Gina Ramirez, the founder and CEO of Party Per Purpose, discusses her non-profit organization and the need for a teen center in her Southwest side neighborhood.
By Rocio Villaseñor
Portrait of Gina Ramirez (Photo by Samantha Cabrera Friend)
Twenty-one years ago, Gina Ramirez and her mother moved from Bridgeport to Brighton Park in search of an affordable home. Eventually, they settled into the neighborhood and Ramirez, spent idyllic summers biking outside and at friends’ houses. However, as an adult, Ramirez, 27, grew to see that there should be more resources for the youth, especially teenagers, to create positive change in Brighton Park.
So Ramirez decided to start a teen center in Brighton Park that will provide programs such as suicide prevention, anti-bullying intervention and tutoring paired with after school activities like choir, dancing and art.
Now, she is fundraising to open the center through her own nonprofit Party Per Purpose. While she is concerned about rising rents in the neighborhood, she’s still determined to eventually open a teen center. “I don’t care how much it takes, how long it takes, it’s going to happen.” We sat down with Ramirez to discuss what it was like growing up in Brighton Park and her vision for empowering youth in the neighborhood.
Where did the idea of Party Per Purpose come from?
Gina Ramirez: My goal is to just help the youth and expose them to new opportunities. After leaving my job at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in 2016, I was looking for more positive opportunities to work with youth instead of locking them up or putting them in mental health hospitals. I believe that many young people just need mentorship, guidance and people that care. So, I decided to start my own non-profit in June 2017, and that’s when I started Party Per Purpose to fundraise for Brighton Park’s first teen center.
Why a teen center?
G.R.: In sixth grade, I visited a school in McKinley Park where everybody would go to the local church’s gymnasium after school because there was a teen center with break dancing, hip-hop, graffiti, art, games and homework help. It was something that I had never seen before. So, growing up I always remembered that.
Now that I am older, I’m trying to bring resources to my community. It is hard to get youth involved in anything if there is nothing for them. There’s a generational barrier, too. Mexican families come here without knowing English and then their children grow up learning nothing but English. That is why I want to stay focused on the teens and make it a community center for them only. I mean, the parents are more than welcome to be involved, and I would highly recommend that, but the goal is specifically to serve teenagers, 13 to 19 years old.
Which programs will this teen center offer the community?
G.R.: I want to offer suicide prevention, gang intervention, drug awareness, anti-bullying help, tutoring, mentoring, plus life skills like learning how to do their taxes and job preparation skills such as mock interviews, resumes and interview clothes. I also want to incorporate art, music and just expose them to different parts of the city.
How much money needs to be raised?
G.R.: [laughs] There has to be a lot of money raised. Building the building myself from scratch would cost a million dollars while finding a building here in Brighton Park and renovating it might cost like half of that, $500,000. I’ve raised like $10,000 [which we have used to host larger fundraisers] like buying the bouncy houses, piñatas, candies, book bags, school supplies, paying off DJs and paying people to have these events.
Party Per Purpose recently held its third annual back-to-school event. Can you tell me more about these back to school events?
G.R.: When I first started Party Per Purpose, I had to get in a mode to build relationships and a reputation in the neighborhood. I started by giving donations of clothes and shoes to the community events, as well as networking and just building my name the first year in 2017.
The back-to-school events happen at my block party. We donate book bags filled with school supplies and give them to the youth. There’s food, drinks, music, games, people with resources talking to the community as well as bouncy houses, clowns doing face painting and balloons. It is like a festival, something that my block is not used to.
How does the community feel about these back-to-school events that Party Per Purpose hosts?
G.R.: It’s good feedback. I’ve received donations the day of because people see that I am doing something. They say, “Here’s some money” or “Here’s this, I bought some Little Caesars pizza for the kids.”
There are people who don’t think that it is necessary, or who don’t really care for it. That’s okay because it is not about them. I was not going to focus on what the parents want or what the parents thought, or what somebody else thought. It is about the kids getting something different.
Are there any future events planned for Party Per Purpose?
G.R.: Yes, I am working on getting a program started in Brighton Park at Thomas Kelly College Prep. Most likely it will be at the Brighton Park Chicago Public Library branch since they have available space. We are also in the process of writing a proposal for the monthly support group for young teenage girls. I want it to be an open discussion between each other where I can be a mentor and give them guidance.
If you want to support or learn more about Party Per Purpose, visit www.pppchicago.org.
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