CEO Update- June 27, 2012

I have been an admirer of After School Matters for the past 21 years and am so happy to be here.  After a week and a half, my admiration is up 100 fold!  The staff and instructors are so dedicated and the teens are just spectacular. 

I look forward to continuing the great work that our dear founder Maggie Daley started.  With your ongoing support, we can truly make a difference in the lives of our future generation of leaders.

Mary Ellen Caron
Chief Executive Officer

Summer Programs Begin - Visit Us in Millennium Park

This summer, we are proud to offer more than 6,000 out-of-school time opportunities for Chicago teens to participate in our high-quality hands-on programs in the arts, communications, science, sports and technology.

In addition to a wide range of programs at locations throughout the City, After School Matters will also offer programs in Millennium Park.  At Chase Promenade South, teens in the Public Art Collaboration and Glass Mosaic programs will create a multimedia mural for the rooftop patio and glass mosaics for the street-level front doors at the Gallery 37 Center for the Arts. Also at Chase Promenade South, teens in the Hat and Jewelry Design programs, among others, will create items that will be available for purchase at the
After School Matters Retail Store, both online and at 66 East Randolph Street. On Wrigley Square, teens from the After School Matters Jazz Band will rehearse and perform for the public. 

Stop by the After School Matters tent in Millennium Park weekdays between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. now through August 10 to observe teens engaging in unique projects that help them explore and develop their talents, while gaining critical skills for work, college and beyond. Teens can still apply for Summer programs at www.afterschoolmatters.org.

After School Matters Teens Earn Millions in Scholarships This Year

After School Matters is proud to announce that 26 of our graduating Advanced Apprenticeship teens earned college scholarships this past year totaling $2,375,560, with an average combined scholarship award of $91,368.

All 26 teens hail from a dozen high schools across Chicago including Taft, Julian and King College Prep are also participants in the Chicago Public Schools Advanced Arts Education Program, which is collocated with After School Matters at the Gallery 37 Center for the Arts.

The teen scholarships were awarded by a wide variety of colleges and universities including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Champaign and Kent State University (Ohio).

Earlier this spring, the Posse Foundation, which leads a renowned college access and youth leadership development program, awarded another 27 After School Matters apprentices with its prestigious full-tuition college scholarships, which recognize both academic and leadership potential.

Please join us in congratulating these scholarship winners and all of our After School Matters graduating seniors as they join the ranks of more than 100,000 teens from the past two decades that our organization has helped discover their potential and find their path to a meaningful life.

If you or someone you know received a college scholarship that can attribute to your experiences with After School Matters, please let us know by emailing info@afterschoolmatters.org. We are always thrilled to hear more success stories.

Teen Murals Featured at the new Lurie Children's Hospital 

After School Matters teens have made their mark on the new Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital! During the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 program sessions, teens from the gallery37 Mural Painting program created a series of tropically-themed murals in the Hospital's surgery wing.

On May 12, our teens proudly viewed the unveiling of their work during the public grand opening.  The murals, titled "The Healing Power of Nature,"  are inspired by flora and fauna, and feature colorful images that transition from vibrant jungle scenes to the peaceful atmosphere of the ocean. They contribute to the Hospital's creative approach to providing healing environments that promote education and discovery.

The opportunity to have their work publicly showcased in such a unique environment gives our teens a true sense of accomplishment! View Mural Photo Gallery.

After School Matters Teen Visits the White House for Youth Leadership Institute Summit

This past spring, Torres Hughes of the tech37 Beverage Industry Products and Profits program at Austin Polytechnical Academy High School was chosen as one of 11 national youth ambassadors to serve as spokespeople for the Youth Leadership Institute's (YLI) "Opportunity Youth" campaign. The campaign works to raise awareness and spark action to help the more than 6 million young Americans nationwide ages 16-24 who are disconnected from education and from work.

This initiative supports the work of the White House Council for Community Solutions, which is charged with identifying ways every American community can create the civic infrastructure to move youth along pathways to education, employment and ongoing civic participation.

As part of his participation in the program, Hughes attended a White House Council for Community Solutions Summit on June 4 called Community Solutions for Disconnected Youth: Engaging Youth as Leaders in the Solution. The Summit explored ways that cross-sector collaborations within a community can help put disconnected youth on a path to opportunity. Torres' participation in this event gave him a great opportunity to apply the problem-solving skills gained through his experiences in After School Matters to help other communities engage disconnected youth with a path to a meaningful life.

Torres recently shared his inspirational and life-changing experience as an After School Matters participant in a personal essay published online in the Huffington Post.