Hyde Park Neighborhood Club

Hyde Park Neighborhood Club (HPNC), a not-for-profit organization, provides developmentally informed childcare, academic support, and enriching activities for infants to teens of diverse backgrounds so they learn, grow, and thrive. The core values that drive our programming and long-term strategy are Inclusion, Excellence, and Community:  

Inclusion: HPNC is committed to serving children and families who reflect the racial and socioeconomic diversity of Chicago’s South Side. Through multiple types of funding and support, we bring children from all backgrounds together in meaningful ways.  

Excellence: We hire accomplished instructors to lead classes and activities in accordance with educational best practices and create learning spaces that are based on age-appropriate learning and developmental needs.   

Community: We at HPNC seek to create a supportive community among children and families from throughout the South Side enrolled in our programs.

We also provide leased space to other community youth organizations and are actively engaged in the life of the surrounding neighborhood. HPNC cosponsors neighborhood events such as the Children’s Book Fair, the 57th Street Art Fair, 4th of July Parade and Celebration, and the Southside Schools Fair.     

HPNC was founded in 1909 in response to the needs of local youth. Recognizing the challenges and dangers children could face in an early-twentieth-century urban neighborhood, community leaders banded together to create a safe place for young people to participate in productive and educational activities.  Over the past 110 years, HPNC has grown and evolved. Today it draws young people aged 0-18 from across the South Side and beyond. HPNC serves more than 900 racially and socioeconomically diverse youth who come to our programs from 32 schools and 49 zip codes.