(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A South Side minister who camped out for 100 days in the Woodlawn neighborhood to raise money for a community center has come up short of his goal, but he’s not giving up.
“We’ve raised $10 million,” says Pastor Corey Brooks of New Beginnings Church on 66th and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
But his goal was to raise $35 million to build an 84,000-square-foot community center in Woodlawn. So, he’ll continue to camp out, indefinitely.
“I’m not going to come down from this roof until we get all the money to build this center, debt-free. We have $25 million to go and I’m fully committed to it.”
More than a decade ago, Brooks became national known as the “Rooftop Pastor” as he camped out on the roof of a motel property he sought to buy for a community center that could help turn the tide of violence in the area.
He envisions a community center that includes an entrepreneurial school, a trauma counseling center, three restaurants, a bank and a Christian school for young Black men who live below the poverty line.
“I want to get this center built. I want our neighborhood to change. I want the violence to stop. I want families to be brought together. I want young people to have a place where they can go to transform their lives,” Brooks said.
Pastor Brooks says some of the bigger donations have come from foundations and companies, such as Barnabas Foundation, Wintrust Bank and Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts.
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