Dean Lueking’s letter in Wednesday Journal [Making good things happen in North Lawndale, Viewpoints, Oct. 31] supported the pastor’s main point, i.e. members of River Forest and Oak Park churches have been reaching out and rendering assistance to the people in North Lawndale for many years — and one of those churches is St. Luke in River Forest.
St. Luke has been working with the people of North Lawndale for over 30 years. For at least the last 10 years, the work has been carried out through the efforts of volunteers who guide and tutor students who are preparing to take the GED test. Students at the TLC are people who, for many reasons, have not had the time to finish high school. Numerous St. Luke parishioners travel to The Learning Center on the West Side, one of two days a week, to work with those students.
The setting at The Learning Center provides an environment where relationships between tutors and students can form and grow. This includes free lunches and breakfasts.
Just as the Grace-Harmony program, mentioned by Dean Lueking, provides food for the body, the assistance at The Learning Center provides food for the mind — and critical skills that provide the chance to gain employment.
For more information on The Learning Center, see the website at tlcchicago.org
Terrance A. Norton
Board member, The Learning Center
