About

The Green Light Movement is a nonprofit organization that works to eliminate violence through community service. We accomplish this goal through the development of various community based programs for teens and young adults. The majority of our organization’s programs are designed around hip-hop music. This is purposely done as a way of attracting people to our program and engaging them in positive activities. Through our organization’s various programs and activities we will be working to instill a since of community pride while empowering them with the resources and skills they need to become responsible and productive members of their community.  

The mission of the Green Light Movement is to provide non-violent alternative through community service. While also facilitating a cohesiveness in the city by networking and utilizing connections and resources to bring the best that Chicago has to offer into the public eye by providing a professionally run avenue for community and personal development.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, the Green Light Movement is a 501(c)(3) organization designed to use hip-hop music and community service as a way of combating violence in our community. Our goal is to offer a variety of programs that will work together to form a comprehensive network of programs and services all focused on making our community a better place to live, work and raise a family. These programs include, but are not limited to, awareness campaigns and rallies, educational programs, personal development, community service activities, and much more. Although our focus is on teens and young adults, specifically individuals between the age of 11 and 24, our programs are open to anyone in the community who would like to get involved.

Our organization’s philosophy is; to create an environment where the community’s youth push one another to progress in a non-violent way. We work to create this environment through a series of hip hop based initiatives and programs that are designed to give youth direction through creative arts, instill a since of community pride via service projects and educate our participants through mentoring and educational programs. Using hip hop and other creative arts we can inspire and motivate young men and women to contribute to their community while providing them with the discipline necessary to achieve their own dreams and aspirations.

A distinctive quality of the organization’s programming is its Founder and Executive Director, Mr. Joron Burnett. Not only is Mr. Burnett, aka JNAN, the founder of the Green Light Movement, he is also a rising star on both the local and national hip hop music scenes. In 2009, during a conversation in a local barbershop, discussing the increasing violence that has gripped his community, JNAN decided that he could use his platform as a musician, and his connections within the industry, to make a positive change in the community. It was at this time that the Green Light Movement was born.

In November of 2009 the organization was officially incorporated as a nonprofit organization, in the State of Illinois, and on Christmas Eve of that year undertook its first project, the Gift of Warmth, which is a program that works to collect and redistribute winter clothing to the homeless and individuals in need. Since that time the organization has continued the distribution of winter clothing each Christmas Eve, while also developing programs specifically targeting the youth of the community and working to provide them non-violent alternatives through community service. Over the past two years the organization had shown steady growth and fully intends to continue growing and developing new programs in the years to come.

All of the programs offered by the Green Light Movement are administered by a well-trained team of volunteers who are committed to our cause and enjoy what they do. These individuals are also dedicated to leading the organization as it grows and expands in the years to come. The organization’s Executive Director, Mr. Burnett, is well qualified for his position, having extensive experience working with young men and women as well as troubled youth. This experience is buttressed by his commitment to make positive changes in his community while eliminating senseless acts of violence.  

The Green Light Movement will strive to reach out to and serve as many at-risk youth in our community as possible. Every person is important to us. By securing staff, materials, and resources, we believe we can make a significant, positive impact on the lives of the young men and women participating in our programs. It is our goal to provide at-risk populations with a thorough foundation for future success by providing them with the opportunities, resources and skills necessary to become successful and productive members of society.