Category Archive
On a very chilly November afternoon, a team of volunteers from October Three put on their coaching shoes and took the field with Urban Initiatives players from Jenner Academy, Ward Elementary, and Walsh Elementary. After a quick warmup with Ward’s players, the teams and October Three volunteers split up onto separate fields and kicked off…
The MAXIMUS Foundation continues its tradition of giving with a first-ever donation to Urban Initiatives in the amount of $2,000. The grant was made to support our flagship Work to Play program and will help us both sustain our high-quality programming at current partner schools as well as expand programming into more schools across Chicago.…
In the Fall of 2009, Coach Berger stepped onto the field to coach his very first Reavis Work to Play practice. Five years later, the same commitment and passion drives him to open up his gym doors at 7am three days a week, 24 weeks a year in order to welcome the Reavis students to…
Every so often during the year, CPS schools have a day off for students so that teachers and staff can take advantage of meaningful professional development opportunities. Even without kids around, Play with Potential staff found a way to get better at recess on November 7’s School Improvement Day, this time by hosting three trainings…
In early October, the Beidler Work to Play team received a special visit from WGN TV’s Living Healthy Chicago. Check out the video below and you can read the full story at LIVING HEALTHY CHICAGO.
“I’m in heaven 2.0 right now”, said Alex Flores; “Loyola moved up to the top of the list for colleges I want to go to”, added Diego Martinez. This seemed to be the common sentiment of the day as Loyola University hosted our team captains for the second Take the Lead Retreat of the year.…
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…
Last Wednesday, the Nobel Elementary Work to Play team traveled to Loyola University and enjoyed a NCAA Men’s Soccer match versus Northwestern University. The Nobel team were invited to play with some real NCAA student athletes on an actual collegiate soccer pitch. The kids absolutely loved getting to play with the older players. After they…
At Urban Initiatives, soccer is not the only component that makes up our Work to Play Program. Each week head coaches lead discussions covering a variety of different character development and health & wellness topics. For week 6 of the Work to Play Program, we discuss the importance of eating healthy. During practices last week…
Urban Initiatives is happy to welcome one of its two newest Work to Play partner school National Teachers Academy! Located in the Armour Square community, NTA has been an amazing addition to our program! OSPDs Aaron O’Neill and Melissa Matthews lead them with their never-ending enthusiasm and positive energy. With one of the largest rosters…
