Exemplary citizenship, good grades, and an essay were the ticket to history for twenty-four 5^th and 6^th graders from Lawndale - one of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods. Because of their hard work, they’re off to the nation’s capitol to witness the Presidential Inauguration and more.

Thanks in part to a major grant from The McCormick Foundation, students from Frazier Preparatory Academy will venture to Washington to witness the 44^th President of the United States take the oath of office. The group – who call themselves the “DC-24” - have been planning this trip since last summer when it became apparent this Presidential race would make history with either the first African-American President, or first female Vice-President. To take this trip of a lifetime, the kids solicited donations from family and friends and even wrote letters to others to try to make it a reality. It was a $24,000 grant from The McCormick Foundation that ultimately made the trip possible.

Upon selection, all of the “DC-24” agreed to participate in extra civics classes and have been busy diving deep into history, civil rights and political lessons. The “DC-24” have spent hours learning about President-Elect Barack Obama’s cabinet, and even created special “flash cards” to learn who’s who in the new administration.

The swearing-in won’t be the only thing they do. They’ll spend four days in Washington, living and breathing American history. The group plans to visit The Smithsonian Museum, Arlington National Cemetery, tour Howard University and the Capitol, and attend an Inaugural Ball.

The “DC-24” plan to share their unique experience with America. They’ll blog and vlog throughout their trip, and ask everyone to join in the dialogue by sharing their own thoughts and experiences online – whether they watched from their living room or a boardroom by logging onto

www.sharemyinauguration.com.

WHEN:

Frazier Preparatory Academy principal, Lakita Little and the “DC-24” are available for interviews. Media are invited to watch their sendoff from Frazier Prep, Saturday at 10am.  Interviews are also available in DC between the 18th and 21st.

McCormick Foundation President and CEO, David Grange is also available to talk about the Foundation’s commitment to ensuring that all children are provided safe, high-quality early learning environments that will prepare them to be active and engaged citizens. To learn more about The McCormick Foundation, log into www.mccormickfoundation.org

For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact: Kim Metcalfe, Weber Shandwick, ph: 312-988-2393 or email at kmetcalfe@webershandwick.com