A bold move to rescue Chicago's youth from leftist dependency
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By Corey Brooks
Published May 13, 2025
Most of the youth I mentor on the South Side of Chicago come from the projects and from single-parent households. The sad reality is that the government plays a big role in the lives of these kids, from food on the table to the kind of education they receive. No child in America should have to grow up with this kind of dependency on a faceless bureaucracy — every child deserves to grow up in a world of true opportunity where they have a shot to make themselves into somebodies.
That is why I am launching an unprecedented summer camp initiative that is designed to end this cycle of dependency for once and for all. The camp — "Secure the Bag: God's Way—Small Investors, Big Futures" — will directly challenge the destructive victimhood narrative of the Left and steer them toward the American Dream, where they will learn how to seek and create their own opportunities.
Most of these young children have no idea that living a life of dependency on the government is not normal. Some of them come from families that have had five or seven generations on the government dole. The first thing we plan to do is disabuse them of that notion that this way of living is normal.
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FIRST TWO LESSONS I TEACH MY KIDS ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE
While Chicago politicians debate endlessly about solutions, this summer we will teach our youth that conservative or American values are the ones that truly lift individuals out of poverty. We will teach them the values of hard work, personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, and faith-based stewardship.
At our camp this summer we will educate young minds on how government checks along with handouts have never lifted anyone out of poverty permanently. They instead trap their families and communities in endless cycles of dependency where there is little dignity to be had.
We will educate these young minds on how government checks along with handouts have never lifted anyone out of poverty permanently. They instead trap their families and communities in endless cycles of dependency where there is little dignity to be had. Worse, the habit of ambition and aspiration is never learned. Our youth must learn to reject the false promises of the radical left and instead choose the path of freedom, self-reliance, and their God-given potential.
I know freedom is scary for many. It exposes the flaws within us. But that is what this camp is for. So we can see where we stand today and begin the work to improve ourselves so that we may one day have the strength to not only create our own opportunities but pursue them with the resilience and faith that is needed to turn them into reality.
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Tasha grew up in this world of dependency and her upbringing has not been an easy one. Her father was killed by a bullet and her mother works two jobs to provide for the family. Tasha admires her mother's strength and courage and she dreams of giving back to her mother and lifting her family out of poverty.
See? She has the dream. A dream that is so natural to most of us if we were to find ourselves in her shoes. But Tasha doesn't know where the pathway to opportunity is.
That is why I created this camp for kids like Tasha. For the entire summer, she will learn that she is capable, valuable, and designed for greatness. We will tell her that she must refuse to allow herself to be defined by tragedy or dependency. Her life must not be wasted. Faith and self-reliance will instead be her guiding lights.
Today, more than ever, America stands at a crossroads. We can continue to fund failed government programs that breed poverty and all the ills that come along with it or we can invest directly in individuals like Tasha.
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It is my hope that you will support our camp with your prayers and anything else you feel called to do and help us change the culture in our country by installing the American values of faith, hard work, and education as the true pathways to a life of opportunity.
Stand with us. Help us secure the bag, God's way.
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