FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts:
Blake Ward
312-917-8103
blake.ward@nuveen.com
CHICAGO BUSINESS LEADERS TO BE HONORED
AT SCHOLARSHIP
CHICAGO’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY
GALA
Chicago, November 1,
2006–Scholarship
Chicago today announced it will celebrate its 10th Anniversary by honoring the leading
Chicago businesses that make up its first
class of High 5 Partners. The
anniversary gala will be held on
Thursday, November 2, 2006.
The Gala will be held at the Hyatt Regency, where representatives
from Deloitte, Cole Taylor Bank, Ernst &Young, Goldberg Kohn, Jenner &
Block, Loop Capital Markets, Mesirow Financial, Nuveen Investments, People’s
Energy and Winston & Strawn will be recognized for their priceless
contribution to higher education and the City of
Chicago. As High 5 Partners, these companies have committed to supporting five
students through Scholarship Chicago’s entire College Bound program, from the
students’ senior year of high school to their senior year of college.
“The multi-year commitment made by our High 5 partners is
vital,” said Scholarship Chicago President Karen G. Foley. “By supporting students all the way through
college graduation, the High 5 Partners help provide our diverse scholars with
the time, skills and education they need to succeed.”
“Scholarship
Chicago does an incredible service to this
city by helping hundreds of high school students overcome obstacles and pursue
their dreams” said Arne Duncan, CEO of the
Chicago
Public Schools and member of Scholarship Chicago’s
Advisory Board. Mr. Duncan will provide
the evening’s opening remarks.
Over the past 10 years, Scholarship Chicago has become one of
the city’s largest privately funded scholarship organizations. To date, it has served more than 1,200
deserving, high-need students, drawing from every public, private and parochial
high school in
Chicago.
Scholarship
Chicago’s unique commitment to the overall
success of its students sets it apart from other scholarship organizations. Going beyond the typical financial aid award, Scholarship
Chicago makes every effort to ensure that its students graduate, as well as
have opportunities to transition into productive careers. To fulfill that mission, the organization
starts early. In its College Bound
program, high school students are selected in their junior year and given a
full year of college preparation, college consultants and peer mentors, “gap”
financial awards, exclusive internship opportunities, and access to meaningful
career networking events.
“The power of our approach is evident when you look at the
statistics,” said Foley. “Our scholars
are four times more likely to graduate than students of comparable backgrounds
who don’t have the same support system. As a result, more and more students receive their college degrees, and
that is great news for our kids and great news for the City of
Chicago.”
###
A ten-year-old 501(c)(3) organization, Scholarship
Chicago strives to help underserved students
graduate from the college of their choice and transition into productive
careers. Along with financial assistance, students receive college
preparatory programming, mentoring, summer internships and career networking
opportunities. Ultimately, the goal is to produce a valuable group of
future leaders and make
Chicago
an even better place to live, work, learn and raise a family.
