TRUE STAR FOUNDATION HOSTS FUNDRAISER TO CELEBRATE THEIR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The True Star Foundation is hosting a fundraiser on Oct. 4 and 6 p.m. at the Leo Burnett offices to celebrate to organization’s 14 years of operation and their transition from print media to digital media. Photo Credit: Provided by True Star
The True Star Foundation is hosting a fundraiser on Oct. 4 and 6 p.m. at the Leo Burnett offices to celebrate to organization’s 14 years of operation and their transition from print media to digital media. Photo Credit: Provided by True Star

True Star Foundation Hosts Fundraiser To Celebrate Their Digital Transformation

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

The True Star Foundation is hosting a fundraiser on Oct. 4 and 6 p.m. at the Leo Burnett offices, 35 W. Wacker Dr., to celebrate the organization’s 14 years of operation and their transformation from print media to digital media.

True Star is a non-profit media company that is run entirely by Chicago’s youth. The True Star Foundation’s mission is to foster healthy transitions for youth as they enter early adulthood. They do this by exposing young people to real-world experiences in the workforce through their media outlet and by giving the young people key roles in the overall business operations of the organization.

“True Star is a non-profit media company run by youth. Through after school and summer on-the-job training programs young people collaborate to produce their own media.

That includes video, podcasts, articles, live radio, anything you would think of a media company doing that’s what we do. Think of a BuzzFeed that is run by Chicago youth,” said DeAnna McLeary, co-founder of True Star.

For years, True Star published a print magazine with the content that was generated by the young people who were involved in the organization. True Star recently decided to end the print publication for True Star Magazine and go completely digital to better equip students to compete in the digital age. “Like many of the awesome organizations that deal with young people here in Chicago, we’re really trying to break the cycle of poverty and we’re doing this through jobs that is the long and short of the impact. Over the course of our 14 years, we’ve employed and provided jobs for over 10,000 young people. This is providing them meaningful employment, building their resume and portfolio, and showing them how rewarding a career can be,” said McLeary.

True Star is hosting their upcoming event at Leo Burnett, a global advertising company headquartered in Chicago, because they have been working closely with the company to get young people even more opportunities and build a pipeline for True Star students to intern and find employment at Leo Burnett.

“For the past two years, True Star has had a partnership with Leo Burnett where selected students in the True Star program get to intern with Leo Burnett for the summer. It’s a paid internship and they actually get to work on a client project,” said McLeary.

There have also been four True Star students who have transitioned to work for Leo Burnett full-time. “To be in high school and be able to say you worked at Leo Burnett, that’s the type of pipe- line and experiences we’re trying to provide for young people,” said McLeary.

The fundraiser will feature Michael Strautmanis, CEO of the Obama Foundation, as the keynote speaker and will honor four special guests.

This fundraiser will raise funds to invest in True Star digital on-the-job training programs and digital platform, www.truestar.life. Tickets are available online through Eventbrite.

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