The Chicago Fire is joining forces with
schools from throughout Chicago, including Chicago Public Schools (CPS), to
help boost Back-to-School efforts and ensure that children are in the classroom
on day-one for the start of the 2010/2011 school year. The Fire, CPS, Cristo
Rey High School and the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) have hosted a number
of Back-to-School events throughout the city in August and will continue to
host additional events throughout September as Chicago area students prepare
for their return to school.
“It’s
great to see teams like the Chicago Fire go above and beyond by engaging youth
on education matters,” said Juan Rangel, President of UNO Charter
Schools. “Kids look up to the players as heroes and role models, so the
back-to-school message is even more meaningful when it comes from them.”
The
Chicago Fire will be on hand when UNO announces the grand opening of its newest
campus in Gage Park. The UNO school will provide an additional educational
option for local families, and alleviate the increasingly detrimental trend of
overcrowding in neighborhood schools. Nearly 600 K-8th grade students from
Chicago’s southwest side will attend this newly rehabbed and high-quality
charter school facility.
UNO wasestablished by a
group of community leaders and local Priests in 1984. Modeled on the Saul
Alinsky style of community organizing, the organization sought to build
grassroots leadership within Chicago's Hispanic neighborhoods to organize for
power and address local issues such as the Hispanic dropout rate and
overcrowding in schools.
The Fire will be at Cristo Rey Jesuit High
School on Friday, September 3 to help kickoff the start of their school year.
Activities will begin with a morning pep rally and continue with “Field Day”
festivities at Harrison Park. Cristo Rey
Jesuit High School is a neighborhood school with the mission of offering the
best college preparatory education available to the youth of the Pilsen/Little
Village community of Chicago, for whom other private schools are not a
financial option.
“We are very excited about our relationship
with the Fire and having them help us not only get our students back to school, but to keep them coming back,” said Cristo Rey
Jesuit High School Director of Development Peter Beale-DelVecchio. “Bringing
the Fire to a school pep rally where all of the students can hear about the
need for discipline and hard work to get to a professional level is something
we can use to reinforce working hard in school.”
Throughout the Back-to-School season, Fire
players and Mascot Sparky have made a number of appearances at local schools to
help welcome students back for the 2010/2011 school year. In the last two weeks
alone, the Fire have attended Back-to-School Festivals at Erie Elementary,
Benito Juarez Academy, Hernandez Middle School, Humboldt Park, Calumet Park and
the Bud Billiken Parade.
“At the core of the Chicago Fire
Foundation’s mission is education – it’s key to our children’s development and
the game of soccer and education go hand in hand,” said Chicago Fire Technical
Director and Chicago Fire Foundation President Frank Klopas. “We’re committed
to doing our part here to engage kids and encourage them to return to school
and then stay in school.”
Below is a list of Back-to-School events
taking place this week. For more information on the Fire’s Back-to-School
involvement head to www.Chicago-Fire.com
or click here.
Back-to-School Event – Cristo Rey High School
Who: Chicago Fire Mascot, Sparky
When: Friday, September 3;8:30 – 10:00 AM
Where: Cristo Rey Jesuit High School – 1852 W. 22nd Place, Chicago, IL
What: The Chicago Fire will be at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School on Friday, September 3rd to help kick off the start of their school year. Activities will begin with a morning pep rally and continue with “Field Day” festivities at Harrison Park! Founded by the Jesuits in 1996, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is a neighborhood school with the mission of offering the best college preparatory education available to the youth of the Pilsen/Little Village community of Chicago, for whom othe
Back-to-School Event – UNOWho: Chicago Fire Mascot, Sparky
When: Friday, September 3;11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Where: UNO Charter School - S. California Ave & W. 39th Pl, Chicago, IL 60632
Back-to-School – Burroughs SchoolWho: Chicago Fire Mascot, Sparky
When: Friday, September 3;3:00 – 4:30 PM
Where: Burroughs Elementary School – 3542 S. Washtenaw Ave., Chicago, IL 60632
