C.H.I.L.L. stands for Community Helps Individuals Live and Learn. The MN CHILL Foundation’s motto is “If not me, then who?” The founders, William “Chuck” Hill and Cynthia “Cindy” Hill, help parents steer their children toward a successful future.
The Hill’s service to the community began through sports. Chuck was a basketball coach, and all three of their children played basketball, one professionally. After school, on weekends, and during tournaments, team members would come to their home needing homework help. That’s when Cindy stepped in.
“Being a basketball organization is more than just dribbling that ball,” she says. “You’ve got to have your grades in place…because GPA matters for entering the NCAA.”
After years of supporting students, their son suggested they start a foundation. In 2014 they became a nonprofit organization with five graduating classes from the program.
“The first year we had a 98% rate of the players that graduated out of our program that went to college on an academic or athletic scholarship,” says Cindy. “The last four years we have had 100%.”
For 34 years, the Hills owned and operated Programming Solutions, an IT company. Some of the profits from this business were used to support students. Their fundraising efforts covered other costs.
Wanting to impact children before entering high school, in 2016 they developed CHILL Fitness for Kids. It began at the Martin Luther King Center in St. Paul to combat childhood obesity and diabetes. Fitness can also help children with ADHD.
“In the school system, they push [medication] first instead of finding out what’s the root of the problem,” Cindy says. “They don’t take the time to find out [that] home just may need some support in different areas which will also help the child.”
The program became a part of the Freedom School Express’ summer session. They expanded to Benjamin E. Mays IB World School, Capitol Hill Magnet School, and Hazel Park Academy. They offer guidance and instruction from a licensed therapist and a nutritionist.
Cindy recalls seeing a billboard on Hwy 94 that ranked Black students in Minnesota close to the bottom along with Alabama and Mississippi in school test scores. Partly in response to this billboard, they developed an academic program at Freedom School.
During the first week, staff tested students’ reading and math levels. Those far behind academically worked in groups with a 1-4 teacher/student ratio learning the basics. Not only did they support students through the summer; they also checked the school year’s test scores to see if scores improved. They did.
“That just lets us know that the curriculum that we put together does work,” says Cindy. The St. Paul Promise Neighborhood helps support this programming in schools.
Before 2019, they had never written a grant. In 2019, at the urging of those wanting the programs to expand, they applied for a grant with The St. Paul Foundation. They became their first big sponsor.
Covid brought the programs to a halt, but only temporarily. They reached out to families through YouTube.
“Part of the exercising also involves the parents. You have to [get] the whole family involved,” Cindy says. “And the same thing on the nutrition side, because the kids aren’t the ones buying the food.” During the mandatory school lockdown, 273 parents continued the programs online.
If supporting students through school isn’t enough, the Hills reach young adults through their CHILL Tech program. It’s a 10-week paid internship offered on Sundays for 16- and 17-year-olds, and a second group for 18- to 24-year-olds. Students are introduced to jobs in the IT industry.
“There are a lot of good paying jobs that you don’t have to have a college degree to do, but you do have to have a certification,” says Cindy. These jobs can start at $75,000 per year. They include cyber security and AI.
During her years in the IT industry, Cindy is often the only person of color in the room and the only female. She would like to see these positions filled with more women and people of color.
They would also like to have a greater impact on their Brooklyn Park Community, where they have lived and been business owners for over three decades. Cindy says Brooklyn Park’s high crime rate among youth is partly related to few safe and engaging alternatives for teens.
In 2023, MN CHILL dedicated a Chill Tech lab to the Zanewood Recreational Center. Limited space in the facility meant they had to share a multipurpose room. So, they can’t schedule regular weekly programming.
“The rec center that we have is for our younger youth plus the teens. They are busting out at the seams,” says Hill.
This past January, they received a $100,000 grant from Thielen Foundation for programming in a $10 million expanded space dedicated to teens. The Hills want to include a college readiness program at the site.
“One of the reasons why we started the CHILL Tech program is because we wanted the school to uplift students that choose to go to a trade school just as much as they do the students that go to a two-or-four-year college or university,” she says. “The end result is to make sure that they have the tools that they need to be successful in life however that may look.”
On June 30 they will hold their annual golf tournament at the Green Haven Golf Course in Anoka. “We are looking for volunteers, golfers and sponsors,” Cindy says. “We rely on the funding from this event to support our year-round programming.”
They are always looking for volunteers and financial support from community members who share their vision of helping families and children.
“We don’t do it for the accolades,” says Cindy. “We do it because it needs to be done.”
For more information, go to minnesotachillfoundation.org.