What better way to celebrate our Founder’s birthday today than with packing college trunks for 200 college-bound students! Born on June 26, 1868, Ada S. McKinley is pictured in the black-and-white photo from 1952 during a ceremony where she laid the cornerstone at our first headquarters on 34th Street in Bronzeville. She passed away just hours later.
That headquarters now houses our College & Career Preparation Program that serves more than 1,600 Chicago Public School students annually and has placed more than 75,000 graduating seniors in more than 400 colleges, universities, and trade schools since the 1960s. The program has helped students secure billions of dollars in financial aid and scholarships, including $31 million this year alone!
Ada S. McKinley founded our agency in 1919 when post-secondary education opportunities for African Americans were nonexistent. She invested all her time and personal resources to serve African American World War I veterans and support southern families fleeing to Chicago during the Great Migration to seek a better future.
This Trunk Packing Party was a wonderful way to celebrate her legacy as we prepare to award college-bound students with our annual Revie Sorey Trunk Scholarships at the Obama Presidential Center next month. The trunks are filled with necessities for dorm living, school supplies, laptops, and other technology tools.
Happy Birthday Ada S. McKinley! Learn More about how she created the legacy we continue to honor through our work today.
