Urban Initiatives is thrilled to announce that for the second year in a row, Optiver will be supporting our Work to Play program at National Teachers Academy (NTA). This year, Optiver increased their support of NTA by sponsoring UI’s Take the Lead program at the school as well. Although this generous support is incredibly admirable…
Team Urban Initiatives welcomes you to join their 2018 marathon team, and make the most of your 26.2 mile experience. Team members will raise funds in support of UI programming, and serve as positive role models for the children we work with by promoting the rewards of physical fitness, personal commitment, and hard work.
On Tuesday, September 12th Spark Foundry partnered with UI schools Jahn, Nixon and Piccolo to host their first ever community impact day! Led by UI’s Associate Board Co-Vice President, Ashley Dobbins, this day focused on “Empowering Chicago’s Youth.” Just under 90 Spark employees dedicated their morning to renovating resource rooms, painting recess courts, and engaging…
Throughout the last school year, Urban Initiatives has grown by expanding our programs and solidifying our continuum of programming that supports our students from elementary school, to middle school and high school, and beyond. Our evaluation team has analyzed the data and results from Work to Play and Take the Lead are in! We are…
For Urban Initiatives and kids all across Chicago, September is back-to-school month! On September 1, Urban Initiatives students got on the school bus early for a back-to-school shopping spree made possible by the support of Target, one of UI’s key partners.
Urban Initiative’s recess program Play with Potential aims to change this by providing structured recess replete with opportunities for social-emotional learning and play. Our evaluation team has recently finished analyzing the data to learn the impact of the Play with Potential program throughout the 2016-2017 school year.
Urban Initiatives is thrilled to announce the renewal of our partnership with The Sky Ranch Foundation! In 2015, Sky Ranch Foundation was the very first supporter of Take the Lead — our 5th–8th grade leadership development program — funding the first formal implementation of the program. We are so grateful to have their continued support…
This weekend, in beautiful Fennville, Michigan, a group of dedicated cyclists from Spidermonkey Cycling Club gathered for a charity cycling event in support of Urban Initiatives. 30 Spidermonkey cyclists arrived at Virtue Cider in Fennville for a day of cycling, cider and fun. Over the course of the last few months these riders have fundraised…
Piccolo School of Excellence is a turnaround school that experienced a complete overhaul of the teachers and admin 5 years ago. Through the tireless work of the staff, it has become a Level 1+ school within that time.! The school has high hopes of continuing its work with the children and also serving the needs…
As the new school year approaches, Urban Initiatives looks back on a summer of firsts. For the first time, we had high school students (many of whom were Work to Play students years ago) working through After School Matters in paid positions at our school-based summer camps. To cap off the summer, Urban Initiatives hosted…
On Tuesday, July 18 a group of volunteers from Guggenheim Partners spent the day at Urban Initiative’s largest summer camp site, Jahn Elementary School. The volunteers spent their morning playing games, doing arts and crafts, and sweating it out in the hot summer sun with 40 Urban Initiatives students.