The Bears hosted a special event in the PNC Center at Halas Hall Tuesday that should benefit those in attendance for decades to come.
The Chicago Bears Dream Summit Experience was held to inspire young people from several Chicago organizations to dream and to provide a roadmap for them to achieve those visions, particularly those involving their careers.
The Bears collaborated with the nonprofit organization "Free to Dream" to put on the event. Free to Dream is a nonprofit organization founded by award-winning musician, Chicago native and founding partner of the Art in Motion creative arts school, Common, which is designed to empower youth by creating access for them to education, jobs, wellness, and justice.
About 70 students — along with 30 or so mentors — were on hand from Art in Motion, the CHAMPS Male Mentoring program, Chicago Scholars, Dreamers & Believers, Youth Guidance, Hope Chicago and the Kenwood Academy girls flag football team.
Speakers included Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren, Common and Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson. The event was emceed by Free to Dream's Kara May and Calvin Williams.
"It really aligns with the work we've been doing with our career expos," said Bears DEI and social impact programs manager Mallorie Sanders, "where we're making sure kids have the opportunity to get access to different careers and different opportunities, understanding what's available and in front of them."
Warren's message focused on the importance of dreaming.
"Things just don't happen," said the Bears President and CEO. "Even me standing here today working for the Bears, working at the Big Ten, winning the Super Bowl with the Rams, married to my wife, having our kids, I dreamt all those things. They may have looked a little different, but I've seen them before.
"That's why it's so important for you all to surround yourself with good people and good energy and good vibrations because your body takes in what's around you. So be very cautious. Be judicious about who you allow in your space, in your life, and who you allow to speak to you … Stay away from negativity. Be fearless but not reckless, be courageous. Dream big. Reach for the sky and just know that you can do anything."
Common was up next. The popular music artist, actor and activist spoke about achieving dreams, finding purpose and serving others.
"How do you want to be remembered?" he asked the audience. "If the earth had a voice, what would you want it to say about your life? What would it say about who you are? I think about that a lot. That's something that's very important to me; how and what I leave on this planet.
"Through my dream I found purpose. My dream was the thing that was kind of keeping me alive. I'm from the South Side. I went through some of the same things that you all experience. But it was my dream that made me feel like I have something to live for. I have something to give to this planet."
When Common was introduced, the students buzzed with excitement.
"Common being here is huge," Sanders said. "You see how people respond when he walks in a room. You can tell that he really cares about this work. To see how much he cares about it and seeing that he trusts us to be a partner in putting something like this on means a lot. Again, you see how the kids respond. One kid said, 'I didn't expect him to be here.' You can tell that means a lot to them, that he took the time to come and spend time with them.
"Same with Kevin Warren. Having our President and CEO really just continue to invest in the community work that we do and giving back to kids specifically in underserved areas is major. I think that's great."
Tuesday's event included breakout sessions and concluded with the students heading over to the Walter Payton Center, where they ran through football drills and met Bears offensive tackle Theo Benedet.
Common, who has won three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, was thrilled to participate in the Dream Summit.
"Today's goal was that young people can see something that they want to be, something that they may aspire to have in their lives and have steps to take it—and feel that they have the power to do it," Common told ChicagoBears.com.
"The Chicago Bears have really shown me an example of a football team that's reaching out to the community. Kevin Warren, who I've been able to connect with in different ways and talked with has been an example of a leader to me that really does care. We were talking about, 'how can we do stuff together that's going to really be substantial in the Chicago area,' and this is just one of the ways, so it's great to have an organization as powerful and as strong as the Bears, and me, I'm still a grassroots guy, so it's a great connection."
