Leading up to the trip, I told myself that what I've learned from working in a variety of underfunded communities is that despite the negativity and uncertainty swirling around them, there always seems to be a remarkable sense of pride, community and love - specifically amongst its youth. I hoped that Chicago would display that same miraculous vibe. But truthfully, I wasn't sure.

By the looks of the news, it was a full blown war zone. How could kids even muster up smiles amidst so much fear and unrest?

Of all the STATE trips I've taken with high pressure and stakes, I was by far most on edge for this one. Was our strategy and crew right? Would the kids we were working with be open, willing to share and display that positivity I was hoping to bring to the forefront? Would I be a witness to one of these everyday shootings? Would I be a victim to one? I've spent countless hours in some of the most violent neighborhoods in the country and that thought has truly never crossed my mind...until driving into the west side at 4 pm on our first night there. You could immediately feel the angst in the air. It was palpable.

But our mission in shooting this film wasn't to capture that feeling, but rather the opposite. To tell the stories of kids growing up in these neighborhoods who were drowning out the noise, rising above the chaos and negativity.

We weren't looking to document another sob story about Chicago and it's never before seen violence, but instead profile the exact opposite, illuminating the light of the communities - a message that would be driven by its youth.

While this was our main focus beginning the 2 1/2 day shoot, it took no more than 20 minutes for me to lose focus and emotional control. Our first interview was with a rising 7th grade boy named Cameron. We filmed him, his Mom and his little brother at their apartment in Austin. Hanging out in their living room then segued into hearing stories about his older brother who had been shot and killed less than one year ago.

They proudly showed us his countless sports trophies, told stories about how good of an athlete he was and all his girlfriends, and I began to lose it. Tears started welling up and as hard as I tried to keep it together, I was really struggling and stepped away.

But here's where everything clicked and validated this trip, our strategy and vision - Cameron and his Mom talked about their big brother and oldest son with beaming smiles. No tears. No sadness. Pure pride. This was a moment I'll never forget and embodied what this city and its kids are all about. Resilience, love and honor. I felt that we had to show the world these types of moments and people as it's unfair for families like Cameron's to be depicted as hopeless, beaten down and defeated because the world is led to believe as much.

We walked the streets with a full film crew and people skeptically asked us what we were doing. When we told them our intention of creating a documentary that finally talks about the positive things coming out of Chicago's inner cities and the kids who drive so much of it, their collective responses were "Thank you!" "That's what we need right now." AND "It's bad but it ain't all bad." The question "what do we tell the kids?" needed to be repositioned for this project to what are we already telling the kids? They're listening but luckily, carving their own path. Now it's time we listen to them.

When we looked to Chicago as the focal point of our 2017 back to school donation efforts, Chance the Rapper was the guy we first set our sites on. He is walking the walk and talking the talk in his commitment to supporting the community in which he grew up. Every day.

We are so honored, humbled and excited to work with him and his his organization, SocialWorks in supporting tens of thousands of Chicago kids on his quest to level the playing field.

Our Chicago initiative is a multi layered approach. And we knew that if we were really looking to change the conversation and help buck the negative narrative, it's going to take more than simply a short film.

To go big with this Chicago initiative, we aimed for an equally big stage. A really really big stage.

So on August 8th, STATE took over the White Sox ballpark for a signature, high energy bag drop rally for hundreds of local kids from surrounding Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago.

We've done some epic drops over the years, but this one will most likely take the cake. Even as a (Red) Sox fan like myself!  You can learn more about this bag drop here.