Father Michael Pfleger is a native of Chicago's south side. He went to Loyola University Chicago for his undergraduate and pursued his calling for priesthood at the University of St. Mary's of the Lake in Mundelein, IL. In 1975, Pfleger was made associate pastor and in 1981 head pastor at St. Sabina's church in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. His church was led by two principles: one was by the acts of the apostles of Jesus and the other by the inspiration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Church would be a place where people get there faith formed and put the faith into action. At St. Sabina's Pfleger has put in place several programs to help disenfranchised people in the south side communities. He has set up an employment resource center, a youth center, a senior building, a foster home and more; all of these have been truly successful. Father Pfleger knows that the problem of gang and gun violence is multi-faceted, thus he has partnered with other churches and religious groups to come together to fight for a common solution. While many people see Pfleger as an activist priest, he does it because of his faith. In his words, "I believe that you cannot call yourself a good Christian, Jew, or Muslim if you are not fighting for justice."
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Arne Duncan is the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and was the US Secretary of Education under President Obama. Duncan has created a non-profit organization for at-risk youth, as a way to stop gun violence throughout the city. To achieve this, he has been spreading a message of redemption and reconciliation to the over 3,000 men in the city who are at risk of taking a life and/or losing it.
Every month, he goes to the Cook County jail to recruit inmates, who are almost done with their sentence, and around neighborhoods to recruit young men to leave the streets and start a better life. Over two years, his organization has been able to provide 175 young men to go through intensive life-coaching programs, have good-paying jobs, and live in safer neighborhoods. He has been able to partner-up with 7 neighborhood non-profits and work with local businesses that pay $12-15/hour for a full-time job. For Duncan, this is a truly rewarding and fulfilling mission.[1] [1] https://www.chicagobusiness.com/nonprofits-philanthropy/arne-duncans-mission-stopping-gun-violence |
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