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Welcome
to SPRED! |
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As
you drive down Lowe Avenue, a quiet residential street on Chicago's
south side, there is nothing particularly notable about the beige
building on the corner of 30th Street. Located in the heart
of Bridgeport, a middle-class, long- established neighborhood,
this unassuming brick structure houses the quietly dynamic force
that has done much to improve the spiritual lives of many children,
teens, and adults with learning disabilities. |
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Fittingly,
a rustic St. Francis with arms outstretched in welcome greets
each visitor to the SPRED Center near its entrance. He
is one of Father Jim McCarthy's many artistic creations that
outwardly display the quiet, humble peace that is the hallmark
of the SPRED program. |
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Until 1973, the SPRED Center buildings
were St. John Nepomucene Parish, one of the many Catholic parishes
that dotted the close-knit neighborhood. Now the small parking
lot is filled with the volunteers' cars while they train for
their specific roles within the SPRED program. |
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