The idea was to showcase the untold stories of hope behind the violence, by filming combat veterans reading letters from a group whose experiences were strikingly similar—children from West Garfield Park, Chicago.

To highlight the growing rates of PTSD among children in violent neighborhoods, we “hijacked” a group therapy session for soldiers (with the help of a clinically trained psychologist), having them read letters written by the children of Off The Street Club. Then on Veterans Day we surprised the nation with a branded content piece that showed how much the children have in common with combat veterans. The film was shared online across social media networks to encourage donations to the Club.

The Toughest Letter was an integral part of the most successful fundraising campaign in the Club’s 116 years, raising enough money to keep the doors open for years to come, and helping to keep over 3000 brave, young kids from being recruited into gang drugs and violence.

We needed to prove to Chicagoans that the violence in West Garfield Park wasn’t beyond helping, with a budget of $0. Studies show that children from high-crime neighborhoods have a higher rate of PTSD then combat veterans, so we sought to showcase the resilience of these children by having combat veterans reading letters written by children at Off the Street Club. The ultimate objective being to raise the critical funds needed to keep Off the Street Club’s doors open.

In Chicago, 93 murder victims in 2016 were 19 or younger. That number is shocking—to everyone except our audience. People in Chicago had become so numb to the violence in West Garfield Park, that they thought it was beyond saving. Off The Street Club relies completely on donations each year to keep their doors open. So we had to show people that there is hope, and that the toughest people in Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods aren’t gangsters, they're children. The ultimate objective being to raise the critical funds needed to keep Off the Street Club’s doors open.