Cotter Club: Our Story
The Daniel A. Cotter Club was founded in 1963 and is located within the Julia Lathrop public housing community. The Club was later renamed in honor of Daniel A. Cotter, former CEO of TruServ Corp. and chairman of the board of Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago. The Club's members are primarily from the West Lakeview and Roscoe neighborhoods.
The Cotter Club draws many of its 850 Club members from youth who are residents of the Julia Lathrop housing development. The social problems of the Lathrop community read like a textbook sketch of the beleaguered inner city; low income households, single parent homes, high unemployment, health neglect, alcoholism and drug abuse, high truancy and drop-out rates in the schools, vandalism and gang activity. The purpose of the Cotter Club is to provide an alternative to unhealthy emulated behaviors and to create opportunities for members to grow up to be responsible, productive and caring adults.
The Cotter Club is much more than a center that offers recreation. While we offer an abundance of recreational activities, they are supplemental to a comprehensive array of
programs that tackle the real problems of its Club members and their community.