The NCBJ Public Outreach Committee has elected to raise funds for Communities In Schools of Chicago (“CIS”) this year.

The Public Outreach Committee is excited to share with you our projects for Chicago! We will be partnering with Communities In Schools of Chicago (“CIS”) to provide two programs for the Chicago Public Schools. The Chicago Public Schools serve 325,305 students, 71.6% of whom are economically disadvantaged. There are 634 schools in the Chicago Public Schools, made up of Pre-School, Kindergarten, Elementary (grades 1-8), and High Schools (grades 9-12). The district is focused on better learning environments that support student growth through access to resources and assist with closing opportunity gaps. This is where CIS comes in. CIS’s mission statement is “To surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.” CIS partners with other organizations to provide programs that support students and has connected over 74,000 students in 238 schools with programs addressing student and school needs.

Given this impressive network, is it any wonder that the public outreach projects for Chicago are to assist the Chicago Public Schools through partnership with CIS? The two projects selected by the Committee are buying and filling backpacks for elementary school age students (the “Backpack Project”) and presenting a Civics/How I Became a Judge program (the “Civics Project”) for high school students. Now, we hope you are wondering how you can help! You can greatly assist by donating some of your hard-earned dollars to the Backpack Project to enable the Committee to buy backpacks, school supplies, hygiene products, socks, hats, gloves, and scarves for distribution to the students in need.

To donate to the Backpack Project and to volunteer for the Civics Project is easy - just complete the form below!