NEARLY 50 HIGH SCHOOL GRADS FROM CHICAGO’S SOUTH & WEST SIDES GRANTED $215K IN SCHOLARSHIPS FROM UNION LEAGUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS

 

NEARLY 50 HIGH SCHOOL GRADS FROM CHICAGO’S SOUTH & WEST SIDES  GRANTED $215K IN SCHOLARSHIPS FROM UNION LEAGUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS

CHICAGO, Ill. — Capping off the 2022-23 academic year, 49 current and recent high school graduates hailing from Chicago’s South and West sides have received $215,600 (total) in financial scholarships granted by Union League Boys & Girls Clubs, it was announced today. Twenty-four (24) recent high school graduates, in addition to 25 currently enrolled students, representing the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and Columbia College Chicago, among others, are on the road to success thanks in part to the financial and developmental support provided by the students’ involvement in Union League Boys & Girls Clubs serving the Pilsen, West Town, Humboldt Park, South Lawndale, and Englewood communities, among others.

“We are so proud of our Union League Boys & Girls Clubs members graduating from high school and beginning their higher education journeys, along with our Club alumni currently enrolled,” said Union League Boys & Girls Clubs President & CEO Mary Ann Mahon Huels.  “We’re thankful to all who generously donated funds to help support our Club members as they make their way in the world and look forward to learning of their accomplishments.”

In addition to this financial assistance (in the form of individual scholarships ranging from $3400 to $6800), Club members have cited the invaluable academic, moral, and emotional support provided by their experience at the Union League Boys & Girls Clubs.  The 2023 high school graduates hail from Roberto Clemente Community Academy, William H. Wells Community Academy, and Major Hector P. Garcia School among others. They credit the academic tutoring and guidance on college applications, along with the skills gained from the Clubs’ after-school arts activities, sports teams, and STEM programming, with providing them the encouragement to pursue advanced education, in some cases, as the first in their family to do so. And in addition to the graduating seniors, former Club members who are currently enrolled in college were able to apply for financial support from Union League Boys & Girls Clubs to assist with tuition and housing expenses.  

In the students’ own words:

“The Boys & Girls Club has affected my life because it kept me off the streets. I was taught to show leadership and accountability at a young age, and I had mentors that I could trust.” (Victor A., Club One member, to attend Saint Xavier University)

“The Union League Boys & Girls Club helped me grow from a hot-headed brat to a level-headed young man.” (Jamaurey B., Club 2 member at Wells Community Academy, to attend Central State University)

“On many occasions, the Club has been my second home. The Club was initially a place my parents had my brothers and me attend after school, but truly the Club was where if found my love for reading, where I grew my ability to speak in public, and most importantly where I learned so much about who I’d become as a person in my community.”  (Jalissa B., Barreto Club member, a rising sophomore at Loyola University)

“The Club provided me a safe space where I forged friendships in a way that is not always possible during the school day. The Club has shown me how much I genuinely enjoy hearing from others, which contributes to my liking for journalism, where I will constantly reach out to new people and learn about their passions and expertise.” (Astray R., Clemente Club member, to attend Northwestern University)

Since its founding on December 26, 1919, as a foundation of the Union League Club of Chicago, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs have been serving youth in neighborhoods with the highest hardship index in Chicago; providing quality programming centered on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. Today, Union League Boys & Girls Clubs serve over 15,000 youth members at 21 well-equipped and professionally staffed inner-city Clubs, that bring effective after-school programming to youth in the Humboldt Park, Pilsen, Englewood, West Town, South Lawndale, West Garfield Park, Back of the Yards, Archer Heights, Homan Square, and Little Village communities as well as to youth in the Juvenile Detention Center and at an overnight camp in Kenosha County Wisconsin. For more information on Union League Boys & Girls Clubs and its ongoing support of Chicago’s youth, visit www.ulbgc.org.

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