Bright Promises Foundation Elevates Voices of Chicago Area Youth

Bright Promises Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding and supporting programs that help at-risk children in the Chicago area, is proud to announce a special program in honor of its 150th anniversary.

The Elevating Youth Voices initiative, will give out $50,000 in grants to organizations that are led by Chicago-area youth and young adults who are trying to make a difference in their communities.

In addition, Bright Promises will host a nonprofit fair on Saturday, June 1, where hundreds of young people representing up to 30 youth-led organizations will have the chance to educate the public and other civic leaders on what their organizations are doing to bring about positive change in their communities. Bright Promises will then award $10,000 grants to five of the organizations that participate in the fair.

Iris Krieg, executive director of Bright Promises Foundation, says there are thousands of smart, engaged, and creative young people in our communities who are taking an active role in making their communities stronger and safer, but too often their voices go unheard. She hopes the fair will help empower these young people, and ensure that the adults around them are listening and doing their part, and that the grants will help these groups make an even bigger impact.

Examples of the groups that have applied to participate in the fair include S.T.O.P., a group of Southside youth fighting for racial and economic justice; Young Invincibles, a group of students making sure young people’s voices are heard on health care reform; and Chicago Youth Alliance for Climate Action, a group of teens who are bringing more awareness to environmental concerns.

“These are just some of the youth-led organizations that are doing great work here in Chicago, and we believe that by helping to raise their profiles and support their missions, they will be able to bring about greater change,” Krieg says.

So far, Krieg says the response to the new initiative has been enormous. With more than 60 organizations applying to be included in the fair, this is the biggest response the organization has ever had for one of their grant programs.

“As an organization, we have been fighting to improve children’s lives for 150 years, and we think this is the perfect opportunity to help our youth become the leaders of tomorrow,” Krieg says.

150 Years of Impact

Bright Promises Foundation is one of the oldest social service agencies in Illinois. Originally named the Illinois Humane Society, the organization was founded in 1869 with a mission of improving the lives of both children and animals in Chicago’s burgeoning metropolis.

At the time, Chicago had experienced massive growth, going from a small settlement of only 4,000 people when it was incorporated in 1837 to the fifth largest city in the country with a population of 298,000 in 1870. As hordes of people began to crowd together in an urban center, at a time of little government oversight or services, many people had to deal with filth, crime, lack of safe drinking water and disease.

That’s where the Illinois Humane Society came in. For the organization’s first 100 years, it did everything from erecting public drinking fountains, to running settlement houses, to helping to establish Chicago’s first juvenile court and more.

By the 1960s, as other government and private organizations took on many of these issues, the Illinois Humane Society decided instead to focus its efforts on providing funding and support to other groups also working to better the lives of children in Chicago. In 2008, the organization officially changed its name to the Bright Promises Foundation to better align with its mission of helping at-risk children.

Today, Bright Promises offers grants and guidance to a wide array of nonprofit organizations. The organization consults experts across various fields relating to children throughout the Chicago area to determine which issues are most underfunded and in most need. In the last decade, the organization has funded issues including childhood obesity, trauma, social-emotional learning and more.

“We are proud of the legacy we have created over the last 150 years,” Krieg says. “We hope that by continuing to support these important initiatives, we will create a brighter future for all children.”

Upcoming 150th Anniversary Events
Elevating Youth Voices Nonprofit Fair
Saturday, June 1, 12 p.m.-4 p.m.
Free and open to the public
Conaway Center at Columbia College, 1104 S. Wabash, Chicago IL 60605

About Bright Promises Foundation

Bright Promises Foundation has been innovating social services for children for 150 years. Bright Promises Foundation’s mission is to ensure that all children, no matter their background, circumstance, or Zip code, have the opportunity to flourish and thrive. Bright Promises Foundation remains the only independent, public foundation in Illinois solely dedicated to providing funding and support to programs that address the unmet needs of low-income and at-risk children and families.

Each year, Bright Promises Foundation serves more than 10,000 children and young adults at more than 80 sites. A total of 97 percent of the families Bright Promises Foundation serves live below the poverty line. Issues Bright Promises is currently helping to address include childhood trauma, access to quality early childhood education, parent engagement, and social emotional learning. More information is available at www.brightpromises.org.