Tag Archives: chicago

Meet Taylor Shufford. High School Senior. Caught between education and survival.

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Sometimes, I walk in the middle of the road so that nobody will say anything to me or nobody will try to grab me or something like that.

bsf_taylorTaylor paints a vivid picture of her walk everyday to Our Lady of Tepeyac H.S. She is one of many voices in the Big Shoulders Fund short film, Invest in a Child.

The story begins from the perspective of Denise Spells, Principal of St. Ethelreda Elementary:

Everyday is a struggle…Children live lives that we never thought they would actually have to live. If you want to know where these kids come from, walk to the neighborhoods they have to go through. We need someone here to help us out, to keep these schools open. That’s the right thing to do.

Fr. Matt Eyerman, Pastor at St. Malachy Elementary School, gives an unwavering statement:

A vast majority of our families are either at risk or in poverty. People can give to lots of things in the city. And you can have your name on a plaque here. And have a chair named after you. But only with Big Shoulders can you invest in a child.

Other voices and other faces are woven into the narrative to reveal the real depth of the challenges faced by inner city Catholic schools, and to help people realize that they can work together to bring about real transformation.

Watch the 2-minute trailer[youtube=http://youtu.be/QHuZP2Sb_pA]

or the 8-minute short film [youtube=http://youtu.be/OS4k0FfjDJI]

On May 16, Juli Rossi from Big Shoulders Fund will tell us more about how they put a face and voice to their mission on our social media storytelling panel.

Thursday, May 16
5:30–8:00pm
i.c.stars
415 N Dearborn, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60654

REGISTER TODAY and bring guests for free. See you Thursday!

Story. It’s not what you say. It’s what you mean.

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peoplesmusicIn this case, words alone cannot tell the story of a young boy discovering his passion for the violin. Hearing his name called out loud, echoing in the halls, and stepping onto the stage at his first recital makes him feel like the most important person at that specific moment in time. With every stroke drawing the hair of the bow across the strings, he remembers every single time his parents took him to a class at The People’s Music School, a nonprofit offering free music education in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. He remembers looking forward to his teacher showing him how to play a new composition. The sound takes him back to his hours of practicing the same piece, over and over. But today, on that stage, it feels like he is playing it for the very first time. After his performance, he picks up his sheet music, tucks it under his arm and takes a bow. As he exits and listens to the applause, he is thinking about his new performance when he comes back to the same stage next year.

No words. Watch the performance. Listen to the sound. It may not be perfect today, but its real value is in what it means for the young boy’s future. Potential. Opportunity. Promise.