Pecora a Natural Fit for Silver Cross Hospital’s Healthy Community Commission

Kathy Pecora was delighted when she was asked to consider joining the Silver Cross Hospital Healthy Community Commission Board of Directors.

The Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission is a community-based organization formed in 2008, committed to creating a stronger, healthier future by providing support for education, workforce development training and enrichment activities for youth, to improve the quality of life for the east side Joliet community.

Pecora’s experience as Program Manager & We WILL Grow Community Garden Coordinator for the Will County Land Use Department Community Development Division often had her working together with Leslie Newbon, Silver Cross Manager of Marketing and Community Relations, on the Will County Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP). MAPP assesses the health needs of the community and aims to develop, implement and evaluate initiatives to promote the highest quality of life for all residents.

Pecora had also worked with Debra Upshaw, President of the National Hookup of Black Women of Joliet, also a member of the HCC Board.

“The HCC was looking for new members, and Debra recommended that Leslie ask me. With the county, I had worked with overseeing Community Development Block Grants and nutrition programs in the same areas of Joliet that HCC serves,” Pecora explained.

Since 2008, the HCC has awarded over $3.5 million in educational scholarships, workforce development, and quality-of-life grants to numerous east-side Joliet residents and organizations such as: After the Peanut Foundation; Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana; Harvey Brooks Foundation; Northern Illinois Food Bank; Senior Services of Will County; Spanish Community Center; and the Warren-Sharpe Community Center.

With a passion for making sure those who are marginalized and underrepresented get their due, Pecora reviewed those applications very carefully from all aspects.

“I can tell how important these grants are to the groups who take the time to fill out the application and tell us how they’re going to help the community,” she added. “Working with some of these groups for years, and managing grants for the county, my involvement with the HCC is a really good fit.”

To contact the Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission, please email Leslie Newbon, Manager of Marketing & Community Relations, at lnewbon@silvercross.org