CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
🌿Growing the Future Together
Help build a permanent home for opportunity, fresh food, and workforce training in Englewood.
This expansion will allow Growing Home to serve more neighbors, create more jobs, and strengthen community for generations to come.
IMPACT SNAPSHOT
BECAUSE OF SUPPORTERS LIKE YOU...
👇🏽Tap each card to see how your support expands impact.👇🏽
OUR CURRENT IMPACT
+
PAID WORKFORCE TRAINEES
POTENTIAL IMPACT WITH YOUR HELP
Expand program capacity BY
%
serving more participants Each year through expanded facilities and training space.
OUR CURRENT IMPACT
%
JOB PLACEMENT RATE
POTENTIAL IMPACT WITH YOUR HELP
LONG-TERM
EMPLOYMENT STABILITY
A permanent campus strengthens training, support services, and employer partnerships... helping participants not just find jobs, but keep them.
OUR CURRENT IMPACT
K+
ENGELWOOD RESIDENTS SERVED
POTENTIAL IMPACT WITH YOUR HELP
K+
ENGELWOOD RESIDENTS SERVED ANNUALLY
THROUGH EXPANDED FOOD ACCESS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
OUR CURRENT IMPACT
THOUSANDS OF POUNDS
OF ORGANIC PRODUCE DISTRIBUTED
POTENTIAL IMPACT WITH YOUR HELP
365 DAYS
OF RELIABLE, LOCAL FOOD ACCESS
expanded growing, processing, and cold storage capacity enables year-round production and broader distribution.
CAMPAIGN GOALS & PROGRESS
OUR $28M COMMITMENT TO ENGLEWOOD
WE ARE RAISING THE FINAL $5M TO COMPLETE OUR EXPANSION PROJECT
This Capital Campaign represents a long-term commitment to Englewood: One rooted in workforce development, food access, and community-led growth. The $28 million investment will fund the expansion of Growing Home’s campus, creating a permanent home for job training, sustainable agriculture, and community learning.
Every milestone reached reflects a collective belief that Englewood deserves more opportunity, more access, and more spaces where people can thrive.
A shared investment in people and possibility.
As progress grows, so does our ability to serve more neighbors, strengthen local systems, and build a future grounded in dignity and belonging. Your support helps move this vision from plan to reality. Every gift, no matter the size, propels this work forward.
Campaign progress is updated regularly. See how your support contributes to the bigger picture.
Our Vision For The Future
At Growing Home, we believe opportunity grows when people have access to meaningful work, healthy food, and a community that invests in their potential. For more than two decades, urban agriculture has been our pathway to employment, healing, and stability... rooted in Englewood and shaped by the people we serve.
Now, we are ready to grow further, together.
This Capital Campaign enables us to advance this work further. By expanding our campus, we are creating a permanent home for workforce development, sustainable food production, and community learning. This helps more neighbors build skills, strengthen their futures, and engage in the growth of their community.
This is how we grow impact: by building something lasting, together with the Englewood community.
A reimagined Growing Home campus integrating urban agriculture, training facilities, and community spaces to serve Englewood for generations.
A welcoming, community-centered campus designed to connect Englewood residents to opportunity, fresh food, and workforce training.
A rendering of the light-filled cafe where learning, food access, and community will come together, supporting skill-building, connection, and shared growth.
Rendering of a climate-controlled indoor farm designed to increase year-round food production while providing hands-on training and employment opportunities.
Expanding the Growing Home Campus
What We're Building Together
This expansion brings Growing Home’s programs together into a unified, purpose-built campus—designed to support workforce development, sustainable food production, and community learning in Englewood.
The reimagined campus will include modern training and classroom spaces, expanded growing and processing facilities, and welcoming areas for connection and education. Every element is intentionally designed to support dignity, accessibility, and long-term impact for the people and neighborhoods we serve.
CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE (TENTATIVE)
(UPDATED 2/28/26)
Growing Home Stories
Hear directly from Growing Home graduates
MEET MARIA
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
From Reentry to Radiance
Maria: From Reentry to Radiance
Maria Moon entered Growing Home Inc.’s 2016 cohort at a crossroads; she had just reentered society, was unhoused, and seeking stability. Growing Home didn’t just offer job training; we recognized her potential, created a custom role for her, and helped set her on a path to purpose.
