The perfect blend of culture and politics.
The Give A Sh*t program works to inspire young people in Chicago to vote and become powerful agents of transformational change by developing a unified narrative and distributing that narrative in a way that is engaging, fun, and authentic.
Join the Creative Collective
Want to join the Chicago Votes Give a Sh*t Creative Collective? Sign up at the link below!
Give A Sh*t Collective
Chicago Votes has integrated a creative network, the “Give A Sh*t Collective” to operate as a hub for creatives to rethink how we engage young Chicagoans in the political process. The Collective is made up of a diverse set of young creatives in Chicago.
Sh*t Talks
Sh*t Talks are candid conversations with influential Chicagoans about issues young people care about. They uplift and center the voices of young Black and Brown Chicagoans, and provide viewers and listeners with opportunities to take civic action around issues.
Sh*t Talkin’ Central
Sh*t Talkin’ Central is an online hub for blog posts, video content, trainings, and more. It’s a space where young people can share their authentic voice and talk some sh*t about things that matter to them.
The G.A.S. Station
Chicago Votes is excited to launch our newest project, the Give A Sh*t (G.A.S.) Station. This is your one-stop-shop for all Chicago Votes swag.
Watch our Virtual Give A Sh*t Happy Hour: Artist Showcase
Give A Sh*t Gives Back
We–young Black and Brown people–are invested in our communities and being the change we want to see. Give A Sh*t Gives Back is one way we do that. We support young creatives in their mutual aid efforts throughout the city. Meet the crew!
Project Hardknock
Project HardKnock began in 2018 as a one-time Holiday drive for individuals experiencing homelessness in Chicago. However, due to the overwhelming amount of support and contributions from the community, as well as the unexpected social media following and spotlight it gained, they have been able to establish an annual tradition and a consistent volunteer database.
In light of the Orgs success, Project HardKnocks has now shifted from only targeting people without homes to aiding all members of the underprivileged community (Children, Students, Low income families, Small Black/Brown Businesses, etc.), and has also implemented a volunteer outsourcing service available to assist and partner with any community project in the Chicagoland area in need of a like minded unit for legwork and/or planning the event at hand.
South Side Clean Up
Southside Cleanup is a black and brown youth-led initiative aiming to clean up the Southside of Chicago created by Kierra Wooden. The goal of Southside Cleanup is not to just simply clean the debris and trash off of our streets, but to benefit our communities with a plethora of resources. Southside Cleanup aims to feed our own communities in addition to providing necessities such as cleaning, and sanitation supplies as we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, and connecting with people on the Southside to figure out the next steps to elevate our communities. Kierra came up with the idea on Sunday evening of May 31st and didn’t know that it would attract this much attention overnight; the first event took place on June 3rd, and it was a major success. Gaining social media success, she even caught the eye of the Obama Foundation who donated a bunch of cleaning supplies to the first cleanup. Kierra with the help of over a hundred volunteers was able to clean up, donate food, and cleaning supplies from Roseland all the way down to 35th.
SuperGang
Founded in 2020 , The SuperGang, an outgrowth of The SuperGroup, is a youth led organization that currently builds community on the south side of Chicago. Looking to expand its impact, the SuperGang seeks to offer social supports (food, clothing, hygiene products, youth development programming, etc) and use the Arts to engage community members across the age spectrum
The Clean Up Coalition
Inspired by South Side Clean Up, The CleanUp Coalition is a coalition of youth and artist led organizations who dedicate a single day of every month to do one big collaborative environmental direct action. The CleanUp Coalition began when DJ Evie the Cool (Evie Thompson) and Brian X came together to think of ways to intentionally target street pollution in disenfranchised black and brown communities. By the end of 2021 the coalition’s goal is to collect 1,000 bags of street pollution from the communities and there are around 350 to date!