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Biking Toward the Future
BLACKSTONE BICYCLE WORKS
For youths, the bicycle offers an accessible and exciting entrypoint into exploring their community and gaining independence. For Blackstone Bicycle Works (BBW), the bicycle also presents an opportunity to open young minds to their own capabilities and possibilities for their futures.
This summer, Blackstone Bicycle Works hosted three 2-week free summer camps in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood, offering 39 participants ages 9-18 a rich, immersive experience centered around the bicycle.
Aprons donned and tools in their hands, participants learned the many parts of a bike, mastered the flat fix, and adjusted brakes, developing problem solving and patience, while building confidence in their abilities. ”This was great,” one parent exclaimed. “It got her out of her comfort zone and off her phone!”
On a field trip to the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, youth engaged in interactive workshops, gaining a basic understanding of AI principles and robotics, fueling their curiosity about the intersection of technology and problem-solving.
A visit to the 61st Street Farmers Market garden introduced campers to fresh produce through tastings and hands-on gardening experiences. They learned how to prepare healthy snacks to fuel them on their rides. One youth shared, “I didn’t think I’d like new foods, but now I love trying different things!”
Art activities allowed participants to express their creativity, including decorating and personalizing their own bicycle helmet, so crucial for cycling safety.
Encouraging our high schoolers to begin to envision their future, BBW also provided career and college counseling, where they explored potential educational paths and learned about BBW-sponsored college and vocational school scholarships.
By the end of their summer camp experience, participants had discovered that the bike can take them to places and a future they had not previously imagined.
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LINK UP ILLINOIS ON THE ROAD: Listening and Learning from Communities
This summer, the Link Up Illinois team hit the road to connect with the heart of our program— the communities we serve. We visited 40+ farmers markets and over a dozen stores across Illinois that implement our Link Match program, listening to the stories of vendors, staff, and Link customers.
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MARKET'S EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES: Open the Door to Community Connection
The 61st Street Farmers Market has made significant strides in promoting a healthy food culture within the Jackson Park Terrace (JPT) community, a nearby subsidized housing development.
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BLACKSTONE BICYCLE WORKS: Getting the Community into Gear
Since opening its doors in August 2023, Blackstone Bicycle Works (BBW) has made a significant impact on Chicago's South Side, serving nearly 500 community members and over 400 youth through its cycling programs.
Note from the Executive Director
Dear friend,
Recent scientific thinking has altered our understanding of species evolution. It was previously understood that the unit of evolution is the individual, struggling to survive, pulling herself up by her proverbial bootstraps. We now recognize that we evolve in relation; nature selects relationships, not individuals. We now recognize that someone or something is providing those bootstraps—and boots.
Experimental Station has always understood that, as an organization, a society, a species, and a planet, we have the best chances of surviving and thriving when we relate symbiotically. Whether in relation to our neighbors or our environment, we contribute to one another’s survival and wellbeing when we provide mutual support.
The key to our collective future is to recognize the network of relationships to which we belong, to value our various providers of support, and to support them in return. As Experimental Station works to improve the quality of life on Chicago’s south side and in communities across Illinois, we are profoundly grateful to everyone who has contributed to our efforts. As you read on, we hope that you recognize the value of the benefits we bring to our community and are moved to support our work, evolving and thriving with us!
Sincerely,
Connie Spreen
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Leila’s Bike Journey at Blackstone Bicycle Works
“I can ride a bike!” Leila proudly exclaimed as she rode by herself for the first time.
Leila is an outgoing, 16-year-old participant in Blackstone Bicycle Works’ (BBW) Earn-A-Bike summer camp. While many camp participants arrived with some riding experience, Leila didn’t know how to ride a bike. However, the teen challenged herself and could bike within five days of the camp.
“My first time riding a bike was difficult. I wanted to jump right into pedaling. It didn’t work. Bruce [one of the BBW instructors] taught me how to,” Leila shared.
Beyond mastering cycling and learning about bikes, biking has been a way for her to build up her stamina. As she explores her biking pace and speed and understands how to plan her bike ride, she says, “it puts me in a good mindset.”
Eager to learn more about bikes, Leila has been coming back to BBW to attend community classes and bike rides, even volunteering during BBW’s Open Shop to assist patrons in fixing their bikes.
This is the kind of passion that Blackstone Bicycle Works hopes to ignite—a love of both cycling and community involvement.
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A Fruitful Partnership: Experiential Learning at Carnegie Elementary
Ms. Kinds, an educator with over 30 years of experience and a key partner in the 61st Street Farmers Market’s healthy eating and gardening classes, is a testament to a successful partnership between the Market and CPS’ Andrew Carnegie Elementary School.
The Market provides grades 2-5 Carnegie students with in-school gardening, healthy eating, and cooking classes throughout the academic year, teaching the students about a plant’s growing cycle, and how to grow and prepare fresh food.
According to Ms. Kinds, Carnegie School would not be able to offer this type of programming without the partnership with the Market, since “we don’t have extra funds for this. It’s a rare opportunity.” She added, “everything they learn hits a core competency requirement in our CPS required learnings. [...] I am so grateful for it.”
The experiential curriculum the Market offers Carnegie students, Ms. Kinds explains, “makes an impact on our kids in a way other things do not: it gives students and teachers an opportunity to step outside the classroom.” Her students were so excited to go outside to the hoop house garden, “they couldn’t control their enthusiasm for the class!”