Today, Maria is the Founder and Executive Director of Arize & Shine Life Coaching and My Shoes Reentry Global Outreach, Inc., serving justice-impacted individuals with trauma-informed, faith-based support. She also holds leadership roles with the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance and Westside Health Authority, and proudly serves on the Growing Home Alumni Board.
An advocate, organizer, and coach, Maria leads workshops inside Cook County Jail and in transitional housing programs, walking alongside others on their reentry journeys. Her advocacy helped pass the Just Housing Amendment in Cook County and support the Sealing Expansion Bill, advancing housing justice and second chances statewide.
From living in her car to becoming a homeowner and community leader, Maria’s story is one of radical transformation. Now pursuing a Master of Divinity and writing her book Healing Behind and Beyond Bars, she continues to challenge systems and uplift lives, proving that healing is not just possible, it is sacred.
Maria Moon was also the guest speaker at Growing Home’s 23rd Annual Benefit.
MEET ANNA S.
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
Growing Skills, Growing Confidence, Cultivating Purpose
Anna S: Growing Skills, Growing Confidence, Cultivating Purpose
“At Growing Home, I found out that things are possible, that you can work and do something you love.” Anna always had a passion for gardening, so when she drove past the greenhouses at Growing Home, she knew she had to learn more.
She applied, was accepted, and found more than job training, she found confidence. Facing gaps in her resume and self-doubt about whether she would be hired anywhere, Anna discovered that when you knock on doors, they do open. As a Participant Assistant and later a Farm Intern, she embraced every part of farm life, such as planting, harvesting, and watching growth unfold with time and care. She built job readiness skills, refreshed her computer knowledge, and stepped into leadership, mentoring new participants and guiding volunteer teams. Surrounded by a supportive farm and Employment Training team, Anna found herself part of something bigger, a place where people trust you, rely on you, and want you to succeed.
Since 2021, Anna has been part of the Growing Home team, continuing her work on the farm and with participants. For her, Growing Home means doing meaningful work she loves, not just because she has to, but because she believes in it.
MEET LUIS
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
From Learning The Work to Leading The Work
Luis: From Learning The Work to Leading The Work
Focus is the best word to describe Luis’ journey at Growing Home. He came to us facing housing insecurity, driven by a genuine passion for open spaces and a deep desire to learn how to grow food, not just as a personal interest, but as a way to strengthen environmental practices and support his community. From the very beginning, his goal was clear: gain the hands-on training needed to build a career in urban farming and create a more stable, sustainable income.
Luis quickly became one of our most consistent and committed participants. He showed up early, stayed late, and embraced every opportunity to expand his skills in the field, in the classroom, and alongside the farm team whenever help was needed. Quiet yet deeply attentive, he filled pages with notes and absorbed every lesson, from environmental curriculum to job readiness training, with curiosity and determination. His journey is a testament to what intentionality, consistency, and passion can achieve.
In February 2026, Luis officially joined Growing Home as a Farm Educator, a powerful next step in a future he has cultivated with focus from day one.
MEET DOMINIQUE
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
A New Chapter: Dominique’s Rise
A New Chapter: Dominique’s Rise
Dominique grew up in Auburn Gresham with big dreams and a bright future ahead, attending Southern Illinois University–Carbondale before losing her sense of direction and facing challenges that led her away from the path she once envisioned. A chance encounter with a Growing Home flyer became a turning point, opening the door to a program that helped her rediscover purpose, confidence, and possibility.
Through workforce training and supportive community, Dominique learned that her past did not define her future. She was able to acquire key skills, such as building professional skills, strengthening resilience, and reconnecting with her goals. During her time in the program, she secured an opportunity through Forrest Solutions that began as a short-term placement at the Museum of Ice Cream but quickly grew into a permanent role, where she earned recognition as “Scoop of the Month” and became a top ticket seller on her team.
Dominique’s journey reflects the power of second chances: with the right support, determination, and belief in what’s possible, setbacks can become stepping stones toward lasting stability and success.
MEET MIGUEL
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
“Growing Home became a sanctuary when I needed stability, learning, and a second chance.”
