Anne’s Haven was founded in 2016 by Janet Giangrasse as a tribute to her mother, Anne. Designed as an open space to create possibilities, strengthen connections, and empower women’s agency, Anne’s has been available to all women for all purposes. Birth and death doulas, financial planning workshops, poetry events, and the Young Artist summer camp are just the beginning of how Chicago women have utilized Anne’s.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered our outreach efforts. Although we were able to run a food depository, an infant formula drive, and a free mask program, we had to move our community events to Zoom. We also gained nonprofit status in the last year and are eager to introduce a new slate of programming to benefit all members of the Chicago community. The Pillar Program introduces opportunities to a variety of Chicago women, including students, job seekers, and the elderly, in programs that will provide them with tangible skills while instilling them with a sense of confidence and community.

Women in the Workforce will provide skills and resources to women seeking new employment, helping lower the barriers of systemic racism and misogyny with a special emphasis on those which rose as a result of the pandemic. In weekly sessions hosted as either walk-ins or by appointment, participants will have the opportunity to ask for help in any stage of the job search, from finding listings to resume writing to interview skills. Participating in a community that values women’s capacity for self-determination, participants will be given the opportunity to connect with each other and their mentors as they work to progress to the next step in their professional lives.

All of the programming will be hosted by trained volunteers sourced from local universities. Participants are therefore given the opportunity to connect with these young professionals as well as each other, expanding their networks to include women from throughout Chicago.