‘Real Men Charities’ extends its reach to build community
Small Business Saturday brought a positive vibe tomany of the city’s neighborhoods. Gov. Bruce Rauner made his way to a ribbon cutting at the El Nopal bakery at 26th and Lawndale, and read a proclamation supporting small business at the South Shore’s Quarry Event Center.
Additionally, the South Shore neighborhood hosted aweekend festival that included a vendor marketplace and a performance stage.
For a brief while you could see past the corners where groups of young men hustle loose cigarettes.
I was part of a team from my church out on the street Saturday afternoon conducting a survey on the community’s needs.
We asked both men and women what sort of programs they would like to see in the neighborhood thatwould help make their lives better.
Their answers sounded familiar: jobs and job training, substance abuse and mental health treatment, parenting classes, and something for young people to do.
Yvette Moyo, an activist, publisher of the “South Shore Current,” and co- founder of the iconic “Real Men Cook,” an annual celebration of black fatherhood, is putting her reputation behind the Quarry, a venue in South Shore that she believes could ultimately deliver on all of those fronts.
Moyo has spent the last 28 years building “Real Men Cook” into a nationally recognized brand. She is now moving to build the Quarry into a thriving arts, healthy food hub and entertainment venue.
Suzanne and Ernest Armstrong, two longtime South Shore residents, used their retirement accounts to open the Quarry in 2014.
Located at 2423 E. 75th Street, the event center is one of a handful of small businesses still open on the deserted commercial strip.
But when Ernest Armstrong’s health began to fail, it became difficult to keep the community- centered facility functioning on a level that could make a difference in a struggling community. He died in 2015.
The property has since been sold for delinquent taxes, but can be redeemed for $ 125,000. The first installment of $ 60,000, however, must be paid by Dec. 15. The second installment is due by Feb. 7.
Moyo, who has put together a group of financial, entertainment, venue managers and chefs as an advisory group, is planning to raise $ 250,000 under an Illinois intrastate equity crowdfunding law that allows Illinois businesses to raise capital through a large number of investors in their communities.
“Real Men Charities,” and a new for- profit entity, “Real Community Investment Group,” will become co- owners of the Quarry.
“We think our $ 250,000 goal to buy back the taxes and get the operational capital needed can be met with 100 Illinois residents investing $ 2,500 in our social enterprise,” Moyo said.
The facility will operate seven days a week as a hub for cultural, health and business development.
“We have an understanding that if we buy the taxes, Suzanne would stay involved as an ambassador,” Moyo said.
Armstrong is thrilled that people in South Shore have stepped up.
“The last thing I wanted to do was to turn over the property to an anonymous tax buyer or to an individual from outside the community that would exploit the property and take money out of the community,” she said.
“My commitment has always been to South Shore and to the people here,” Armstrong added.
The funding portal for this endeavor is tru Crowd Illinois, and it is expected to launch soon. At that time, any amount from $ 100 to $ 5,000 per person will be accepted at that site.
“Twenty- five hundred is not a huge amount for people to invest in this community. Instead of saying what the city should do or what somebody else should do, we have to help ourselves,” Moyo said.