Exelon Commits $3 Million to Expand “Becoming a Man” Program Targeting At-Risk Chicago Students

Program aims to reach more than 4,000 participants this school
year, helping to increase graduation rates and reduce conflict

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Exelon announced that it has committed $3 million over three years to
help fund a significant expansion of Youth Guidance’s Becoming a Man
(BAM) program with a goal to serve 4,080 male Chicago Public Schools
students this year. The expansion represents an increase of 30 percent
over the previous year, or an additional 1,300 students. Expanding this
program and other mentoring programs supports Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s
three-year commitment to reach 7,200 young men from at-risk communities
with high-quality mentoring opportunities to support them in staying in
school and on-track to graduate from high school.

“At Exelon, we believe that empowering young people is the key to
creating opportunity and building stronger communities,” said Chris
Crane, president and CEO of Exelon. “Programs like BAM prove that with
investment and support, our kids can reject violence and instead step
forward into bold and promising futures.”

“Important investments in mentoring that have the power to turn young
people’s lives around cannot wait for the next budget season,” said
Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “I want to thank our partners at Exelon for stepping
up in support of our plan to expand critical mentoring services to youth
who need it most. Not only will their support help to make a difference
in the lives of thousands of young people across the city, but it will
contribute to a better future for our city overall.”

“Exelon has been a strong supporter of Youth Guidance’s mission to help
youth overcome obstacles for many years, and through Exelon’s generous
leadership gift to expand our BAM program across Chicago, over 400
Chicago youth will have a caring, skilled BAM Counselor guiding and
supporting them for each of the next three years,” said Michelle Adler
Morrison, CEO, Youth Guidance. “The impact of Exelon’s support for the
youth we serve and their communities will reverberate across Chicago.”

BAM is a school-based group counseling program that helps young men
learn and utilize social cognitive skills, such as slowing down their
thinking, considering the perspective of others and identifying and
evaluating consequences before acting. The program model integrates
cognitive behavioral therapy, youth engagement and rites of passage
work. BAM’s foundation rests upon six core values: integrity,
accountability, self-determination, positive anger expression, respect
for women and visionary goal setting. Last school year, BAM served 2,751
young men in 50 Chicago schools.

A recent University of Chicago Crime Lab study found that BAM reduced
violent crime arrests by 50 percent, reduced total arrests by 35 percent
and increased on-time high school graduation rates by 19 percent for
male students at Chicago Public Schools.

Evidence-based programs like BAM provide young men from at-risk
neighborhoods the support they need to stay on-track to graduate from
high school and avoid involvement in the criminal justice system that is
more likely if they drop out of school.

Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is a Fortune 100 energy company with the
largest number of utility customers in the U.S. Exelon does business in
48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada and had 2015 revenue of
$34.5 billion. Exelon’s six utilities deliver electricity and natural
gas to approximately 10 million customers in Delaware, the District of
Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania through its
Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco
subsidiaries. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power
generators, with more than 32,700 megawatts of nuclear, gas, wind, solar
and hydroelectric generating capacity comprising one of the nation’s
cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company’s
Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to
approximately 2.5 million residential, public sector and business
customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Follow
Exelon on Twitter @Exelon.

Contacts

Exelon Corporation
Paul Adams
410-470-4167
paul.adams@constellation.com

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