OVER 1000 ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUSINESS LEADERS, AND ENTERTAINERS TO TRAVEL TO TINLEY PARK FOR THE LARGEST UNCF GALA IN ILLINOIS

Dr. Blondean Y. Davis
Dr. Blondean Y. Davis

 

SUBURBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS PARTNER WITH UNITED NEGRO- COLLEGE FUND TO  RAISE THOUSANDS IN SCHOLARSHIPS FOR LOCAL STUDENTS

 

“INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE”

SCHOLARSHIP GALA SET FOR MARCH 1ST

Wednesday, March 1st, @6:00 PM

Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Drive,

 Tinley Park, IL


Dr. Johnnie Thomas -Superintendent of Rich Township High School District 227 has organized Superintendents of suburban Cook County and collar county districts and have joined forces with the United Negro College Fund to raise money for scholarships for students in their communities. Over 1000 educators, elected officials, business-persons, and residents will gather at the Tinley Park Convention Center to honor the best students in the Chicagoland Metropolitan area and raise monies to send them to college.


Founded in 1991 to study the impact of demographic and diversity changes on schools, the Superintendents’ Commission for the Study of Demographics and Diversity (SCSDD) works to improve educational opportunities for students. Since 2005, the commission has awarded hundreds of thousands of scholarships to students.


This will be the first time that the group will partner with UNCF, the nation’s largest minority education organization.


COVID-19 has impacted college funding, so raising funds for scholarships for students, especially students of color, is even more needed, according to educators.


“The COVID-19 pandemic has had and will continue to have an impact on college funding for all high school seniors,” said Dr. Johnnie Thomas, president of the Superintendents’ Commission and superintendent of Rich Township 227.


Dr. Thomas adds, “This is especially true for minority students attending each of our districts.”


By partnering with UNCF, Thomas said that the group hopes to provide funding for even more students. Students like Kylie Hughes, 19, know the difference that a scholarship can make. Hughes, a 2021 graduate of Southland College Prep Charter High School in Richton Park, received a UNCF scholarship and attends Spelman College in Atlanta where she is majoring in international studies with a minor in economics.


“It definitely helped to relieve some of the financial pressure,” Hughes said.


Her brother, Joshua, a 2020 graduate of Southland College Prep, attends Howard University, one of the historical HBCUs that UNCF supports. Their mother, Reba Hughes, is grateful for the effort that the superintendents are making to raise funds for students like her children.


“You are teaching a young mind that is apprehensive about his or her future that we support their future and that they have one.” says Hughes.


“We’re committed to making sure that our children not only get into college, but they have the financial means to stay in college,” said Dr. Blondean Y. Davis, CEO of Southland College Prep.



IMPORTANT NOTES

 

The Superintendents’ Commission (SCSDD), composed of elementary and secondary superintendents and school districts of the suburban Cook and collar counties dedicated to providing quality educational opportunities for all students.


Dr. Johnnie Thomas, President of the Superintendents’ Commission Superintendent Rich Township 227


Dr. Blondean Y. Davis, CEO and founder, Southland College Prep Charter High School,

 

The Superintendents’ Commission for the Study of Diversity and Demographics

(SCSDD) has partnered with the United Negro College Fund in the “Investing in Our Future” Scholarship Gala to provide scholarships to high school seniors.


· The Superintendents’ Commission is composed of 37 school districts from Cook County and the collar counties.

· The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is the nation’s largest private scholarship provider to minority group members. Nationally, each year, UNCF awards more than 10,000 scholarships to students at UNCF-affiliated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and at 1,100 other schools across the country. UNCF also raises funds to provide operating support to 37 private HBCUs.

· For the first time, the high school choirs of Proviso East, Rich Township, Southland College Prep and Kankakee School District 111 will come together as a mass choir to entertain gala attendees.

· Tickets for the upcoming gala are now on sale for $100. More information about the various scholarship campaign tiers and more ways to donate to UNCF Chicago can be found here: https://myle.com/investing-in-our-future-scholarship-gala.

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