I would like to run my second marathon on honor of the East Village Youth Program (EVYP: please see www.evyp.org). The mission of EVYP is close to my heart - to support the youth of Chicago's growing Latino population in preparing for and pursing college degrees. Many of these youth are low-income and potentially the first in their family to go to college. Many of them don't see college as a possibility, and EVYP strives to change that perception and make college a possibility through tutoring, mentoring, community outreach, assistance with test prep and college applications, and scholarship money for students who meet program requirements.

After 20 years of service, EVYP almost had to close its doors last fall due to the impact of the recession. Thankfully, donors like you came through in order to keep the program open. However, EVYP still had to cut back on its services. Please support EVYP so we can make sure students can continue to receive the valuable services the program has to offer and so that the program can expand back to its previous level of operation.