The most exciting aspect of this partnership is the opportunity to spark a child’s curiosity in discovering the world around them. “Any little experience could lead to [...] something in the future. You never know what a child will do with that experience,” said Ms. Kinds.
In the coming year, the Market hopes to continue to expand its healthy eating and gardening offerings at Carnegie School, adding K-1 classes as well. “With further resources, there is great opportunity for growth,” said Emily Cross, the 61st Street Farmers Market Senior Manager.
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Building Stronger Communities, One Store at a Time
LINK UP ILLINOIS
The Link Up Illinois program is a beacon of hope in underserved communities. Initially launched by Experimental Station in 2011, Link Up Illinois expanded into brick-and-mortar stores in 2017. Our program has transformed participating stores into more than just places to buy groceries: they have become community hubs, fostering engagement, promoting health initiatives, and creating a sense of belonging.
In the past year alone, Link Up Illinois has experienced remarkable growth, expanding Link Match from 11 stores to 22. Through Link Match, we offer SNAP recipients dollar-for-dollar matching vouchers for fresh fruits and vegetables. This not only increases their purchasing power but also encourages healthier choices.
In September, the Link Up Illinois team conducted comprehensive Link Match training sessions to support the reopening of a Save A Lot grocery store. This store is a vital access point for groceries in the West Garfield Park Community.
One customer, recognizing the significance of the Link Match program at this location, expressed enthusiasm about the value it brings to the community, stating, “I’m so excited, I’m going to tell all my neighbors!
The 61st Street Farmers Market continues to break its own records with increased customer attendance, more vendor offerings, and higher sales for vendors.
Among these achievements, what stands out is the consistent increase in attendance of Link customers and Link Match usage at the Market, supporting the Market’s 30+ local vendors.
As a result of the Market’s ongoing outreach efforts, more Link recipients are able to find the Market and use their Link Match vouchers to shop for fresh produce. By week 18 of the Market’s 2024 season, the Market had assisted 492 individual Link customers, of which 130 were new.
Link customers’ support has made a sizable impact on farmer sales. According to Maureena from Lane’s End Farm, Link Match makes up “a big portion of our sales at the Market. [...] The customers we get with Link are typically some of our most passionate customers because they have access to produce they wouldn’t normally have. We love our Link customers.”
For many families, Link Match is their means of accessing fresh food. Faye, a regular at the Market, shared, “I love that we could use Link Match because it really helps us. Like today, we just have $10 left in our SNAP but we are able to match $10. So, now I have [an additional] $10 for fruits and vegetables.”
Thanks to Link and Link Match, the Market’s growing number of Link customers are rebuilding the connections between consumers and the source of their food, providing support to local farmers, while being nourished by them.
Meeting the Market’s Mission to Support Our Neighbors
City Markets Taking Root
Experimental Station has played a crucial role in the City’s farmers market program, providing SNAP and Link Match service for as many as 22 City-run markets each year. This service is fundamental to making farmers markets accessible to low-income Chicagoans. What began as a short-term project grew into a 15-year commitment to support markets in neighborhoods with limited food access.
In 2024, after years of providing SNAP support and cultivating relationships with local partners, Experimental Station is excited to see a number of these markets taking root in their communities. This year, for the first time, local community-based organizations are themselves providing SNAP service at the Austin, Bronzeville, Little Village, and Pullman markets, with Experimental Station providing training, technical assistance, and back-end administration.
Experimental Station will work further with these neighborhood partners to enable them to operate their market’s SNAP program independently in future years. This shift aligns with our long-held belief that local organizations are the best stewards of their markets, fostering growth that is deeply rooted in the community.
Experimental Station’s cultural investments include support for the arts in all its forms. In the past year, we were pleased and honored to welcome musicians, local and international visual artists, dancers and choreographers, actors, and archivists.
Cultural Events
A jam session of The Portal, an artist series by Chibrations in partnership with Experimental Station. Photo credit: @seedlynn
Work in Progress Showings: A gathering of artists in the disability community by High Concept Labs
ArtsLink Assembly by CEC Artslink
Sounds Like Jazz, an Experimental Station fundraiser
A conversation with Chicago activists in relation to Court Theater’s production of Antigone.
Business Incubation Residents
Since 2006, Experimental Station has provided discounted long-term rental space and resources to mission-aligned local businesses and journalism institutions.
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Invisible Institute
The Invisible Institute is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism production company. They work to enhance the capacity of citizens to hold public institutions accountable.
The Invisible Institute is a former program of Experimental Station.
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South Side Weekly
The South Side Weekly is a nonprofit newsprint magazine dedicated to supporting cultural and civic engagement on the South Side, and to providing educational opportunities for developing journalists, writers, and artists. In 2022, South Side Weekly merged with the Hyde Park Herald, who are now sharing our space.
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Build Coffee
Build Coffee is a coffee shop in the Experimental Station. Surrounded by community-driven nonprofits and civic journalism projects, Build is designed as a hub of great coffee and radical collaboration.
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Civic Projects
Civic Projects, a woman and minority-owned firm, is a hybrid architecture practice in Chicago. Their work includes architecture as well as community and strategic planning, grant writing, and small-scale revitalization.
For the full list of
Grants, Individual Donors, and Foundation Support
November 2023 - October 2024