Our Blog

Authored by Beatrice Elizalde and Davis Castillo Jr.

On Saturday June 12, 2010, over 6,000 volunteers met bright and early on Soldier Field, including 12 i.c.stars alumni and interns joining the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBS) team donning their blue team shirts for the Chicago Cares 17th Annual Serve-a-Thon.

This is Chicago Care’s premier event, and it’s the largest day of service in the city. This day is dedicated to transforming Chicago Public Schools (CPS) into vibrant places to learn and grow through painting, cleaning, repairing, and planting in classrooms, lunchrooms, and playgrounds. “I remember being in an unmaintained school” says Ruben Alvarado, a current intern in Cycle 22, citing a common sentiment among i.c.stars team members.

Being former students of CPS and many having children in the schools today, alumni and interns of i.c.stars have a heightened awareness of the importance of improving conditions for children in CPS. As an organization dedicated to fostering community leadership, i.c.stars interns and alumni on the team included Tiffany Bagget of Cycle 18, Ruben Alvarado of Cycle 22, Davis Castillo Jr. (Rainbow Push) of Cycle 21, Beatrice Elizalde (BCBS) of Cycle 10, Marissa Jackson, (Siemiens) of Cycle 19, DeAnte Lewis of Cycle 22, Cristhian Romero (i.c.stars) of Cycle 15, Tracey Stewart (i.c.stars) of Cycle 21, Jackie Thompson (IBM, SPSS) of Cycle 20, Eugene Wilkins III of Cycle 22, Vera Shabazz of Cycle 22, and Albert Murphy (DeVry University) of Cycle 20.

Through four months of project-based learning in business and technology, a select group of adults with high school diplomas and GEDs get the chance to launch a career in IT at companies Grainger, Hewitt Associates, Accenture, and BCBS. Many of the interns and alumni are from parts of Chicago and its suburbs where communities suffer high crime rates and low graduations rates. Through community leadership, i.c.stars fosters a growing group of new leaders with stable, career-track jobs to lead by example and through service to the places they come from.

The destination for the BCBS team was the Hirsch Metro Community High School on the city’s south side. “Something as simple as a fresh coat of paint can change a student’s perception. It tells them that the community cares about them and allows them to be more involved in their studies,” said Dr. Cooper, principal of Hirsch Metro, in her greeting speech to the team. A rousing round of applause followed Dr. Cooper’s words from some of the Hirsch Metro staff.

The simple yet profound impact of a “fresh coat of paint” was not lost on the team as well. Jacqueline Thompson, an alumnus of i.c.stars, said “I never figured that something as little as painting a school for students could make such a big change for them.”

After morning had become afternoon and 496 hours of manpower, the team stood back to admire their handiwork. The team left in the hopes that the brighter, sunnier hallway and the fresh paint and murals all over the school by many other teams would change the high school experience for some students coming back to school on Monday. Cristhian Romero, an alumnus of Cycle 15 and currently Recruitment Manager at i.c.stars, reflected ““When the kids come back from the weekend and walk into their remodeled school they will smile from the love shown.”

About i.c.stars:
i.c.stars is a Chicago-based non-profit organization formed in 1999 to develop 1,000 Community Leaders by 2020. Adults with a high school diploma or GED participate in an intensive four-month program using project-based learning and full immersion teaching to develop change-driven, future leaders skilled in business and technology. Learn more by visiting the i.c.stars web site: www.icstars.org.