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Illinois Lottery teams up with the Boys & Girls Clubs

The Bull and Kids

One of the Boys & Girls Clubs’ 17 locations in Chicago received a special visit from Benny the Bull – the Chicago Bulls mascot to commemorate a special partnership.

Students at the James R. Jordan Boys & Girls Club, located at 2102 W. Monroe St. in Chicago, were visited in the classroom, and later escorted to the gymnasium where Benny the Bull performed his trick shots. Benny also assisted the Club’s instructor in fun activities with the students.

While these activities are an important part of the Club experience, many students throughout the city are struggling to adjust to e-learning and the stress of the COVID-19 crisis. The Illinois Lottery has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club Alliance to support clubs across Illinois with Power Hour.

For most students, learning virtually for more than a year due to the pandemic has created uneven access to school. Distractions in their home life, exposure to economic stress, isolation, and food instability have also contributed to a disruption in the learning process for thousands of Illinois children – especially those living in disadvantaged circumstances. This school year, the Boys & Girls Clubs in partnership with the Illinois Lottery aims to help address these factors and to support the learning process.

The Bull

The Illinois Lottery has committed to supporting the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Power Hour initiative, which helps youth achieve academic success by providing homework help, tutoring, and high-yield learning activities. Power Hour also encourages students to become active learners and to accelerate the learning recovery process.

“Every Boys and Girls Club in the state shares the goal to close and eliminate any opportunity gap and embrace the ability to offset educational disparities throughout underrepresented communities. Clubs fill these voids with emotional supports, mentorship and educational opportunities at the Clubs,” said W. Bryan Soady, Executive Director of the Illinois Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs.

“We are so proud to partner with the Illinois Lottery on the Power Hour initiative as students head back to school. We want to provide them with even greater resources while aiding and encouraging them in the learning process throughout this school year.”

This partnership allocates dollars to each club in the state to utilize for Power Hour programming. “The Illinois Lottery truly admires the efforts that the Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the state have undertaken to help kids academically impacted by the pandemic,” said Harold Mays, Acting Director of Illinois Lottery.

“We are committed to supporting education in every corner of Illinois, and we are proud to help provide access to much-needed resources to support the next generation and to aid and impact communities across the entire state.”

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