Dear Friends and Neighbors,
What a beautiful fall we have enjoyed! Warm weather and leaves STILL changing, it has been a perfect weather for soccer, football, pumpkin carving and all the other traditions that come with the fall season! I am often reminded of what a special neighborhood we have built here, but November is a time to be grateful for all the beauty and community that surrounds us! Thank you to all the neighbors and volunteers who contribute so much to make our Beverly/Morgan Park what it is today!
And there is lots to be thankful for over here at BAPA! With the support of our growing membership and continued partnership with neighborhood stakeholders, we are able to be the catalyst of change that our mission calls on us to be! It is exciting to be doing so much good work. All across the board we are fulfilling our mission! To foster investment in economic development, we hosted a wildly successful tour for commercial developers at the end of October. We welcomed 35 brokers, developers and retailers on a guided tour of our community, followed by a reception with community leaders and businesspersons. BAPA’s new education committee is off and running, and they will host an open community meeting Wed., Nov. 9, 7 p.m., I the BAPA Community Room. If you are interested in quality schools, please join us!
The success of our events provides BAPA with funds needed to complete community projects. Proceeds from Bikes and Brews funded new landscaping for the parkway on the north side of the 107th Street hill. Partnering with us on the project were the 19th Ward and Beacon Therapeutic Center. The hill looks BEAUTIFUL! Nothing makes working with this organization more fulfilling than the chance to make an impact right here where we live. Every day we are seeing the positive impact that BAPA is having on Beverly/Morgan Park community – and for that we are SO THANKFUL!
The BAPA board and staff so appreciate the outpouring of support we received over the last few months in response to the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust $10,000 matching grant! We are thankful for the diverse and supportive membership committee who stepped up to help strengthen BAPA’s important role in the community. Donations have exceeded the match and we thrilled about all the work we will be able to accomplish through this opportunity. THANK YOU!
As my grandmother would say, “There is no grass growing under our feet. “ In addition to all our work out in the community, the BAPA staff has been hard at work planning all kinds of fun for the coming weeks: MORE tree plantings through Openlands, our 2nd annual Tap Into BAPA pub crawl on Nov. 12 and our first annual Holliday Cookie Crawl on Dec. 3. Please look for details in this issue of The Villager! We are thankful for all support from the bar owners on Western for Tap into BAPA and to the local bakers and businesses participating in the Cookie Crawl – both events are sure to be lots of FUN!
All the Best,
Margot
