CHICAGO — After School Matters, a Chicago-based non-profit that provides teenagers with out-of-school programs, keeps kids away from criminal behaviour and gives them opportunities for a brighter future.
The program was created more than two decades ago, when then-Chicago First Lady Maggie Daley and former Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg decided to develop cultural activities for the city’s teenagers. It now offers over 23,000 activities for its 15,000 students.
Most of the teens enrolled in the various ASM programs come from families living at or below the poverty level.