East St. Louis is located in Illinois, directly across the Mississippi River from the city of St. Louis. It is one of the most impoverished cities in America, and it is home to more than 10,000 children between the ages of 4 and 18, many of whom live in poverty. These youth face enormous challenges as they grow up in East St. Louis. Drugs and gang activity constantly threaten their existence, and many kids reach maturity having never really experienced the joys of childhood.

The statistics that many of you have likely read only capture a small picture of our city. One cannot argue with the recent studies that have revealed that a soldier in Iraq is far safer than a male resident in East St. Louis. No one can dispute the hard reality of a high poverty rate, and the fact that over half our students fail to even reach their senior year of high school. But what statistics do not tell you is that we have many people in East St. Louis who love this city, and who are committed to its citizens. For as many "hard statistics" as we have, we have even more people who are striving for the betterment of themselves and East St. Louis, which makes it a place that's even easier to love!