Partnering to Promote and Expand Chicago Public Schools

SocialWorks is partnering with the popular ride-sharing service, Lyft, to help create and expand arts education programs for Chicago Public Schools. Through the “Round Up and Donate” feature on the Lyft app, Lyft riders can choose to round up their fares to the next dollar, with the difference going to a charity of their choice.

It’s incredibly easy to sign up. Simply go into the Settings tab in the Lyft app and opt-in to the “Round Up and Donate” program. Then select “CPS: The New Chance Fund” to have your contributions automatically sent to the New Chance Arts and Literature Fund.

“Every contribution … brings this city and this nation closer to providing a well-rounded quality education for each and every child,” Chance the Rapper explained at the August SocialWorks summit. “Funding quality education for public [school] students is the most important investment a community can make.”

Though each individual contribution may seem small, every penny helps bring needed resources to Chicago Public Schools and can help expose children in under-privileged schools to arts programs they may otherwise not have access to. You make a difference every time you ride, and over time the contributions really add up. It’s a great way to get involved in SocialWorks mission even if you only have so much money to give.

Since its inception, SocialWorks has already raised $2.2 million for public schools in Chicago. Sign up with Lyft to help make this number even higher!

SocialWorks and Lyft Partner to Allow Riders to “Round Up and Donate” to CPS was originally published in SocialWorks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

SocialWorks & Chance the Rapper Team Up with STATE Bags to Donate 30,000 Backpacks

Are you ready for the back-to-school season? SocialWorks and Chance the Rapper are teaming up with STATE Bags to donate 30,000 backpacks to kids in Chicago. We will be working with STATE bags throughout the month to equip students with the right tools for a better education.

Chance served as Grand Marshal on Saturday, August 12 at the Bud Billiken Parade. He was alongside STATE Bags founders Jacq and Scot Tatelman. The trio handed out STATE backpacks filled with school supplies to local kids and their families. However, it does not stop there. More bags will be donated in September at various schools throughout the city.

“We admire the work we’ve seen by STATE and are proud to partner with them as we work towards enhancing education and conversation around funding formulas nationally,” Chance says. STATE is a one-for-one company — for each bag sold, another one is donated to a kid in need. The Brooklyn-based company has been particularly active in Chicago this year. In addition to our partnership, they teamed up with the White Sox on August 8th to donate hundreds of backpacks to the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago.

“We’ve donated STATE backpacks across the country, and decided to dedicate our entire back to school giving efforts to the kids of Chicago this year,” says STATE Co-Founder, Scot Tatelman.

SocialWorks is proud to say that with our partnership, STATE will officially donate over 100,000 bags by the end of the fall season. We’re happy to be part of their amazing journey.

In continued efforts to support Chicago students,SocialWorks also created the New Chance Arts & Literature Fund to give students access to the arts, enrichment, and educational resources. The initiative will fund schools through the 2017–2018 academic year.

For more information on this partnership and the work we are doing in Chicago this back to school season, check out @SocialWorks_Chi on Instagram and Twitter and visit www.statebags.com/pages/chicago.