Welcome to the official website of the Off the Street Club JuniorBoard. The Club, which has been serving the at-risk youth of the WestSide of Chicago for over 100 years, has been supported through most ofits existence by the generous members of Chicago's advertisingcommunity. Founded by John McMurray in 1900, the Club was firstsponsored by Abner Crossman and Frank Thomas, who were members of theAdvertising Clubs of Chicago. That relationship between kids and adexecs has grown over the years, but now is the time for expansion intothe rest of the city's many industries and generous souls.

The Junior Board was first convened in October of 2002. DarcyBozeous, a senior board member, began assembling a list of eager youngpeople, 28-40, who had the same interest in helping the children ofGarfield Park, Chicago's most dangerous neighborhood. For the firsttime, the goal was set to reach out to people who may never have heardof the club. Twenty-one of us, representing a diverse background offields, including accounting, real estate, financial planning,publishing, public relations, writing, psychology, and yes,advertising, have all come together for a cause we truly believe in. Asthe Club's Director, and former childhood member, Ralph Campagna willtell you, "If you don't stand for something, you will fall foranything."

As our mission statement reads, we were "created to support OTSC inits century-long mission to bring help for today and hope for tomorrowto the at-risk children of Chicago's inner city. " One of the importantsteps in achieving our goals is to get the word out to people such asyourself: our friends, our families, our neighbors, who are part of thecity of Chicago yet may never have known about the little miracles thathappen every day on Karlov Avenue. We are dedicated to seeing thisgroup of underprivileged children have the privilege of growing up tobe fine adults who continue to shape the face and fabric of our city.

Since this may be the first you have heard of the Off the StreetClub, we are hoping that you will take a few moments to become familiarwith what we are doing for the children and, frankly, what the childrenare doing for us. We hope that you will find a way of becoming involvedwith us, and the kids, whether it is through volunteering for anouting, assembling a group for tutoring, or letting us speak to yourcompany about payroll donations. We hope you will join us at one of themany fun events we have scheduled for this year.

Thanks for your time and attention. We hope to see you at the Club one day soon.