AFTER LEADING NEIGHBORHOOD RUNS ALL SUMMER, NONPROFIT FOUNDER HOSTS INAUGURAL 5K RUN

My Block, My Hood, My City recently hosted its inaugural 5K Community Race. Photo Credit: Provided by My Block, My Hood, My City
My Block, My Hood, My City recently hosted its inaugural 5K Community Race. Photo Credit: Provided by My Block, My Hood, My City

After Leading Neighborhood Runs All Summer, Nonprofit Founder Hosts Inaugural 5K Run

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

For months, the founder of My Block, My Hood, My City, Jahmal Cole, has been leading small groups of runners through various neighborhoods across Chicago and encouraging them to meet new people and explore new places.

After seeing the way that running was able to impact people’s health and create a common ground between strangers, Cole decided to hosts the inaugural My Block My Hood My City Community 5k which recently took place in Marquette Park.

“Marquette Park is a place where you can find all different types of people from all different races playing soccer or basketball together. There are a lot of families always holding their family reunions and to me, that’s the definition of Chicago, just people being there for each other. We wanted to show people the true beauty of that park by coming out and running our first annual 5K there,” said Cole.

In addition to the 5k race, Marquette Park was filled with an array of family activities for the duration of the event including bounce houses, games, free food, live music, and a community-driven art exhibit.

“We are just trying to unite people from all over Chicago,” said Cole. “This was just a day to come out where the community could meet people from all over the city and that’s what My Block, My Hood, My City does, we just connect people from all over the city.”

Proceeds from the event will go directly to funding My Block, My Hood, My City’s Explorer’s Program which serves over 150 high schoolers by exposing them to new parts of Chicago, potential career paths, and overall just expands their opportunities to have experiences outside of the neighborhoods where they live.

Students who participate in My Block, My Hood, My City’s programs were able to run in the race and according to Cole, participating in a 5K race is an effective way to teach the young people about goal setting.

“Kids are not even learning goal setting in school,” said Cole. “I think a quick 5k gives you a goal and then when you accomplish that goal you feel better about yourself. It gets them into the mindset of having goals and accomplishing them.”

Cole started his nonprofit organization, My Block, My Hood, My City, after working with young people in the Cook County Jail who could see the skyline through their windows but shared with him that they had never been downtown.

After digging deeper, Cole found that there were a lot of young people in Chicago’s south and west side neighborhoods who were missing out on valuable opportunities.

“When you’ve never traveled beyond your block, that’s tragic because everything you can aspire to be has been shaped by just a few-mile radius and that’s not fair. Kids from the south side and west side of Chicago are not connected with opportunities to the same extent as kids from the north side and I want to do something about that,” said Cole.

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

STARR Community Services International, Inc.