‘Trunk party’ gives 60 Chicago students college essentials

SHARE ‘Trunk party’ gives 60 Chicago students college essentials
urbanleague080217.jpg

Vincent Hale of Roseland was among 60 college-bound students who received some essentials during a Trunk Party on Wednesday sponsored by the Chicago Urban League. | Amanda Svachula/Sun-Times

Some Chicago students face an unexpected roadblock to college attendance — the cost of items on dorm-room checklists.

On Wednesday, the Chicago Urban League and a law firm eliminated that barrier for 60 college-bound students, in the form of a “trunk party.”

The students received trunks filled with a bed-in-a-bag, an alarm clock, towels, a desk lamp, and other college essentials.

“I’ve never had a real alarm clock in my life,” said Vincent Hale, 18, who will head to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the fall. “You know, the one where you hit the snooze button?”

The Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom law firm partnered with the Urban League to provide students with trunks for the fourth year in a row.

“If you are worried about what sheets you are going to sleep on in your dorm room, how are you supposed to focus on school?” said Danielle Parker, the Urban League’s chief of staff.

The contents of the trunks the 60 college-bound students received Wednesday. | Amanda Svachula/Sun-Times

The contents of the trunks the 60 college-bound students received Wednesday. | Amanda Svachula/Sun-Times

All the students that received trunks are participants in the organization’s Project Ready College program, which starts preparing students for college in their junior year of high school.

Project Ready College works year-round to help students with low- to middle-income backgrounds, Parker said. There are more than 100 students in the program from 52 high schools. Most reside on the South and West sides.

Hale, a resident of the Roseland neighborhood and graduate of King College Prep, said he has learned about applying to college, the ins and outs of financial aid, and how to network, through the program.

He already knows what he wants to be when he graduates: a business project manager.

“This program gave me a head start,” he said. “A lot of kids weren’t exposed to what I was exposed to so early.”

The Latest
The Cubs opened the season against the reigning World Series champions in Texas.
Murder charges have been filed against suspect Christian I. Soto, 22. Investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks, but they say Soto had been smoking marijuana before the rampage.
To celebrate the historic coinciding of the emerging of two broods, artists can adopt a cicada for free in exchange for decorating it and displaying it publicly. Others can purchase the cicadas for $75.
Senators tasked with clearing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appointments are raising concerns over his renomination of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau after the Sun-Times last year reported an executive assistant accounted for more than $240,000 in billings.