Youth Guidance Teams with BMO Harris Bank to Transform a Play Site for Chicago Youth

Recently, a team of BMO Harris Bank employee volunteers – led by BMO Harris Bank’s President and CEO, Mark Furlong, and Vice Chair (Winnetka resident), Peter McNitt – worked with Youth Guidance program participants at Andrew Carnegie Elementary School to transform an unkempt corner of debris and overgrown weeds outside the school into a bright and beautiful garden and play site.

Twelve students participating in Youth Guidance’s Community & After-School Programs at Andrew Carnegie assisted the BMO Harris Bank volunteer team in removing weeds and debris from a play area, and planting colorful flowers around 10 tree garden spots on the school grounds.

 “We had never done this before,” stated seventh grader, Alyiesha Jamieson. “I loved gardening and working with everyone to make our school more beautiful, especially the new play site we now have for our after-school sports activities.”

BMO Harris Bank President and CEO, Mark Furlong worked hand-in-hand with the volunteers and students to rake, plant flowers and remove debris that had almost completely covered a beautifully painted mural in the play area.

“I continue to be impressed with the work of Youth Guidance,” said Furlong. “BMO Harris Bank is committed to partnering with organizations like Youth Guidance, working together to positively impact the lives of youth in Chicago.” Nearly 2,000 Chicagoland employees took time away from their desks that same day to volunteer at various nonprofits in their community -- and over 6,500 BMO employees participated in the first North American-wide BMO Volunteer Day, initially started with M&I in 2001 and Harris and BMO Capital Markets in 2007.

Mirroring the hard work and dedication of BMO Harris Bank’s volunteers, Youth Guidance Board President, Scott Myers and CEO, Michelle Adler Morrison rolled up their sleeves, fully participating in the gardening and beautification project.

“Youth Guidance is so grateful to BMO Harris Bank and its employees for supporting this project,” said Adler Morrison. “The involvement and full engagement of corporate partners like BMO Harris Bank makes it possible for Youth Guidance to continue to transform the lives of Chicago’s at-risk youth.”

Since 2008, Youth Guidance has delivered programming at Andrew Carnegie Elementary School, serving approximately 300 students and families annually through the agency’s Community and After-School and Parent Engagement & Leadership programs. For more than a decade, BMO Harris Bank has partnered with Youth Guidance, providing financial support and human capital needed to effectively deliver Youth Guidance’s outcomes-driven, school-based programs and services to more than 14,000 at-risk Chicago youth.

To learn more about Youth Guidance’s mission and outcomes-driven, school-based programs, contact Marketing & Communications Manager, Karina Rosado at 312-994-8118 (krosado@youth-guidance.org), or visit www.youth-guidance.org.