■ Ashley J’s Dance Center PAGE 5
FREE Vol. 39 No. 15
April 16, 2025 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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CEO Adam Alonso speaks at BUILD Chicago’s 2025 Gala at The Geraghty on April 11.
BUILD pledges resilience and resistance vs. Trump At fundraiser, CEO says millions in funding at risk due to administration’s ‘chaos and fuckery’
TODD BANNOR
By DAN HALEY Interim Editor
At a major fundraising gala, April 11, Adam Alonso, CEO of BUILD, a nonprofit working with children and teens on the West Side, opened his remarks saying it would be “tone deaf ” not to talk about the
impact of Trump administration initiatives on organizations such as his. Alonso said $4.5 million in annual federal funding is now at risk and that amount represents some 20% of BUILD’s annual budget. But in strong language he pledged that BUILD, 5100 W. Harrison St., would continue all of
its programs to assist young people in Austin and across the West Side. He said the nonprofit will not step back from its focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. BUILD has long focused on a message of growing resilience among its young See BUILD GALA on page 9
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H Habitat bit t for f Humanity breaks ground in Austin, page 8
Austin spring cleaning effort organized by Wecycle David ‘Malik’ Fleming is organizing the community effort on April 19 By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
Six years ago, David “Malik” Fleming was driving for Uber on Chicago’s North Shore. He opened a piece of gum and thought about throwing the wrapper out the window but didn’t because of how clean the neighborhood was. But when he found himself in the same situation a week later while driving near Douglass Park, Fleming tossed the gum wrapper on the street. “I was more apt to do it in my own neighborhood because it was already dirty,” Fleming previously told Austin Weekly News. So, in 2019, Fleming started Wecycle, an organization that offers environmental restoration services, snow removal and hosts an annual street cleaning event. This is the fifth year Wecycle is organizing community cleanup efforts. On April 19 at 11 a.m., community members will meet at 5922 W. Division St. to start picking up trash and sweeping debris. The cleanup will traverse through the Soul City See WECYCLE on page 7
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