The wood family foundation will work to improve the lives of children in and around chicago, illinois by raising funds and awareness for children's charities and children's causes it supports. It raises funds through events, sponsorships and donations. The foundation is committed to working towards funding long-term projects as well as providing immediate relief for various children's issues.

Philanthropy , Public Foundations

Established in 2011 by retired chicago cubs pitcher kerry wood, and his wife sarah, the wood family foundation seeks to improve the lives of children in four high-need neighborhoods in chicago: north lawndale, humboldt park, austin and englewood, and to inspire others to join in. Our pitch in program is immersed in our school partnership buildings, and run by our highly qualified pitch in staff members. Our model employs high-quality mentoring relationships and exposure to unique experiences, to ensure our students develop the mindsets necessary to transition to high school successfully. Pitch in also strives to make a sizable impact on the school communities we serve. The pitch in program is one that seeks to solve a key issue facing chicago public school students: that many are entering high school lacking the skills, mindsets and experiences necessary to be successful. According to research done by the consortium on chicago school research, on-track students in 9th grade are more than three and one-half times more likely to graduate from high school in four years. The indicator is a more accurate predictor of graduation than students' previous achievement test scores or their background characteristics. By the same token, failures in the first year of high school also make a student much less likely to graduate. To solve this problem, pitch in lives within the elementary school, adding capacity to the 4th-8th grades through the creation of a community hub/resource room, a connection to a high-quality mentor, access to unique experiences, facilitation of a strong social emotional curriculum, and multiple touchpoints with the entire school community. To date, pitch in serves 54 students in the 4th-7th grades at lawndale community academy on the west side of chicago. Each week, our students enter our colorful, well-resourced, in-school pitch in classroom, excited to see our staff leaders and their adult mentors. For nearly three hours, they engage with a social-emotional curriculum that is themed monthly with units that are relevant to their needs & lives. Each month, our staff brings in outside resources to enhance the curriculum and work with both students and mentors on the development of a month-end project. For instance, last month, the old town school of music supported our students to develop musical performances, while previously, y&r ad agency worked with every student to create their own personal logo. At the end of the month, pitch in invites every student's family to join us at the school for a "family dinner", both an opportunity to showcase that month's project, and to break bread together as a community. Each summer, our pitch in staff runs a summer program for students focused on giving them access to unique experiences outside of their neighborhood, to expose them to the many opportunities our city has to offer. Last, given our program is embedded in the school building, our team works closely with the school administration to act as a support in whatever way is needed. This year alone, we've worked with the school admin to bring in programs to enhance elective courses, executed two "lock ins" to build school culture, and organized both a peace parade and a school carnival. Since pitch in has partnered with lca, students have reported feeling more connected to the world outside of their neighborhood, and both grades and behavior have improved for our students. Additionally, over 30 adult mentors from all walks of life have connected with our lca students, thus having impact on their view of our city and their commitment to shaping the lives of all kids. Pitch in students, parents and lca school administrators all agree the program has had deep impact on student lives and overall impact to the school. The school counselor at lawndale community academy shares, "pitch-in has had a strong impact on the school community at lawndale community academy. Over the years, we have watched students that enter th