William Blair and its community partner YWCA-Metropolitan Chicago celebrated the multiculture and entrepreneurship of Chicago-area neighborhoods during the city’s largest block party held over the July 16-17 weekend.
Now in its 17th year, the Silver Room Block Party attracted thousands of guests and connected communities through music, art, food, business, services, and more. The festival outgrew its home in Hyde Park and moved to Oakwood Beach in 2022, following a hiatus due to the pandemic.
William Blair and YWCA teamed up to sponsor an informational booth, with colleagues from both organizations volunteering their time to raise awareness of the services and opportunities YWCA offers Chicago residents.
“At a time when our communities have a variety of needs like housing, jobs, mental health support, and youth programming, the YWCA can help and this festival helped us spread the word,” said Molly Silverman, chief strategic engagement officer for YWCA. “We were also thrilled to tell the story of how our partnership with William Blair is helping advance Black women entrepreneurs through our Breedlove Entrepreneurship Center.”
Toya Garcia-Bradow, William Blair inclusion and diversity strategist, added: “Through our community partnership with YWCA-Metropolitan Chicago and participation at the block party, we increased our understanding of the gaps we need to fill to create economic empowerment for entrepreneurial businesses and families in neighborhoods that have been traditionally ignored.”
Breedlove, launched in 2021, is an important component of YWCA’s larger economic empowerment initiative to close the racial wealth gap, focused on supporting Black women entrepreneurs. They are among the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. but the least likely to get funded.
Breedlove’s second cohort of seven Chicago-area women entrepreneurs graduated in May after completing a 10-week business accelerator program.
“Empowering women and eliminating racism are at the heart of the YWCA mission, and the Breedlove Center creates opportunities for Black female entrepreneurs to do that through small-business ownership,” said Paige LaCour with William Blair’s community engagement team. “ William Blair is honored to support the women who are building successful businesses along with generational health and wealth for themselves and their communities.”