Illinois’ comeback story starts here.
"“With all the student-athletes I work with, my goal is to get them to understand the importance of using that work ethic in everything; not just basketball."
“We want to be a role model. We hope that others will do the same through development to uplift and restore our communities to what they were.”
“They claimed that they were going to come out and dialog with us about what they were going to do. But what happened is that they actually came out to tell us what they were going to do, rather than dialog to get our input."
Matthew Hamer grew up on Chicago’s South Side. In junior high, his family of four was evicted from their one-bedroom apartment, leaving them in homeless shelters. An abundance of hard work and the intervention of a highly committed teacher allowed Matthew and his brother, Levy, to graduate college and find successful careers. “I still remember...
“The teachers unions are basically playing hardline partisan politics when our children’s education is at stake."
"I pulled her and her twin sister from public school because of severe bullying. There was an incident where I could not send them back.”
“Words cannot even begin to express how much these scholarships can truly mean to someone. I want lawmakers to give other kids opportunities to feel the change I felt.”
“There are a lot of kids that thrive because they're helped out by these scholarships. Like for our family, my husband went through cancer twice and so it affects what jobs he can or can't do."
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