Money builds the building. People build the program. Here are four ways to be part of it — and every one of them starts with a name and an email, not a commitment you cannot keep.
The ARK has never had a shortage of people who like what we do. It has had a shortage of ways to say yes.
A donate button converts the small number of people who arrive already convinced. Everybody else — the neighbor, the retired teacher, the person who runs payroll at a company that would hire one of our teens tomorrow — has nothing to click. This page is for them.
The fastest way to move the work. A gift of any size goes to programs — staff, supplies, field trips, the stipends our teens earn. Gifts to the new campus go to the building fund instead.
Any amount, once or monthly
A youth entrepreneurship program runs on adults in the room. Mentor a Mini-Boss, judge a pitch day, teach the thing you already do for a living, or sit on a career panel.
From one afternoon to two hours a month
Be our voice in the rooms we are not in. We will send you the words and the pictures — you decide where they land. Three things, and none of them is a second job.
About an hour a month
Bring what your organization already has. Programming, space, paid work experience for a teenager, a professional service, or an introduction to somebody who should know us.
A conversation, not a form
Ambassador programs die when they ask for a habit. We are asking for three specific acts instead, and we give you everything you need to do them.
When The ARK posts something, put it in front of your people. Once a month is a real commitment kept by real people. Once a week is a job.
To an event, a pitch day, the ribbon-cutting in North Lawndale. One person you brought is worth more to us than a hundred impressions.
Your workplace, your church, your block club, your group chat. You know rooms we will never get into. That is the whole point of you.
An ambassador kit: the facts you can quote and where they came from, three posts already written, the renderings of the new campus sized for every platform, and the one page that explains The ARK to somebody who has never heard of us.
The honest list. Every role that puts you with young people needs a background check, and we will walk you through it.
One form for all four. Pick a lane, tell us a little about yourself, and a person — not an autoresponder — will write back within a week.
Optional, and not a commitment. It tells us who to call when one of these comes up.
We will only ever write to you about The ARK. Prefer to talk? Call 773-893-5966 or email info@arkec.org.