara Feigenholtz, #2 Tom Gertz, Tico Valle and Ald. Tunney, #3 Patrick Sheahan and Valle, #4 Michael Leppen and Nan Schaffer, #5 Mayor Daley, Martin Gapshis and Patrick Sheahan, #6 Mayor Daley and Nan Schaffer, #7 Martin Gapshis with the mayor, #8 Lisa Louden and Robbin Burr , #9 Jennifer Rule (left) and Christy Webber at the Center event. Photos by Tracy Baim
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Center Halfway to Fundraising Goal
Mayor Richard Daley became a pitchman for the Center on Halsted last Thursday when he attended a reception for high-end donors to the campaign to create a new gay and lesbian community center on the North Side.
Officials announced they are more than halfway to their goal of raising $20 million for the capital fundraising campaign. The original target was $24 million.
More than one third of the funds will come from city and state coffers. The state's $6.5 million still has not been received, but according to Project Director Morris Floyd, the initial disbursement could come within two weeks.
The city, through Ald. Tom Tunney and former Ald. Bernie Hansen, has also committed more than $1 million to the project, which is in Tunney's 44th Ward.
Philanthropist and businessman Michael Leppen not only underwrote the dinner for donors Nov. 13, he also pledged $250,000 of his own money for the Center on Halsted.
Leppen is not the only individual stepping up to Center plate. Several donors have committed tens of thousands of dollars each in pledges to create the city's first community center in more than a decade.
So far, $450,000 has been pledged just from the leadership team behind the Center.
Twice during his short speech, Mayor Daley himself asked individuals in the room to pledge funds for the Center, which will help 'educate the entire city. It makes bridges ... it's a center for many.'
'We're asking the entire community to participate,' Daley said. 'I am very fortunate to have this community here. ... I really ask all of you to think about giving more.'
Center Board President Patrick Sheahan joked that the mayor 'outed' him to the former CEO of the company he works for, when they both attended a non-gay event. The effort proved fortunate for the Center, when that CEO later donated furniture to Center on Halsted.
'This is not about us anymore,' said Leppen. 'It's about everyone who needs this. You may never need the Center,' he added, looking around the room to the businessmen and women, philanthropists, and other wealthy individuals at the University Club event.
'But there is no such thing as a free dinner, you're not getting off the hook,' Leppen quipped, announcing he wanted people in the room to match his $250,000 commitment.
Modesto 'Tico' Valle, acting executive director of Center on Halsted/Horizons Community Services, spoke eloquently about the actual programs the agency offers, with hopes of expanding those efforts.
Valle looked back at Horizons' history, starting as a Helpline in 1973, later adding community enrichment programs, youth services in 1979, psychotherapy in 1981, AIDS and HIV support in 1982, the mature adult program in 1997, the Anti-Violence Project in 1988, and more.
'Our future strength is not as individuals but as a community. We will make our own history,' he said.
'The community is where it begins and where it ends,' Valle added.
Center Building and Program Chairperson Victoria Raymont told the crowd that 'It is not the logic that motivates me to give my pledge.' Rather, she said it is the 'spirit, truth and hope' that the Center represents that provide the emotional pull for her donations.
Sheahan said of the $20 million goal, $12.5 million will go to the building's construction, including the architect and project manager expenses. Another $2.5 million is for the fundraising campaign itself, including staff and legal fees. A $1 million operating reserve will also be kept in the bank.
Ald. Tom Tunney introduced the Mayor, and joked that he has been happily running the de factor community center out of his Ann Sather's on Belmont. He also noted that as a member of the John Baran Fund, he helped give $250,000 in seed money to the Center several years ago.
'This is important because [when I was growing up] there was no safe place for young gays or lesbians,' Tunney said, adding that high rates of suicide and substance abuse were likely caused by this lack of support.
A representative of Whole Foods was also in attendance. The retail giant has signed a letter of intent to be the anchor first-floor tenant of the Center. Although it is not a 'gay' business, many people involved in the project believe it will take such a mainstream, large company to help the Center break ground and remain financially stable.
While Whole Foods does have a relatively progressive record on gay issues, some activists are critical of the tenant situation.
Some say the Center should remain true to its gay identity with gay businesses. Others say the anti-union background of the company does not sit well with the coalition efforts of the community. For example, union leaders in Illinois have been a key to lobbying efforts on the state gay-rights bill, SB 101.
But the Nov. 20 event was not about specific tenants and programs. It was about the Center itself and what it represents for the GLBT community, and how the wealthy part of the GLBT community can step forward to make the Center dream a reality.
As Chicago architect Daniel Burnham said, 'make no small plans.' The 100,000-plus-square-foot facility at 3620 N. Halsted certainly fits that statement.
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