MEET JOSEPHINE
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
“After struggling with addiction for years, Growing Home helped me build stability, confidence, and a future.”
MEET ANGELA
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
Certified, Determined, and Taking Flight
Angela: Certified, Determined, and Taking Flight
When Angela joined our A+ IT Training Program, she brought heart, grit, and unwavering determination. A grandmother and dedicated job seeker, she balanced early mornings caring for her grandchild with late nights studying and submitting applications, using every spare moment to move closer to her goal.
Today, Angela holds her CompTIA A+ certification and has launched her career in IT support, recently landing a role with United Airlines. Her journey is a powerful reminder that it is never too late to pursue a new dream.
As she shared on LinkedIn, “Yes, I put in the work and then some; however, I did not do this alone. I want to thank Mary Devo and Troy Thompson of Growing Home Inc. for their guidance and support.” Angela’s success reflects not only her dedication, but the strength of community behind her, and the heights that are possible with the right training, support, and belief.
MEET JENESSA
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
From Uncertain Beginnings to a Confident Career in Healthcare
Jenessa: From Uncertain Beginnings to a Confident Career in Healthcare
It’s moments like Jenessa’s that remind us why this work matters, when hard work, encouragement, and opportunity truly change a life. When she first entered our 12-week Transitional Jobs Program, Jenessa described herself as shy and unsure of where to begin. Over time, she steadily built confidence, strengthening her workplace and communication skills and stepping beyond her comfort zone. With support from our team and her peers, she began to see her own potential and discovered a passion for helping others through healthcare.
After completing the Job Readiness Program, Jenessa was referred to Blessings Healthcare Career Academy, where she qualified for free tuition in the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program. Meeting the age requirement and successfully passing her TABE assessments in reading and math, she enrolled in the six-week training and quickly distinguished herself, finishing in the top three of her class.
Today, Jenessa is proudly employed as a CNA at Belhaven Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. From a quiet and uncertain young woman to a confident, career-ready healthcare professional, her journey is a powerful example of what’s possible when perseverance meets opportunity and support.
MEET BEN
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
From Determination to Achievement
Ben: From Determination to Achievement
When Ben moved to Chicago from San Francisco to help his sister care for their elderly mother, he didn’t expect finding work to be his greatest challenge. Despite holding a bachelor’s degree, a gap in his employment history made his job search difficult, until he found Growing Home.
From his very first Information Session, Ben stood out. Quiet yet steady, he attended the first cohort of 2025 and followed up weekly to secure his place, demonstrating determination long before the program began. Cohort 1 is no small undertaking; he braved winter weather while preparing the farm for the growing season, but Ben showed up every day ready to work, learn, and contribute. His consistency and focus quickly set him apart.
After completing the Employment Training Program, Ben transitioned directly into our IT Training Program, becoming one of the few participants to complete both. Today, he proudly holds his CompTIA A+ certification and is preparing for his Security+ exam.
Ben’s connection to Growing Home didn’t end at graduation. He continues to volunteer with Nourishing Hope’s monthly food distributions, attended the Growing Home Gala with his sister, and remains engaged by supporting IT graduations and visiting partners like PCs for People Chicago.
His journey is a powerful reminder that with perseverance, humility, and community, new beginnings are always possible.
MEET JAYNA
GRADUATE OF GROWING HOME
Rooted in Healing, Rising in Leadership
Jayna: Rooted in Healing, Rising in Leadership
Before coming to Growing Home, Jayna stepped away from school and work to focus on her mental and physical health. When she felt ready to return, she discovered our 12-week Employment Training Program at a job fair in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood and was immediately drawn to its blend of urban farming and workforce development.
From the start, Jayna’s passion for social justice and environmental advocacy stood out. On the farm, she embraced hands-on learning; in the classroom, she connected deeply with the Community Organizing & Leadership curriculum, reflecting that “personal power becomes people power when each individual first recognizes their own agency.”
With coaching and encouragement from our team, Jayna applied for a role she initially doubted she was qualified for and got the job. Today, as an Urban Agriculture Plan Organizer, she leads outreach and community engagement efforts across Chicago, blending grassroots organizing with her commitment to environmental justice.