NORTH LAWNDALE NEWS - STRATEGIC HUMAN SERVICES - Page 10 of 23 - Providing Information on Resources that Improve the Lifestyle of Individuals and Families

The M.W. Celestial Grand Lodge and I.A.T.I.A. Tabernacle Grand Chapter O.E.S. in partnership with Faith Community Baptist Church Back to School Event

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“Are y’all ready for school, alright come and get your book bags 5^thgraders,” was the call shouted by the DJ for youth to get in line for book bags filled with school supplies for each grade through high school. Invited by Grandmaster Willie Black, North Lawndale Community News (NLCN) came out to cover the event held on Saturday, August 26.

The event was a success with the help of volunteers from the M.W. Celestial Grand Lodge, where M.W. stands for Most Worshipful, the I.A.T.I.A. Tabernacle Grand Chapter of the Order of Eastern Stars, where I.A.T.I.A stands for I Am that I Am (the female counterparts of the Masons), and partnering with Faith Community Baptist church with Deacon Reginald Sanders, and Spirit of Truth with Paster Rev Robert Patterson, along with other church and community volunteers.

The event was well attended by youth and community on the streetway of St. Louis and Flournoy. Grandmaster Black commented, “the community came out to help cleanup and setup for the event. In an area, sometimes populated by drug dealing and gangs, it was peaceful and good to see generations, young and old together enjoying the outside and each other without the cloud of gangs and drug dealing hovering in their site.

The group has been sponsoring this event for eight years with the help of people like former Ald Chandler and now Ald. Michael Scott, Jr. In addition to the book bags, food was provided which included hot dogs, ice cream, chips, and pop. There was also a clothing giveaway and HIV screening inside Faith Community Baptist Church.

The M.W. Celestial Grand Lodge is located at 616 S. Saint Louis Ave, Faith Community Baptist Church is located at 3456 W. Flournoy St., and Spirit of Truth Baptist Church is located at 3447 W. Harrison St. For more information contact Grandmaster Willie Black at 708-752-5785.

Cinemas Entertainment, set to reopen 10 Screen Theater In Lawndale

After its multi-million-dollar upgrade, the new theater to employ more than 35 from local community

Cinemas Entertainment, a movie theater ownership and management company based in Chicago, is set to open on September 9, its newest venue located in Chicago’s Lawndale community. Located at 3330 W. Roosevelt Road (Roosevelt & Homan), Cinemas Entertainment 10 is a ten-screen theater that will show major studio new release movies and relevant independent films. “We have updated the entire facility which was already in good shape when we moved in,” stated Henry Leong, president and CEO of Cinemas Entertainment. “Most notably, we have installed new, state-of-the-art projectors for each of the ten screens along with new, advanced sound systems.”

The theater was built less than 20 years ago and it sits immediately in the Lawndale Plaza Shopping Center. Cinemas Entertainment has already hired more than two dozen employees from the local community and training is underway. “We are very pleased to restore this facility for the Lawndale community,” stated John Nguyen, general manager of Cinemas Entertainment. “The Ward office, local churches and community groups have been a great help. We are excited to create a viable destination in Lawndale and to do that with Lawndale talent.”

The 10 theater location was formerly called Ice Theaters and owned by Donzell and Lisa Starks, who beat out basketball fame and retired NBA star Magic Johnson in 1997 for city subsidies to build new movie theaters in minority neighborhoods, including the one in Lawndale. After Ice Theaters financial difficulties, closing, and reopening in 2011, the Lawndale movie theater closed again in 2013 until now, under the new ownership of Cinemas Entertainment.