Every year the 2024 Chicago Marathon is a celebration of joy, community, and the power of play, drawing thousands of people out for the fun. Yet, in the very neighborhoods that host this iconic event, many Chicago youth and families still lack access to sports and play opportunities. This year, our Charity team is lacing…
After receiving the Healthy Places grant in July, Urban Initiatives embarked on a project to enhance health and wellness resources in our partner schools beyond what we already offer with our Work to Play soccer teams. Because Urban Initiatives is committed to supporting our partner schools in every possible way, we were excited about being…
UI’s flagship program, the Work To Play Program, spends a lot of time talking good nutrition and healthy habits to our players. "Eat fruits and vegetables," we say, "limit your screen time and make sure to get at least one hour of physical activity a day." Developing these habits early is key to helping kids…
This Fall, the NCAA hosted its annual regional Student-Athlete Leadership Forum. The goal of this forum is to “engage a diverse and dynamic representation of student-athletes, coaches, faculty and administrators and provide pertinent and customized sessions that will enhance personal awareness and leadership skills needed to impact student-athlete development at the campus and conference level,…
On Saturday December 3rd, Urban Initiatives participants got a chance of a lifetime when they received Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) tickets at Allstate Arena, got a backstage tour, and met the lead performers. Urban Initiatives was the charity partner for the 2011 TSO event presented by Storck USA. To kick off the show, TSO and Storck…
On November 2nd, a chilly Wednesday night, two Urban Initiatives schools, Nobel Elementary and Lloyd Elementary got together to cheer on their local collegiate soccer teams. Each school was cheering for a different team – Nobel for the UIC Flames and Lloyd for the Loyola Ramblers. The UIC Flames and the Loyola Ramblers, both with…
At the end of every Work to Play Program season, Urban Initiatives holds team parties to reward participants for their hard work and commitment. This is a video from Reavis Elementary’s party. Look at those million dollar smiles! The kids are so proud of all their hard work!
The economic downturn has made times tougher for all people, not just in their household bottom lines, but in the public services they relY on. as some city agencies find themselves on the chopping block, a soccer coach looks to park funding and program delivery, both of which are Crucial indicators of a city’s health.
On November 3rd, volunteers from Storck USA, a candy company that makes favorites such as Werther’s and Mambas, took time out of their busy schedules to be soccer coaches for the day at the Chicago Indoor Sports complex. With boxes of special edition Storck-UI shirts ready to be distributed, Storck volunteers awaited the arrival of…
Stephanie Khio is the Assistant Leader of the Eleanor Roosevelt Society at Roosevelt University. She brought her group to the Chicago Indoor Sports Center on October 21st to volunteer with our teams from Attucks and Lloyd. The following is a blog post by Stephanie: Being the Assistant Leader of the Eleanor Roosevelt Society (ERS) at…
urban initiatives participants from prieto academy had a fantastic time at a soccer skills clinic hosted by the fc United u16 girls SELEct team. the FC unitEd girls did an amazing job of coachiNg and interacting with the kids. the urban initiatives participants WeRe all SmilEs for the duration Of tHE Event. even when a…
As the harvest season draws to a close, students at Fulton Elementary got to do a little harvesting of their own when Farmer Tim and Farmer Sydney pulled up to the playground in with their Truck Farm! Students bundled up and gathered around the cheerful, painted truck. They stood on chairs so that they could…