FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/26/2016

Contact:

Nancy Ford

Nancy@wilksgrp.com

Office: 708.434.5006

Mobile: 312.415.8681

Walgreens Chief Diversity Officer Steve Pemberton to receive Mercy Housing Lakefront’s 2016 Northern Trust Inspiring Hope Award 

Chicago, IL–Mercy Housing Lakefront (MHL) today announced their commitment to doubling their supply of affordable housing in the Chicago area. The affordable housing nonprofit aims to accomplish this goal with the help of more than $300,000 in sponsorship funding committed to its Moving Forward Together event, which will take place September 28, 2016.

MHL provides service-enriched affordable housing to more than 4,000 people each year throughout its 28 properties. With the help of many generous sponsors and partners, it is currently building four new properties and assuming ownership of 20 properties from the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters. As a result, by 2017, it will have expanded service to more than 8,000 people throughout the region.

While the organization is well-known for its industry-leading real estate strategies, it provides numerous services that go beyond the provision of a home. Their Resident Services programs are designed to help residents in five areas: health and wellness, financial stability, housing stability, academia, and community involvement.

At the event, the 2016 Northern Trust Inspiring Hope Award will be presented to keynote speaker Steve Pemberton, the Global Chief Diversity Officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance. As one of America’s most inspiring executives, he brings a deep personal understanding of human differences and the human experience to his position. His extraordinary life journey, in which he started as a ward of the state of Massachusetts, has inspired audiences worldwide.

A second award, the 2016 Wintrust Partners in Innovation Award, will be presented to MHL’s partners in The Lofts on Arthington development (formerly called Sterling Park), an adaptive re-use of the historic Sears printing building in Chicago’s Homan Square community. Once complete in early 2017, this initiative will provide affordable homes and on-site educational services for nearly 600 people, including 350 kids.

The Wheaton Franciscan Sisters will also be honored at the event. They will receive the 2016 Spirit of Mercy Award, in recognition of their long-standing commitment to the provision of affordable housing, high-quality healthcare, and other vitally important services for low-income populations.

In addition to Northern Trust and Wintrust, the Moving Forward Together event received generous contributions from two Presenting Sponsors–Jack and Cheryl Neal and U.S. Bank.

“Mercy Housing Lakefront is grateful for the investments made by Northern Trust, Wintrust, Jack and Cheryl Neal, U.S. Bank, and many others. Their support makes it possible to sustain our work to create opportunities for over 8,000 people,” said Mark Angelini, President of MHL.

About Mercy Housing Lakefront

Mercy Housing Lakefront (MHL) is working to build a region where everyone has an affordable home to use as a springboard to achieve better health, economic security, and a brighter future for their kids. MHL has developed 28 affordable rental properties in Illinois and Wisconsin, enabling over 4,000 people to live in hope. By completing construction of four new buildings and assuming ownership of another housing ministry, MHL will double in scale by 2017.

MHL is a geographic business unit of Mercy Housing, Inc., one of the largest non-profit developers of affordable housing in the United States.

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