CNN

Quilen Blackwell, whose nonprofit ‘farm-to-vase’ flower shop employs at-risk youth, is CNN’s Hero of the Year

Quilen Blackwell, whose nonprofit transforms vacant lots on Chicago’s South Side into flower farms that employ at-risk young people to grow, arrange and sell the flowers, is the 2025 CNN Hero of the ...
CNN

Flowers bring beauty, life and opportunity to one Chicago neighborhood

Abandoned homes, boarded-up businesses, and vacant lots where condemned buildings once stood: These signs of urban decay are everywhere in Englewood, a community on Chicago’s South Side. It’s one of ...