Chicago, IL – Chicago Public School (CPS) students and their families are getting a special Chicago-style door-to-door delivery.
It comes courtesy Garrett Popcorn Shops, which donated thousands of bags of Garrett Mix to community organizations that partners with CPS for the district’s Choose to Change Program. The University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab found Choose to Change reduces violence and increases school attendance among the highest risk students.
The nonprofits making the delivery include Youth Advocate Programs – or YAP — which partners with Children’s Home & Aid to deliver Choose to Change wraparound and trauma-informed behavioral health services. Joining YAP for the popcorn delivery are New Life Centers and Lifeline to Hope, Inc., two nonprofits that will help CPS reach up to 1,000 students with Choose-to-Change informed programming by the end of 2022.
YAP’s Street Outreach and Violence Prevention Director Kenneth Lewis said the nonprofit employees making the Garrett Chicago Mix deliveries are catching up with Choose to Change students and their families and neighbors at home, church, community centers, barbershops, and other gathering spots throughout the community.
The donation was made possible through talks with Garrett and CPS Chief of Safety and Security Officer Jadine Chou.
