Dion’s Dream:Road to the Dream Center of Englewood

Hi! My name is Dion Dawson and I am the founder of Dion’s Chicago Dream, a non-profit organization based on Chicago’s south side in the Englewood neighborhood. Our mission is to tackle food insecurity, hunger and scarcity of resources throughout a neighborhood that has been ravaged by homelessness, unemployment, violence and an abysmal average household income. We seek to increase financial, physical and emotional stability while instilling public trust through loving interaction in the process.

Since September 11th, Dion's Chicago Dream has operated a community fridge that offers free fruits, vegetables and water to Englewood residents from Monday to Friday. With Englewood being a food desert, the access to healthy food is a constant struggle that has been addressed with Project Dream Fridge. With a daily average cost of $65, the community fridge has fed more than 1100 residents with more than 2500 pounds of healthy food. The response to and acceptance of this project has been an overwhelming showing of love, possibility and opportunity.  The inclusion GoFundMe has been vital in the establishment of this nonprofit, our inaugural activities and is critical in our ability to address the task at hand:

The Dream Center of Englewood

Dream Center of Englewood is a multi-use facility that will house operations for Dion's Chicago Dream. Dream center will house:

● Office space with bathroom

● 1 public bathroom

● Loading dock- for truck shipment deliveries

● Two separate storage places (food & non-food) to accept, house & disseminate donations

● Conference room- for business meetings and rental space

● Drive thru window- for residents pulling up

● Kitchen- fully stocked for weekly hot meals

● Photo studio fully stocked, residents only need phone/DSLR camera

● Computer/multimedia room/community room

● 3 community refrigerators in lobby (Fruits/vegetables, protein, dairy)

● Walk-in fridge

● Parking lot (3 employee parking spots, 4 public spots)

● 5 solo work pods

● Solar panels on roof 

● Two separate offices for Englewood-based businesses and nonprofits who can’t afford locations to utilize 

To  ensure that The Dream Team can continue to be effective and spread love, we need a location that can house food donations (big and small), host hot meal distribution, hold donations and serve as a pillar in a community longing for physical representation of strength.

Everyone that donates to this GoFundMe will be immortalized on a wall of heroes inside of the Dream Center. Every donor that gives more than $100 will be immortalized on the Wall of Heroes inside, as well as a signed t-shirt and letter of commendation for contribution to the center. For those who cross the $1000 threshold, an invite to the groundbreaking of the Dream Center of Englewood in addition to the aforementioned perks will be offered.

Thank you for believing in our vision. Welcome to The Dream Team, Let''s Make History!