OVERVIEW
Agape Connection, Inc. (Agape) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) community-based organization formed in 1991 as an Illinois corporation. The organization functions as a Community Development Corporation
and is governed by a Board of Directors.
Agape seeks to respond to the needs of the community in Aurora as well as the entire West Suburban Chicago area. Our intent and common goal in Agape Connection’s various initiatives are to make significant and lasting contributions toward improving the quality of life for the residents of Aurora and its surrounding communities.
Our programming efforts fulfill our vision which is to increase awareness, impart cultural pride, enhance self-sufficiency and empower members of the community through training , counseling, and programs for children, youth and adults.
PROJECTS
We believe that the stability of our community lies in the strength of the individual, the family and the community, thereby allowing for the influence and control of our destiny. Our primary focus is to identify and address the needs of the diverse community in which we live, including the African American community of the Chicago-area Western Suburbs.
We strive to be an asset to our community by leveraging our collective resources toward economic, cultural, and spiritual uplift. To that end, we have implemented the following:
Academic Enrichment Programs
Academic Intervention & Tutoring
Sankofa Saturday School of History, Culture and Creativity
Fine Arts Performances
Performing Arts Workshops
Dreamers Wax Museum of African American History
MISSION
The Sankofa School of History, Culture, & Creativity is an African / African American cultural education program that was established by Agape Connection, Inc. to serve the children of the western suburbs of Chicago. Sankofa, a term that originates in West African culture, communicates our vision for the program.
Sankofa means: “It is not taboo to go and fetch that which is in danger of being forgotten.” In other words, a Sankofa way of life means that one’s past can serve as a guide for one’s present and one’s future. To know where one is going, one must first know one’s history. At the Sankofa School, children and youth are surrounded by a community of caring adults instructors and volunteers who seek to empower our youth for the future by exposing them to African and African American history, culture, and creativity and encouraging them to explore and take pride in their unique and emerging selves. In other words, we believe that our young people are valuable beyond measure and have bright futures on their horizons.
