Cortez is one of our most active Dream Leaders, yet his life wasn’t always about helping others. Being born 1 lb 7 ounces due to drug abuse by his parents, Cortez has lived his entire life fighting.  Drugs, violence, and incarceration have been a constant in his family. As a result, Cortez was a self-proclaimed “bad kid,” so much so that he got expelled from school.

Now, Cortez is the Vice President of his senior class, going to Seton Hall in the fall, one of our Dream Leaders Captains and Youth Speakers, and has come to just about every community service event we have offered (with the exception of one that I made him stay home from to do scholarship applications for college).    So what changed? I asked Cortez that exact question, and his answer was simple, yet profound. “I used to wake up every morning and think about all that was wrong with my life and my family. Now, after being in the Dream Leaders program, I wake up and think about who is out there waiting for me to come help them.”

As to Cortez’s point, the reality is there are countless people waiting for him, and that is the exact point of the Dream Leaders program. Last week, we planned a “Give Back Spring Break” so our Dream Leaders who didn’t have anywhere to go on spring break had something positive to do with their time. We joined forces with an organization called Kid Power that works with underserved communities in Washington DC and hosted 11 students visiting from our Nation’s Capital.   We also teamed up with Mercy Home, a long-term residential home for troubled youth, so our Dream Leaders volunteer team brought students together from as far South as 105^th in Chicago, as far North as Highland Park, and as far east as Washington DC!

The week brought a diverse set of opportunities for our youth—Monday, we worked with Monday Night with the Kids to bring a pizza party to homeless youth, Tuesday, we embarked on a Chicago Amazing Race with all tasks revolving around themes of civic engagement, Wednesday, we hosted an Extreme Recess event helping kids with disabilities experience rock climbing, and Thursday, we cleaned up the backyard at Clara’s House homeless shelter in Englewood, so the kids would have a nice place to play now that the weather is warming.

As always, when we do these events, the part that struck the deepest chord within me is that most of the Dream Leaders have so many of their own considerable problems ranging from poverty to abuse to loss of a loved one and so on. Yet, they are so committed to helping others despite or maybe because of their own struggles. When they do this work together, they are no longer from the South Side or the West Side or the North Side. They are on Dreams for Kids side. They are on the side that is determined to help others. So I ask all of you, who is waiting for you to come help them?

Click here to join the Dream Leaders movement.  Click here to see all the pictures from last week’s Give Back Spring Break.