February

#TheCOOLParty

The StreetWise Auxiliary Board kicked off our first fundraiser of the year with the annual #TheCOOLParty benefit. The event was hosted at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center (4046 W. Armitage Ave.) The night was filled with music by My Boy Elroy, Chicago Traffic Jam, and StreetWise Vendor Lindsey Slator. Multiple artists donated their work to sell, with all proceeds benefiting StreetWise.

Oscars & #VendorWeek

StreetWise celebrated #VendorWeek (February 3 - 9) with our annual Oscars edition. StreetWise vendors and friends were treated to screenings of Academy-nominated films, and got to weigh in on the buzz just ahead of the 92nd Academy Award ceremony. Many of our vendors accurately predicted who would be taking home trophies. The majority of vendors predicted a Best Actress win for Renée Zellweger ("Judy") and all of our vendors believed Joaquin Phoenix ("Joker") would take home Best Actor. Our vendors chose "Parasite" as the most loved film, but 3 vendors believed it would not take top prize because it is in a foreign language: so happy to be proven wrong!

Law @ the Margins

StreetWise collaborated with Law @ the Margins “The Right to a Home” series, with a piece about food justice in Chicago, written by Alexandria Jacobson, assisted by vendor Lee A. Holmes. Holmes and Editor-in-Chief Suzanne Hanney later collaborated on a story about veteran homelessness.