Hawthorne Community Center (HCC) has been an established organization in the Hawthorne neighborhood and the greater Near West community since 1923, serving each life stage, from youth to seniors, and providing community members with wraparound services like food, financial coaching, free tax preparation, and much more.
HCC has also been a DIP-IN partner since our program inception in 2018, first serving as an organizational connection to the Near West community and later becoming more embedded in DIP-IN as the current host organization for the Near West neighborhood community health worker.
One of the cornerstones of HCC is its commitment to youth programming from pre-K through high school, with most participants in their youth programs living in the Near West community.
In an effort to enrich their youth programs further, HCC submitted a proposal to the DIP-IN Near West steering committee in spring 2025, proposing a playground that would be built on site at HCC and serve school-aged youth. Previously, the center was using Hawthorne Park for outside recreation time, which was located a short walk off site and proved challenging in particular for younger classrooms.
The Near West steering committee approved the proposal, and prep work for the playground site started in spring 2025, with playground equipment installation completed in early fall. HCC estimates that the playground will serve between 400-470 Near West youth on an annual basis, and the center is now better able to offer outdoor play and recreation time with an on-site playground.
Over the last few years of DIP-IN, the Near West, Near Northwest, and Northeast steering committees have funded exciting programs and activities for their communities, including, nutrition education classes, a mobile bookstore, a movie night and maker’s market series, and much more.
However, over the last couple years, it’s been particularly inspiring to see the steering committees funding environmental changes that will last years in their communities, including projects like the walking trail and labyrinth in the Northeast community and the Hawthorne Community Center playground, highlighted here.
Check through the photos below to see how the area right outside Hawthorne Community Center’s doors transformed from a concrete pad to the playground it is now!
