When you think of Joe Freshgoods, more comes to mind than just his newsworthy sneakers and streetwear. The love that he has for his hometown of Chicago is evident in everything he does. From his early days with his storefront and art incubator Fat Tiger Workshop, to his collaborative work with New Balance highlighting his childhood memories on the Westside, Joe Freshgoods represents his Chicago roots in every project he puts out. But his latest effort doesn’t include any sort of product release or retail experience. Recently, Joe Freshgoods, alongside other passionate Chicagoans, started Community Goods, a 501(c)(3) that provides art education to underserved communities and the children within them.
When talking to Joe Freshgoods about Community Goods, one can hear his enthusiasm for the program through his responses. “As my career grows I’ve just been more aware of using my ‘powers’ for things other than selling products,” says Freshgoods in an exclusive interview with StockX. “Inspiring the next generation of makers leaves a mark bigger than any type of design I could ever make.”
With the school year quickly approaching, Freshgoods and his Community Goods crew ran a school drive for students from the Westside of Chicago, the same area where he grew up. Called “Right Back at Ya!”, the school drive gave away tons of backpacks, socks, sneakers, books, art supplies, pencils, and notebooks. The whole works. When asked about the importance of an event like this, Freshgoods said “we know how important it is for kids to go into the new school year with a positive outlook. I felt like if we could help families and students with not having to worry about supplies and clothes it would be a great start to the new year.” Centered on the children as it was, the event became a celebration of the larger neighborhood, incorporating the participation of Black-owned food vendors at the drive. “We wanted to not only shine a light on the kids and families that were attending but also the Black businesses in Black communities that provide and support our community everyday,” said Freshgoods.
The first “Right Back at Ya!” event took place this month on the Westside, but Joe Freshgoods has intentions of expanding this program throughout the different areas within Chicago. “I do want to touch the Southside in some way this year which opens Community Goods up to even more youth that would benefit from our services,” said Freshgoods. Eventually, Joe Freshgoods wants to bring this event outside of Chicago as well, but he says the organization has some “ learning and growing to do”. To ensure that they are fulfilling their mission of supporting inner-city communities, their goal is to “do things well and impact [their] target audience first and foremost before considering expansion.”
Despite this being their first school drive event, it looks as though it was an absolute success. And thankfully there are only bigger things to come from Community Goods to help more areas of Illinois. When learning about the upcoming events, Freshgoods informed us that they “have some amazing events coming up this year and quarter 1 of next year. We can’t wait to share. Stay tuned.”
A program like this aligns Joe Freshgoods with other great Black creators within fashion. The late Louis Vuitton creative director Virgil Abloh offered free courses on how to start a brand alongside raising $1 million for his scholarship fund focusing on young Black fashion designers. In 2020, designer and founder of Pyer Moss Kerby Jean-Raymond set aside $50K to help support minority and small women-owned creative businesses facing distress during the Covid-19 pandemic. Community Goods puts Freshgoods in the same spotlight as his creative peers, supporting the communities and foundations that have helped them during their development. And with more events to come and Freshgoods’ name becoming more influential within streetwear and sneaker culture, his organization’s impact will be even greater with time.
With the possibility of expansion on the horizon and with the buzz around upcoming events, the organization is always looking for more people eager to help. For those that want to get involved, Community Goods can be contacted via their site or through their email, [email protected].
