Meet Jacquelyn Eadie | Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jacquelyn Eadie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jacquelyn, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind our success and the success of our brand is that we keep our community at the forefront. We have 6 areas of focus with Project Increase and each one addresses a direct need of the community the success of the brand is just a byproduct of our passion for the work

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
So I founded Project Increase in April of 2015. I was living with my sister at the time, in between jobs, and was just unsure of my personal and professional future. One day I was at home during the day and noticed that there were a lot of people home as well during the day and my sister told me that many people were out of work where we lived but that since we lived in an affordable housing area, the rent was really low and that may not have motivated some people to change their financial situation. So that got me to thinking about how can I go about not only addressing the need but helping people who were experiencing financial hardships due to no fault of their own but that they were responding to a system that keeps them bound. So with the educational and professional background that I had, I started Project Increase and began having community conversations with residents that were directly impacted by poverty and introduce them to resources that would change their overall quality of life. Was it easy? No, because we had to combat a mindset that existed in the community as well as the people in areas of power that perpetuated the current state of the community.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to Hyde Park. It is a neighborhood in Chicago, not too far from where I live that has walkable shops and restaurants. It is also very close to the Chicago lakefront and beaches that lead into downtown Chicago.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
So a few people keep me grounded and encouraged in the work. Etoy Johnson, Diane Shelton, Tyra Owens, Camellia Hill, and my Pastors, Apostle Kevin and Pastor Deirdre Cunningham.

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