Hollis Cobb Associates is proud to be a premium sponsor of the 4th Annual Golf Outing to benefit the Chicago charity, College Bound Opportunities (CBO). Members of CBO mentor economically disadvantaged students with the goal of helping them discover their potential, complete high school and graduate from college. The mentors go on to help new graduates pursue meaningful professions and inspire other young people to strive to fulfill their own college dreams.
Hollis Cobb’s Ken Rubin is this Year’s CBO President
Ken Rubin, Hollis Cobb CFO, and CEO of Bonded Collection Corporation in Chicago,
is this year’s CBO president. He is happy to play an integral role in the organization which is celebrating its 10th year. CBO mentors are changing lives every day in suburban Chicago communities, and Ken and his board of directors are dedicated to continue impacting the community in a positive way by demonstrating the value of education and hard work.
Golf Outing Celebrity Guest Otis Wilson
The 4th Annual Tees for Degrees Golf Outing is set for August 8, 2016 at the Royal Melbourne Country Club in Long Grove, Illinois. Special Celebrity guest, Otis Wilson, former outside linebacker for the 1985 champion Chicago Bears, will be playing alongside community and CBO leaders. Activities will include a helicopter ball drop and special cash prize for a hole in one contest. The event is one of CBO’s largest annual fundraisers and enables the organization to continue offering financial assistance to hard-working students who otherwise might not have an opportunity to pursue a college education.
About College Bound Opportunities
CBO was founded in 2006 when a small group of individuals learned of the obstacles faced by high achieving students on the North Shore of Chicago who had the ability, but not the financial resources, to attend college. The founders of CBO made it their goal to mentor students in area high schools and help provide them with access to colleges.
The CBO mentors did not stop there. They continued to mentor the students throughout their college experience, helped them find paying internships in their fields of study, assisted them with the job interview process and even helped them learn to network and find potential employers. The program provides resume and cover letter writing workshops, help with developing elevator pitches and also provides professional attire for interviews. The entire mentoring program lasts six years — from a student’s junior year in high school to graduation from a four-year college or university.
How the Mentoring Program Works
The mentoring process begins with volunteers who are screened and trained. Those who are approved develop one on one relationships with their assigned scholars, helping them make positive academic and personal decisions while still in high school. The CBO program provides ACT prep courses along with financial assistance based on student’s SAT scores. The higher the score, the more financial aid is made available to the student.
Mentors helps students identify the best colleges for their areas of interest, and they assist with the college application process. The mentors help students locate and apply for scholarships as well as other forms of financial aid. Most of the CBO scholars are the first in their families to go to college. Their mentors provide emotional support and encouragement, and help the scholars adapt to living on campus. They monitor classes and grades, eventually helping the scholars select their majors.
Making a Difference
The efforts of the CBO volunteer mentors are making a difference in communities along the North Shore of Chicago. The students who work with CBO come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and experiences. What they have in common is a high potential to succeed, but a lack of resources to realize their college dreams. CBO helps make those dreams become a reality. According to CBO leaders, “College aspirations among low income, first generation students have risen significantly over the past 15 years, yet the college attainment rates for the same period have remained flat. CBO’s six-year program closes this gap.”
