Now, leadership for the well-known community organization says if they don't get financial help they may not be able to continue.
Leaders of the South Shore Drill Team say ongoing funding challenges could force the longtime Chicago youth organization to close, putting at risk a program that has trained young people to perform around the world for more than four decades.
The South Shore Drill Team, which has been active for 46 years, performs at about 100 events each year and is a fixture at the annual Bud Billiken Parade. The organization includes about 200 performers ages 8 to 24.
"The financial challenge is we could be forced to close our doors, which is something none of us want to see happen. Due to the lack of funding, public funding, the lack of private donors, all of these things have gone down," said Stella Natufe, the organization's director of media and special events.
Natufe, a former South Shore Drill Team performer, said the organization has faced additional challenges after its founder became ill two years ago, requiring what she described as a major regrouping effort.
She said most staff members - many of them former performers - have been working without pay since April because of their commitment to the nonprofit and its participants.
"We're trying to keep our young people engaged, maintain the program, and, and just keep moving forward, keep marching forward like we've been doing for the last 46 years, but we need the public's help," Natufe said.
Eric Washington, a Chicago first responder, board member and former performer with the South Shore Drill Team, said the organization's impact extends beyond performance skills.
"They might not have a future in performing, you know, you know, twirling a flag or flipping a rifle, but they take the lessons learned, just as I did. You take these lessons that you learn as a child, as a teenager, into the real world and becoming an adult," Washington said.
He said he hopes current participants will benefit from the organization in the same way former members have.
"I want those kids that are performing now, in 20 or 30 years to say, 'I'm who I am now because of partially what I learned with the South Shore Drill Team,'" Washington said.
Natufe said she hopes the public will recognize the organization's value to Chicago and the young people it serves.
"My prayer is that the people watching will understand what this organization means to the community, to the city of Chicago and to the young people that we teach," she said.
The organization has not been able to operate its summer daytime program this year because of the financial challenges. Despite those difficulties, leaders say performances will continue for now, with the Bud Billiken Day Parade scheduled in three weeks.
Visit southshoredrillteam.org for more information.