Our Impact

At Beacon Place we inspire and guide the families in our community toward a brighter tomorrow.

Feeding:

You can’t learn and change if you are hungry, so nutritious meals are a part of all Beacon Place programs.

       In 2018 we provided

  •          18,00 meals
  •          2,600 pounds of fresh fruits and                     vegetables
  •          all core programs offer a nutritious               meal or snack

Enriching:

Creating a brighter future starts with enriching lives today. Our programs bring support, enrichment and new experiences to families in our community.

In 2018 we provided

  •          more than 17,700 hours of
  •          more than 1,000 hours of adult enrichment
  •          10 family and community wide events

Supporting:

Volunteers make it all happen. We are neighbors helping neighbors working together for a brighter tomorrow.

In 2018

  •          394 volunteers provided over 10,200 hours of service

The challenges facing our Beacon Place community are steep. Hunger, lack of educational success, unemployment, crime, and health issues plague our families and make it difficult for them to see a brighter path forward.

Hunger & Lack of Nutritional Education

  • 100 percent of our youngest Beacon Place neighbors rely on free breakfast and lunch during the school year.
  • Nearly 70% percent of adults and more than 20 percent of children in our community are considered obese or overweight because of lack of nutrition.
  • In Lake County, Illinois, nearly 10% percent of residents are considered to be food insecure, and nearly 20% percent of them are children. The Beacon Place neighborhood is considered to be a food desert with the no grocery store or healthy food options nearby.

Low income, Unemployment, Limited access to Technology

  • Unemployment in Waukegan is currently near 10 percent, compared to 5 percent in the state of Illinois overall. 
  • More than 50% of the families in our community live at or below income levels of approximately $44,500 for a family of 4, and of that number 25% live on income of less than $26,750 for a family of 4.
  • Less than 50% of the families in our community have internet service, a laptop, computer, or other tech device at home other than a cell phone.

Academic Challenges, Language and cultural barriers

  • Only 5% of the students in the Beacon Place neighborhood school, and 20% in the total district met state standards for grade levels testing through the PARCC tests
  • English is not spoken in 75 percent of the homes in the Beacon Place neighborhood, creating challenges for children and adults seeking employment.
  • Nearly 30 percent of the population of Waukegan have less than a high school education.

Beacon Place provides the guidance, resources and support in our targeted focus areas of food, nutrition and overall health, academic support for kids and adults, and the development of broader life skills using the integration of technology access and proficiency. But it is really the kids and adults in our neighborhood that truly bring about the transformation – for themselves, for their families and for their community.