Business leaders join young people, as well as ASP youth programs director Pamela Lewis (third from left) and ASP of Chicago director David Cherry (forth from left), at the first orientation of the ASP of Chicago, DSY.

The ASP of Chicago launched its Development School for Youth (DSY) this spring.  Father Michael Pfleger was among the speakers at the orientation at Latham & Watkins in the Sears Tower.  Other speakers included Stacy Cashman, senior vice president at Dun & Bradstreet; Cynthia Smith, Vice President at MetLife; Jeffrey Bakker, partner at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg; and Professor Robert Halpern of the Erikson Institute for Child Development.   DSY students have participated in executive workshops hosted by Merrill Lynch/Bank of America and Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg.  The other workshops (How to Write a Resume, How to Interview, and Public Speaking) were conducted by Latham & Watkins, Dun & Bradstreet and MetLife.  The 21 students were from six Chicago high schools:  Kenwood Academy, Frederick Douglass Academy, William J. Bogan High School, Hyde Park Academy, Neil F. Simon Academy and Jones College Prep.  The Chicago Tribune covered the launch of the ASP of Chicago DSY on April 17, 2009 (http://www.allstars.org/news.html). 

Meanwhile, the ASP of Chicago, Talent Show Network held a show on March 21 at Englewood High School.  The 21 acts in the show included rappers, singers, dancers, two guitarists, one keyboard player, and a spoken word artist.  Most of the performers were from the South Side while others came from the West Side, the suburbs of Maywood and Evanston, and from Gary, Indiana.  The crowd of 150 people enthusiastically cheered all of the performers. 

All Stars performers participated in the Chicago Children’s Museum’s Open Mic Night/All Stars performance at Navy Pier.  The Chicago Children’s Museum provided a bus to transport the performers and their families from the South Side to Navy Pier (Illinois’ number one tourist destination, which is located at Lake Michigan). 

The All Stars Project of Chicago celebrated the opening of our new downtown office with an Open House.  Located in the historic Monadnock Building at 53 W. Jackson Blvd., donors Mike and Ann Anthony, Marlene Nelson, partner at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg and Robert Muzikowski of the Chicago Hope Academy joined volunteers and several young people at this event.