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You
can learn a lot about a company by looking at what
they do in the community.
Some of the world’s largest and most
prolific companies are very deliberate about making their presence known within diverse communities.
It sends a message of responsibility,
caring, and when really done right, it even sends a
message of hope.
When
DDB Chicago teamed up with Providence-St. Mel – a private,
independent school that excels in preparing young
students for college – a lot of hope was
created.
With its offices in the Aon Building, one of Chicago's
landmark towers, DDB Chicago is in another world from Providence St. Mel, which is located
at 119 South Central Park Avenue on Chicago’s West
Side. But faith in the kids and the hope for
a brighter future have forged a strong bond
between the agency and the school.
The
school has a fascinating history. It was
originally a Catholic high school, but when
the Archdiocese of Chicago
decided,
in 1978,
to close the last Catholic high school on the West
Side, the principal, parents and students
decided to take continue on their own.
Today, Providence-St. Mel provides an exceptional
education for motivated inner city students. Last year, every senior was accepted into a
college or university, and 42-percent were admitted into
the nation's top
tier institutions – including Brown
University, Columbia, Northwestern and Stanford.
The school has gained national attention for
teaching students how to succeed. Nearly
99-percent of Providence-St. Mel's students
graduate from college.
“Providence
St. Mel is an outstanding school and an extremely
precious resource for young, gifted inner city
students with college aspirations,” said Jillian
Bradley, Director of Human Resources and
Administration, DDB Chicago.
“We’ve been involved with them for
years; and I’m serious when I say it’s one of
the things I’m most proud of in my career.”
DDB
Chicago's support for Providence-St. Mel is
multifaceted. Each year, the agency
"adopts" a student and supports him or
her through high school and college.
Currently, DDB supports two students, one
of which began attending Duke
University
this fall.
The agency also makes a donation of $10,000 to the school.
Last
year, the agency decided to help the school with
its fundraising campaign.
DDB formed a full-service team, made up of
employees from
client-, creative- and media-services. The
team worked with the school to develop a fundraising brochure.
“We
got together with representatives of the school
almost every single day for more than six months
to get it done,” said Bradley.
“You’re talking about a brochure that
they may use to ask someone for $50,000 or more.
It has to be right.
In the end, we had an amazing product to
deliver. They
were thrilled. And
we really created a bond with the school.
The team members even went back to discuss advertising
careers at the school's career day.
It’s not the only thing we do
philanthropically, but it’s probably my
favorite. It’s
very close. Very
personal.”
The
End |
