Mission:
Opacity Optics provides quality eye wear with a greater purpose.Opacity Optics will launch a new sun glass brand and give back, through donations, to Chicago Youth Centers (CYC). CYC provides enrichment programs and centers for teenagers to grow and learn. Our inner city youth matter and as fellow products of Chicago, Hoodlums & Brigands (H&B) collaborated to designing and launching a meaningful product.
Why did the owner advocate for CYC?
"I grew up in a single-parent household with a mother who became sick and unable to tend to her five children. With no father around due to my mother's sickness, my four siblings and I had to raise ourselves. We taught ourselves how to survive, and sometimes that meant 'borrowing' food from a local grocery store so we could eat. Each of us chose a path that we thought would help us survive. My brother and I started to attend an after-school program similar to what CYC provides until I was eleven years old. At eleven years old, I began spending more time with local gang members until I engulfed myself in that lifestyle. With no mentors or role models, I spiraled out of control. At sixteen years old, I was at a funeral for a close friend who was shot and killed by a rival gang. This was the third time I experienced the loss of a close friend due to gang violence and that funeral made me realize that I needed to leave. At the same time, my brother continued his involvement with a program very similar to CYC. He continued to participate in and eventually volunteered for the program until he went to college on a scholarship. I believe the biggest influence on his success was the space and people the program provided for my brother to grow beyond the streets of Chicago. There is no question in my mind as to whether or not programs like these work. These programs take our youth off the streets and provide them with a space to learn, build, and prepare for a life that is already difficult to navigate. That is why I have chosen CYC for our first drop and collaboration with H&B."