Stay in School Program Celebrates Student Achievement at Year-End Graduation Ceremony

Exelon/ComEd/United Way initiative commemorates tenth year with paid student internships and college scholarships

CHICAGO--()--Students who participated in an innovative afterschool program created by Exelon, ComEd and United Way of Metropolitan Chicago celebrated a successful 2015-16 academic year with a graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 21 at the Lacuna Artist Loft in Chicago. The organizations marked the close of the program’s tenth year by offering select high school juniors and seniors paid summer internships and, for the first time, awarding college scholarships.

Nearly 100 current students and alumni of the program gathered to celebrate graduating students, observe and evaluate final student presentations, and commemorate a decade of progress in keeping youth on the path to academic achievement. Speakers included CBS-2 Chicago Traffic Reporter, Derrick Young, who also addressed the students at the program’s kick-off in the fall.

The Stay in School initiative awarded scholarships of $2,500 to one college bound senior from each of the six partner agencies that support the program: B.U.I.L.D Inc., Corazon Community Services, Gary Comer Youth Center, Project: Vision, Young Men’s Educational Network (YMEN) and Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.). The agencies provide a holistic suite of programs for students and their families that include tutoring, social services, leadership and social engagement, skill-building and parental workshops. The agencies also joined ComEd, Constellation, Exelon and United Way of Metropolitan Chicago in awarding internships to exceptional students in the program.

“The students who participated in this year’s Stay in School program showed immense commitment to their education, and we are proud to celebrate their achievements today,” said Steve Solomon, vice president of corporate relations at Exelon. “Exelon and ComEd have been actively collaborating with United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and other community-based nonprofits to support students on their journey to finishing high school and continuing their education.”

“United way knows the impact that social, academic and family support has on at-risk youth, and each year we see the Stay in School program succeed in helping students pave the way for bright futures,” said Wendy DuBoe, President and CEO of United Way of Metropolitan Chicago. “We are honored to celebrate the students’ graduation following a year of hard work and dedication, and are excited about their opportunities for continued academic success.”

Since its inception in 2005, the Stay in School program has served approximately 23,000 Chicago-area public school students ages 11 and up. It currently serves students in neighborhoods where dropout rates have been among the highest in Chicago, including Armour Square/Bridgeport, Austin, East Garfield Park, Greater Grand Crossing, Humboldt Park, and North Lawndale, as well as in Cicero, Evanston and Skokie, Ill. Exelon and ComEd have contributed nearly $3 million to fund the program, and employee volunteers provided one-on-one mentoring to students throughout the year.

Students will be working as paid summer interns in the following positions:

Corazon Community Services (5339 W 25th St., Cicero, IL 60804): One student from this agency received a summer internship position with ComEd.

YMEN (1241 S Pulaski Rd., Chicago, IL 60623): Two students from this agency received internships with Project Vision and Gary Comer Youth center.

YOU (1027 Sherman Ave #2sw, Evanston, IL, 60202): One student from this agency was placed in a summer internship at YOU.

Project Vision (2301 S Archer Ave, Chicago IL 60616): Four students from Project Vision will be interns for United Way of Metro Chicago, BUILD and The Girl Scouts.

Gary Comer Youth Center (7200 Ingleside Ave, Chicago, IL 60619): Four students from the agency were placed in summer internships for United Way of Metro Chicago, Exelon, ComEd, Corazon and YMEN.

About Exelon

Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), now including the Pepco Holdings utilities, is the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2015 revenues of approximately $34.5 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon does business in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with more than 32,700 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company’s Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to approximately 2 million residential, public sector and business customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Exelon’s six utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to approximately 10 million customers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania through its Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco subsidiaries. Follow Exelon on Twitter @Exelon.

About ComEd

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 7.8 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About United Way of Metropolitan Chicago

United Way leverages expertise, connections and resources to transform individual lives and entire neighborhoods. We advance the common good on both a regional and neighborhood level by focusing on the building blocks for thriving people and communities: a good education, financial stability, access to quality health care and ensuring basic needs are met. United Way is more than three quarters of the way to reaching significant community-impact goals set for the year 2020 for connecting 200,000 individuals to a primary care physician, helping 50,000 underachieving middle school students enter high school on track for graduation, and improving financial stability for 100,000 households. Additional information is available at www.LIVEUNITEDchicago.org.

Contacts

Exelon
Paul Adams
410-470-4167
paul.adams@constellation.com
or
ComEd
Linsey Godbey
312-394-3500
linsey.godbey@comed.com
or
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
Karyn Ruhl
312-906-2291
karyn.ruhl@uw-mc.org

Contacts

Exelon
Paul Adams
410-470-4167
paul.adams@constellation.com
or
ComEd
Linsey Godbey
312-394-3500
linsey.godbey@comed.com
or
United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
Karyn Ruhl
312-906-2291
karyn.ruhl@uw-mc.org