Category Archive
The 2016 Soccer60 season at Our Lady of Grace was EPIC! The kids learned and improved their soccer and life skills. The beginning of the season started off a little hectic. Once rules and guidelines were set, it was smooth sailing from there. Urban Initiatives new Player of the Week award was debuted. This award…
Maria, our wonderful intern from Urban Alliances’ career and college preparedness program just won the “Intern of the Week” award, and we couldn’t agree more! Urban Initiatives partners with Urban Alliance to provide quality internship opportunities for high school seniors across the city. Maria comes to us from Farragut High School, in the Little Village…
Team Captains are getting ready for the Spring Season! As you know, there is no off-season for Take the Lead participants! Last month, Team Captains across 27 schools participated in Huddle #5-Task Persistence. Middle schoolers discussed what it means to be persistent and committed to something, especially when times get tough. They started to discuss…
Unfortunately for their ratings, ESPN 8 (the Ocho) missed a great sporting event last Friday at Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy. The Play with Potential squad, led by Coach Ruth and Mr. Glover, put on a dodgeball tournament to help raise money for the upcoming 8th grade trip to Washington DC. The middle school academies faced off in a…
Coach Kevin from Prieto joined the UI team last year as a Program Associate for the Work to Play program. Now he spends his entire day at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy as a School Based Program Coordinator. Check out what Coach Kevin has to say about his new role! I always explain…
UI Student Board member Kelly Reichert gives us an update on how High School students are giving back. The Urban Initiatives Student Board is an energetic group of hardworking students that have come together from numerous high schools to support UI through volunteering and fundraising activities. We began the fall with a fun, organizational meeting…
At the 10th Anniversary Soccer Ball, Urban Initiatives announced the creation of the Paula Harrison Armstrong “Lead Strong” Endowment. This endowment will honor the legacy of Paula Armstrong who was a fundamental member of the Urban Initiatives family and passed away in 2014. Paula was a tireless advocate for the children in our programs, and her enthusiasm…
As you walk through the halls of Davis Elementary, you’ll notice a few things. The students stand up a little bit straighter, the halls are a little bit quieter, and the staff…they are an impenetrable wall of firm but friendly faces. The Brighton Park school is indeed changing; and that, in part, is due to…
Take the Lead’s third retreat, focused on task persistence and time management was really something to see. The key to this retreat, was to prepare our team captains for High School. High School is on all of our Team Captain’s minds, so for them to be able to see Morgan Park High School and everything…
It may be the Work to Play off-season, but for the Take the Lead Team Captains there is no off-season. Every month of the school year (9 in total), including these two off-months in between the Fall and Spring Work to Play seasons, Captains meet with UI coaches to focus on leadership topics such as:…
