CHICAGO, DECEMBER 28th, 2017
By Conor Hare
There was a breath of fresh air that morning as I took in the 32 degree weather outside of O’ Hare Airport. I had left behind an entirely different life in Southern California to start a new chapter, a new experience, and at the time, an unknowingly new career that was ahead of me.
I struggled for the first month or so seeking out my next career move while second guessing to hang up my past career as a Hospitality Director. It wasn’t until I decided to take a long weekend home to my roots in Philadelphia that the germ of the Chicago office idea started to develop. I would frequent JTWO when I came back to Philadelphia for years as Travis and Justin have been long time friends and I always made sure to come antagonize the office with each visit. This time around, I was dreading my second hotel move in Chicago and was just about at wits end to cut the cord.
LISC Chicago - "Hoops In The Hood"
Client: LISC Chicago
We teamed up with LISC Chicago and State Farm to write and produce the Hoops in the Hood brand video for their 13th Annual City Wide Tournament in Downtown Chicago.
Travis, Justin and I stepped out for lunch one afternoon and they were asking me about the move and the new gig out in Chicago. I had to be honest and tell them it wasn’t what I had expected and I wanted out. Suddenly one of us jokingly said, “well let’s just open a Chicago office.” At that moment, on the corner of Chestnut and 4th, we all stopped in our tracks and looked at each other with wide eyes and large smiles.
As the Chicago office began to develop over the first couple months and we started to stomp our footprint in the Windy City, I met a very animated man by the name of LaVonte Stewart. He told me about his non-profit organization Lost Boyz Inc and how the Southside is misunderstood. During this encounter I could see that he was very invested in the kids that resided on the Southside of Chicago as he was once one of them. This began my interest in spreading the word of our Projects That Matter Initiative to help tell the story of the Southside Community.
THE LOST BOYZ OF CHICAGO
From the award-winning team that brought you For Aaron: The Documentary comes the inspiring true story of The Lost Boyz of Chicago – a youth baseball league playing to reclaim their community from gang violence within one of the of the most violent neighborhoods in America.
Over the past year and a half in Chicago, we have made a point to work hand in hand with many non-profit organizations who tend to kids who are growing up on the Southside.
Since opening our office in 2018, we have done multiple projects that ultimately help bring awareness and support to over 20 communities in the South of Chicago. We have partnered with Laureus Sport for Good, State Farm, Local Initiative Support Corporation and We Raise Foundation to assist the kids residing in these communities with their voice that needs to be heard on a larger stage so the rest of the world can hear first hand from them and not just from the National News stations.
