HPIC exists by and for the Highland Park community. We are sustained by community members who volunteer, donate, and participate in HPIC events throughout the year.
Read on to hear directly from our community members about why they support HPIC through volunteering and donations.
Erika Harnett, Member and donor
Q: When did you first get involved in HPIC, and why?
I grew up in the neighborhood, living just a block from HPIC. My first memories of HPIC are walking down to it, with my parents, so they could vote. HPIC was the neighborhood polling location in the 1970s and 1980s. While they voted for actual candidates, I practiced voting, by casting my vote for George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, using a sample ballot.
Q: What inspired you to make a major donation to HPIC?
HPIC is very much part of the neighborhood, and of the neighborhood. It is very unique these days, being a neighborhood meeting place, for diverse activities and diverse people. I like that it was, and will be again, a place where people come to see local bands perform, take a yoga class, or rent, at an affordable price, for a family gathering.
Q: What’s one way you’d like to inspire others in the community to get involved with HPIC?
Your neighborhood is what you make of it. HPIC is a place, and a community, where people can build a supportive, collaborative, and resilient neighborhood.
Q: What’s one event you’d love to see happen once HPIC’s building is rebuilt?
My father enjoyed making wine, and loved the wine tasting event. I look forward to attending the first wine tasting event in the new building.
Q: What’s one event you’d love to see happen once HPIC’s building is rebuilt?
I hope people understand what a gem HPIC is. I am so appreciative of the people who came together to revive, and keep HPIC alive, and who are working so hard to ensure HPIC has another 100 years into the future.
Thank you, Erika! We are deeply grateful or your support. We hope your story serves as inspiration for others in our neighborhood to join the HPIC community.