Starting March 17th, all Chicago Public Schools will be closed until March 30th to protect the safety, health and well-being of students, staff and other student support services. As a result, all Urban Initiatives programming has been suspended until further notice as recommended by Chicago Public Schools. While we are saddened to be temporarily unable…
Goal-setting is a big deal at Urban Initiatives. From our internal operations to the curriculum we use with our participants, goal-setting is a skill that receives a lot of attention and we feel like we’ve gotten a pretty good sense of some of the best practices for setting goals to ensure success. We hope that…
Urban Initiatives’ most anticipated event of the year—the 2020 Soccer Ball presented by Allstate & Storck- was a smashing success! Soccer Ball was an exciting evening of dancing, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and philanthropy. We celebrated our work, incredible partners, amazing awardees, and supportive community.
This year we are thrilled to honor Sodexo with the Soccer Ball award- given annually to an organization that has gone above and beyond in their support of Urban Initiatives. Read about their contributions to Urban Initiatives and how they are supporting the power of play in Chicago.
In 2020, Urban Initiatives will be launching a new board to stand alongside our other existing boards. This newly created Advisory Board is a unique place where key partners of UI are charged with advising, advocating for, and being ambassadors of our work. This dynamic group of influencers come from a wide range of backgrounds…
While the importance and impact of mentoring continues to echo around lunch tables, meetings rooms, and coffee shops, the methodologies of mentoring have evolved to fit the dynamism and demands of the world today. Now more than ever, mentoring is recognized as a critical driver of achievement and growth across sectors and contexts, prompting increasing…
One of Urban Initiatives’ six core values as an organization is impact. We engage in data-driven decision making to achieve positive outcomes, and each year we spend a great deal of time, effort, and resources evaluating each of our programs’ impact. By intentionally evaluating each program, we can effectively determine which of our program goals…
One of Urban Initiatives’ six core values as an organization is impact. We engage in data-driven decision making to achieve positive outcomes, and each year we spend a great deal of time, effort, and resources evaluating each of our programs’ impact. By intentionally evaluating each program, we can effectively determine which of our program goals…
One of the first major programming events of the school year is also one of our most beloved events. The Multicultural Cup is one of the most fun events of the year because it brings together all of Urban Initiatives values, but especially emphasizes inclusion, fun, and teamwork.
Urban Initiatives’ Culture & Climate department’s primary goal is to bring adults into a school in order to positively impact the school’s environment through sport and play. They impact the school’s environment in an effort to improve student outcomes in the areas of social-emotional learning, physical activity, and academic success.
Urban Initiatives’ programs focus on supporting youth in underserved communities. We reach entire school communities daily, through our Culture and Climate programs that strive to help schools value play and enrichment activities alongside classroom instruction. Through our Continuum of Programming, we reach students over many years and engage them in sports-based youth development programs from…
