OUR VISION
Jeremiah Development seeks the well-being of the Coronado Haskell neighborhood, reaching into the greater Rockford area.
OUR MISSION
We support the Coronado Haskell Neighborhood and the greater Rockford area by facilitating access to services and programs for its residents and responding to the needs brought forth by those working and living in the Neighborhood. We engage volunteers from throughout the Rockford region to use their skills and talents to improve the well-being of the Neighborhood.
OUR METHOD
Our Vision and Mission are accomplished by focusing on three supporting pillars: organize, coordinate and advocate. As we listen to the needs of the community, we coordinate with residents and agencies to facilitate meeting those needs and act to promote positive change.
- Organizing – with a neighborhood newsletter delivered door to door to improve communication, a neighborhood action committee where neighbors can discuss the needs of the community and generate solutions. With the neighbors, plan and promote neighborhood gatherings to strengthen the bonds of the residents.
- Coordinating – promoting access to existing social service agencies and mental and physical health providers to provide a meaningful, sustained and unified resource to our residents and those of the greater Rockford area through our LOVE Rockford and Jeremiah CARE Programs.
- Advocating – assisting the neighbors in bringing change to those areas identified by the them as needs for the community. We continue to use our garden to combat a food desert, walk the neighborhood once a month to identify problem areas and advocate for appropriate city services where needed.
OUR ORGANIZATION
Jeremiah Development is a secular, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization harnessing the positive energy of our volunteers and the people that we serve in order to bring about meaningful, sustainable improvement to the Coronado Haskell Neighborhood.
Jeremiah Development has made some changes in the way we ensure the well-being of the community. After much discussion with the residents in the Coronado Haskell Neighborhood, it became clear the most important thing was a sense of community and trust. From a foundation of building community, Jeremiah Development has turned from developing properties to developing people. Our LOVE Rockford event links around 600 residents to much needed mental/physical healthcare providers, social services agencies, food, clothing, bike repair, and haircuts. This is accomplished with the help of over 120 volunteers from the Rockford Community and a generous grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. At the request of the community and the providers that participate with LOVE Rockford, we have expanded to provide Jeremiah CARES. Again focusing on linking residents with needed services under one roof in a one stop shop format. Our first event Nov. 2, 2019 was successful with over 20 providers and over 300 in attendance.
Within the neighborhood, we are in our second year of delivering a newsletter door-to-door to meet with the neighbors on an informal basis. We have learned the needs of the neighborhood from these front yard conversations and have responded to them. With the help of the City, we have improved 15 properties this summer alone. We are working with the Community Resource Officer to educate the residents on personal safety as well as keeping their property safe. We have begun hosting Movie in the Park nights to spend time together as neighbors and take back out green spaces.
At the corner of Park St and Court St, in the heart of the west-side downtown area, we have a 27 bed vegetable garden. We have around 10 stalwart volunteers that tend the garden all summer so that those in need can come and harvest anytime. The garden provides food for those that work, live or wander through the downtown area. This year we provided over 300 pounds of fresh vegetables.
Through the generosity of committed donors, grant funding and over 140 volunteers throughout the year we are able to make a difference one household at a time!