Category Archive
This past Saturday, the Lawndale Work to Play team was invited to partake in a Flag Football clinic put on by the Menomonee Club of Chicago at Beautiful Waveland Park. The kids from Lawndale were uncontrollably excited on the way to the field knowing that they would be playing a different kind of football. The…
After last Friday’s game day at Chicago Indoor Sports, Tory Burch may be feeling ready to create a line of soccer cleats! Well, that may not be entirely true, but our players from Providence Englewood Charter School (PECS), Pasteur Elementary, and Marquette School of Excellence had an awesome time playing soccer with ten Tory Burch…
Last Friday, a team of eight brightly-dressed volunteers from Groupon left the office early, walked down the street, and met the kids from Jenner Academy and Nobel Elementary at Seward Park. Groupon’s team, many of whom have been volunteering at Friday afternoon games for the past few years, recognized lots of familiar faces on the Jenner…
Program Associate Brandon Reed shares what his soccer players learned regarding physical activity at his schools during week 4 of the Work to Play season! When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, getting adequate physical activity everyday was almost second nature. Even in the era of television and video games, to me, nothing…
Earlier this year, the Union Pacific Foundation rolled in as a new Champion Partner for the Work to Play program! With a financial contribution of $15,000, the Union Pacific Foundation committed to supporting the Work to Play program at Morton School of Excellence. Their generous contribution will fully cover all programmatic costs at Morton for…
On Friday, September 26, seventeen volunteers from Deloitte left the office for an afternoon and brought their skills to the classrooms and soccer field at Walsh Elementary. After a quick intro from Walsh’s Assistant Principal, Mr. Alstadt, the volunteers split into groups and headed to three third grade classrooms, where they would be talking to…
Play with Potential REC Coordinator Rose Phinick shares her recess experience. If you begin typing “Cornell Square Park” into the Google search engine, the word “shooting” is automatically suggested to complete the search phrase. Pages of news blotters cover the tragic shooting that took place last September, leaving thirteen people (including a three year-old child)…
During the first week of the Work to Play program both Libby and Daley soccer players were surprised by a visit from Chicago Fire Captain Jeff Larentowicz. His first stop was Daley Elementary in the Back of the Yards community. The Captain and UI Executive Director, Jim Dower, toured the practice field at Cornell Square…
Since the 2010-2011 school year, Urban Initiatives’ Work to Play program has teamed up with AmeriCorps to help make a long lasting impact on thousands of kids in various Chicago schools and communities. As we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps we would like to thank every Urban Initiatives Coach that has dedicated a year,…
What a night at the ballpark! For the final stretch of Urban Initiatives’ partnership with the Cubs on the Move Fitness Trolley this summer, the Cubs generously invited over 200 UI participants and their families to watch the Cubs take on the Giants on August 19th. The kids from Beidler, Gunsaulus, Kozminski, and Lloyd were…
