Community development organization My Block My Hood My City is promoting a new Black-owned business, Neighborhood Ties, led by Tirrell Taylor. 

Chicago residents are encouraged to purchase a Chicago-themed tie online and send a photo to be a part of the #neighboorhoodtie network promoted by My Block My Hood My City (M3).

"S/o to the first leader of our #NeighborhoodTies network, Tirrell Taylor," M3 wrote in a Nov. 16 Twitter post. "We met Tirrell as the Director of Student Services at Camelot’s Excel Academy in #SouthShore and he’s a big leader in his community and neighborhood. Get your #neighborhoodtie today."

"If you spend time in the South Shore neighborhood, you will see that there is a lot of love," Taylor said. "The community really embraces all that we have going on (at Excel Acadmemy) and has really given us full support by giving our students opportunities and employment within the neighborhood. There are truly unlimited resources in the South Shore community."

Based in Chicago, M3 was founded by Jahmal Cole. According to the organization's website, M3 is one of the fastest-growing social impact organizations that has a mission "to inspire youth, empower communities and build a better world one block at a time." 

"My Block My Hood My City is here to start the conversations that cultivate a deeper connection to our communities and the people within them in order to ensure everyone has what they need to succeed," the organization states on its website. "We work tirelessly to empower our neighbors with knowledge and inspire them with opportunity so they can take positive action with confidence, creating a new world of possibilities for themselves and their families – and ultimately, the block, the hood and the city, too."

M3 organizes volunteer efforts, local events, the Explorers Program, sells merchandise, senior services, a youth scholarship fund and other initiatives. Notifications of events and volunteer opportunities can be viewed by signing up for their mailing list.

Neighborhood Ties can be purchased on the M3 website for $100, which goes toward the group's outreach events and missions. There are four ties available, all of which are made of woven silk. The ties come in "blue with red stars, red with blue stripes, or black with red stars" and "you can represent your neighborhood at your next presentation or formal event and show the city what M3 is all about," according to the M3 website. They first began giving the ties to high schoolers who were going to college and might need a formal tie for special events. Now the group has provided ties for corporate Chicago events and dinners, including for top-level executives.

"Here at M3, we’re all about connecting neighborhoods and being involved with communities, no matter what level that’s on," according to the M3 website. "We believe in a city of interconnectedness and focus on bringing people together at the ground level."