Who is Carl Brooks-Lytle?
Carl Brooks-Lytle was the beloved husband of the Rev. Aisha Brooks-Lytle (now Johnson), the Organizing Pastor of The Common Place. Carl was a loving, dedicated, and supportive father to their son, Ellington and he was a cheerleader for the ministry of TCP. Carl was the victim of a degenerative neurological condition to which, after several years of decline, he eventually succumbed on April 26, 2018.
Carl was a man of joy, music, and commitment to God, his family, and his faith community. Through the adversity of his disease, he carried an infectious smile and instilled hope in all that were gifted through knowing him.
One of Carl’s many gifts and passions was a love of the culinary arts. He loved a well-cooked meal and appreciated the love and fellowship that surrounded the table. It is for this reason, with respect to Aisha’s work at TCP and Carl’s memory, that our newly renovated kitchen is being dedicated to Carl and will be named Carl’s Kitchen.
The Need:
In 2016, The Common Place conducted a community needs assessment that has shown us that programming surrounding nutrition education and provision is needed in Southwest Philadelphia.
How do we address this need?
We’ve just secured a contractor to renovate our 100-year-old commercial kitchen so that we can offer this programming. We have found that we will be required to upgrade our electrical service as part of this project.
Cost of The Project:
The total cost of the project will be $310,000. We’ve raised $237,000 in donations and pledges of which approximately $30,000 was contributed in the memory of Carl Brooks-Lytle. We need to raise an additional $73,000 to complete this worthy project which will be named Carl’s Kitchen.
We expect the completion of Carl’s Kitchen in November 2018. Please help us to reach our goal.