STREETERVILLE — My Block, My Hood, My City is inviting everyone to wear their flyest hoodie to a celebration this weekend aimed at supporting the organization’s community initiatives.
The nonprofit will host the second annual Hoodie Ball 7 p.m.- midnight Saturday at 360 Chicago, the observatory deck at 875 N. Michigan Ave., formerly the John Hancock Center.
Tickets are $75 and include an open bar, food, live entertainment and use of the buildings’ TILT experience, which allows attendees to stand in specialty glass enclaves that lean out and over the street below. Adults 21 and older can buy tickets for the celebration here.
Unlike many fundraisers, My Block, My Hood, My City’s dress code asks attendees to wear hoodies that best “express yourself,” founder Jahmal Cole said.
Attendees are welcome to use their gear to honor Black History Month, support a cause, call out their favorite sports team, represent their Greek letters and more, Cole said.
The goal is to have each hoodie serve as a “conversation starter,” Cole said. The outfit that stands out the most will win the “best hoodie” contest.
The nonprofit will also honor a local activist with the Golden Hoodie Award, Cole said.
“We do a lot of good work in the city, but we are a nonprofit with a vision that needs support,” Cole said. “We are asking people to come out, rock their hoodie vibes and donate to help us continue to do more viable work.”
Funds raised from the event will support My Block, My Hood, My City’s programs and services.
Although the nonprofit doesn’t have a dollar amount it hopes to reach Saturday, it needs the financial support to continue community initiatives like Downtown Day, food giveaways and the annual holiday lighting ceremony, which welcomes thousands of volunteers, Cole said.
When a big-box corporation like Walmart abruptly closes, My Block, My Hood, My City can step up and feed the community because of donations, Cole said.
“You can help us help more people,” Cole said. “Any amount is good. We appreciate the gifts that jingle. We’d rather have the kind that folds. But everything is all love. We’re grateful for anything we get.”
Hoodies often “get a bad rep,” and the Hoodie Ball event looks to “change the narrative,” Cole said.
The nonprofit’s signature, logo-embroidered hoodies “have been instrumental” in the its growth and citywide impact, Cole said. Even R&B megastar Usher sported the hoodie after Cole gave him one years ago.
“The Hoodie Ball is one of the most innovative nonprofit fundraisers,” Cole said. “We put on for Chicago. We couldn’t do the work without the city. We started on the block, and now we’re on the top of the Hancock.”
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