The game brings them in. The academics move them forward. Your support opens the next pathway.

OWLS exists to empower youth by opening pathways to growth and opportunity. This year, our mission is clearer and more urgent than ever.

Students in the West and South Side communities we serve — Austin, North Lawndale, Back of the Yards, Pilsen, the Near West Side — face chronic underinvestment in schools, academic instability, limited access to enrichment, and personal challenges ranging from frequent school transitions to food and housing insecurity. For many families, OWLS is one of the most stable educational and relational anchors in their child’s life.

Within that reality, the heart of our work is academic support.

Through our core Junior Academy and Academy Scholars programs, OWLS delivers a clear, intentional pathways model — guiding student-athletes from foundational skills in grades 4–8 to postsecondary readiness in grades 9–12.

Inside classrooms, during enrichment workshops, tutoring sessions, and on the lacrosse field, students build the confidence, study habits, executive functioning, and resiliency they need to succeed in school and beyond.

Enrollment in our core academic programs continues to grow, and the academic needs behind that growth are deepening.

Last school year, OWLS delivered over 5,000 hours of programming and our Academy programs increased enrollment by 78%.

For each student, that time includes:

academic coaching and tutoring
test prep and high school application support
enrichment workshops
executive functioning and study skills
mentorship and SEL support
consistent adult relationships
transportation, meals, and safe spaces to learn and grow
full access to lacrosse training, interscholastic play, and seasonal camps/clinics

Your gift fuels the academic infrastructure that makes this possible.
You help meet the rising academic needs our students face — not just after school, but throughout their entire journey from fourth grade to graduation.

And your support today directly strengthens the pathway toward our spring scholarship awards, helping student-athletes access high-performing educational environments aligned with their abilities and aspirations. The academic work happening now is what gives students real opportunity later.

From all of us here at OWLS, THANK YOU❤️

Give Hope Beyond the Field, #GiveAHoot with OWLS Lacrosse!

This Giving Season, Give the Gift of Hope

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