Pastor Dollie Sherman: Building Community One Block at a Time

From transforming a couple vacant lots into thriving gardens to connecting residents with jobs, Pastor Dollie Sherman has spent decades proving that lasting change starts on the block.

For nearly five decades, Pastor Dollie Sherman has lived on Chicago’s West Side, working to rebuild something she believes many communities have lost: trust among neighbors.

What began with cookouts and school supply drives on the 600 block of Lorel Avenue in Austin has grown into a community effort focused on neighborhood beautification, youth employment and resident support.

Alongside operating a daycare business for more than 40 years, Sherman, 69, has helped organize community events, connect young people with work opportunities and turn vacant lots into community assets.

“I’ve lived in the city of Chicago for about 48 years,” Sherman said. “I’ve got two adult children, but I have helped raise several other kids that needed a house or needed somewhere to stay. I’ve been helping people for a very long time.”

Today, Sherman leads Vessels Unto Honor, the block club she helped start 14 years ago on that 600 block of Lorel, where she operates out of her home with a staff made up primarily of local volunteers. Residents on the block maintain two community gardens she founded on formerly vacant property, Pillars Come Together and the Garden of Love.

A lot of the people who were in her daycare as children come back and help with the gardens and the block club, said Sherman, who is from Tchula, Mississippi, and has several academic degrees. Sherman also serves her faith community as an associate pastor at the Progressive Life-Giving Word Cathedral.

“The pictures of how these empty spaces looked before we began to grow is night and day,” Sherman said of the two gardens. “I don’t do this by myself. We reach out to the young people, and they’ve come back to help us.”

The block club started simply as a way to bring neighbors together.

“During the summer months, when the kids would be outside playing, I started doing hot dogs and hamburgers for everybody on the block,” Sherman said. “We were just doing something to bring the people together.”

As participation grew, Sherman organized fundraising efforts, secured grants and eventually established a nonprofit to support community events, school supply drives, and neighborhood improvement projects. She credits much of the block club’s success to longtime neighbor Marty Campbell, who helped build the organization before his death several years ago.

Over time, the efforts changed how neighbors viewed both the block and one another.

“We kept going in and working with the people on the block,” Sherman said. “I kept putting on these events each year until the people started to really turn out.”

That sense of community became especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sherman delivered groceries and fresh produce to elderly residents while creating opportunities for neighbors to stay connected despite social-distancing requirements.

One event in particular stands out: a “unity lunch” in the middle of her block.

“We invited families to come sit outside and eat together while maintaining social distancing,” Sherman said. “It was phenomenal. I think that was a turning point for this block. The people started coming out.”

Today, Sherman said, the block is known for safety, cleanliness and community involvement.

“Now we have a safe and peaceful reputation, and we’ve held it for about five years now,” Sherman said.

Sherman believes one of the block club’s most important roles is helping young people find purpose and opportunity. Earlier this year, the block hosted the Center for Poverty Solutions’ inaugural career fair, connecting hundreds of job seekers with employers.  Sherman worked to ensure a successful event despite losing a close family member just a couple days before.

“If we get our youth busy with something, I think it helps us avoid a lot of crime and vandalism,” she said. “It also helps those youth.”

Through her work with the block club, Sherman has seen firsthand the challenges many young people face.

“A lot of these youth are homeless. They’re staying with a friend, sleeping on their couch,” Sherman said. “But they’ll come here, and they’ll go back with something in their pocket after work. They can feel good about themselves.”

She hopes to create more pathways into long-term careers and skilled trades.

“I would like to have jobs for those young people that could be career jobs,” Sherman said. “Where they can work and be able to learn a trade, or even be able to go back to school to advance on the job.”

For Sherman, the work on Lorel is ultimately about building a stronger community from within.

“The block club has helped turn our block into a community,” Sherman said. “We’re not just waiting for somebody else to come along, we’re building it ourselves.”

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The work of Pastor Dollie Sherman and the Vessels Unto Honor Block Club has connected Austin residents with employment opportunities, support services, and a renewed sense of community. Residents interested in supporting the organization’s work can learn more about its upcoming projects and volunteer efforts here.

Pastor Dollie Sherman
Founder, Vessels Unto Honor block club
Austin neighborhood, Chicago