Each month we will share with you two dynamic Team Captains that embody the Take the Lead team spirit and go above and beyond in their communities throughout Chicago. This year 151 Take the Lead Team Captains from 24 Chicago Public Schools across 19 distinct communities will help make an impact in the lives of thousands of elementary school students.
Aniya
5th grader from Howe School of Excellence in the Austin Community
This is Aniya’s first year as a Team Captain and joined the Urban Initiatives’ Work to Play program as a 2nd grader.
Aniya was selected as Team Captain of the Month for her dedication to the We Day Service Learning Project. Aniya led the development of the Howe Team Captains’ plan to raise 50 dollars in order to Provide a dairy goat, a source of nutritious milk and sustainable income to those of need in Africa. She developed a plan to bake various cookies, brownies and other sweets to sell to teachers at Howe in order to raise the funds. The bake sale will start next week and will continue until the goal of $50 is met. Aniya is always displaying her leadership, whether through projects of service learning like the bake sale, or throughout practices and gameday’s where she is often looked to as a source of reason among her peers. Aniya Riley is everything we at Urban Initiatives look for in a student-athlete and leader at Howe School of Excellence.
Khari
5th grader at Reavis Elementary in the Kenwood community
How many years they’ve been a part of the UI program/and a team captain:
This is Khari’s first year as a Team Captain and joined Urban Initiatives’ Work to Play program as a 2nd grader.
Khari Kelly-Carter has been chosen as Team Captain of the Month due to his excellent job on his We Day Service Learning Project. Khari took on a leadership role for the project helping his fellow Reavis Team Captains choose to educate their teammates about the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Khari helped his fellow captains find facts to present to the team as well as meet deadlines for their project. Khari has been a consistent role model for his peers throughout the season. He attends every practice and always helps Coach Berger out where he can by setting up for games and drills. He is a very respectful and humble young man, there is no doubt that Khari has a very bright future ahead of him.