Six Chicago area marketing agencies created ad hoc music bands and took to the stage for a competition on May 28 at The Cubby Bear, 1059 W. Addison, to help raise money for Off the Street Club, “a nonprofit that offers kids who live in Garfield Park, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country, a safe haven to learn, laugh and play,” according to a statement.
“Children deserve a place of safety, fun and casual joy, said Ralph Campagna, executive director for the club. “It’s a birth right. But unfortunately, that birth right has been robbed from them. Children in this neighborhood live in peril,” he said. “The worst times for them are when it rains or when school is done for the summer. They can’t play outside. They can’t ride their bikes. They constantly wonder if they’ll get shot as they walk to a friend’s house.”
The goal of the event was to raise more than $45,000 “to help nearly 100 children escape the gun shots, violence, drugs by attending summer camp.”
