PNC-Bears Homeroom Huddle: Where big dreams start small

The PNC-Bears Homeroom Huddle brought a burst of excitement, learning and plenty of smiles to more than 60 preschoolers at Tioga Elementary in Bensenville.

PNC volunteers, joined by Chicago Bears former defensive tackle Henry Melton, teamed up to spark curiosity, encourage early reading, and inspire young learners.

Throughout the visit, classrooms were filled with story time, high-fives and contagious giggles.

One shy student, who rarely speaks, raised his hand to ask Melton a question about the story. A little girl proudly shared a hand-drawn poster — complete with a Bears logo — to welcome Melton. Teachers and staff joined in the fun too, taking photos and celebrating the special moment.

Tioga School houses the Bensenville Early Learning Center, which provides Head Start and Early Head Start services. Metropolitan Family Services DuPage and District 2 in DuPage County partner to provide this programming.

For more than a decade, the PNC Foundation has supported Metropolitan Family Services in its mission to empower preschool learning.

Since becoming the official bank of the Chicago Bears in 2015, PNC and the Bears have “huddled” in nearly 500 preschool classrooms across Illinois, teaming up to strengthen access to high quality early education.

Through PNC Grow Up Great, PNC’s signature philanthropic initiative focused on high-quality early childhood education, volunteers have read stories, built play spaces, led learning activities and, perhaps most importantly, showed up consistently to cheer on Illinois’ littlest learners.