Listen: On Thanksgiving Eve and Day 17 of 50 in Meet The Need, we take a trip up to the Northwest Side of Milwaukee and Westlawn to learn about the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center. With a food pantry, health clinic, early childhood education program, after school teen opportunities, sports programs, adult education classes, employment training, and more, there's far more going on at Silver Spring Neighborhood Center than we could get to in this limited space.

So, let SSNC Executive Director Jim Bartos plant a seed with you with an introduction to their work: 

-In Milwaukee, we use coded language when talking about different parts of the city. One of the most commonly used reductions is "the Northwest Side." If you take your time and dig a little deeper, you'll find that the Northwest Side has a great deal of variance, as evidenced by its many neighborhoods and sub-communities. A great example of this is Westlawn, the family housing development served by the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center:

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-There are a number of wonderful community centers in Milwaukee that operate in the tradition of the Settlement House. Jim gives us some background on what this means:

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-Change can at times seem glacial, but if you're committed to making it happen, it is inevitable:

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-If you'd like some quality volunteer opportunities with youth, Silver Spring Neighborhood Center has a number of ways to get involved:

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This year, we ask you to adopt one or two organizations that connect with you. Want to get involved with the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center? Donate, volunteer, or check out their work yourself. And you can start with their website.