Dear Wilmette Wings Community,
Thank you for coming together once again to produce another amazing Crosstown Classic Tournament. This years’ Crosstown was the 10th event hosted in Wilmette and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. The Wings dedication to the success of this event has meant a great deal to our organization and the Urban Initiatives participants. For our student athletes’ this is usually the highlight of their season! The children have the opportunity to travel outside their neighborhood, meet new friends, have fun, and eat some great snacks. Spending a Friday afternoon with the Wings has had a tremendous impact on our participant’s and our hope is the Crosstown benefits the Wings community as well.
The Wilmette Wings dedication to the Crosstown tournament has acted as a catalyst and guide for other clubs to get involved. Clubs such as Northbrook and Deerfield have used the Wings as a resource on how to host an event. This sharing of information has allowed Urban Initiatives to make this opportunity available to more children and differentiates the Wings from every other youth soccer club in the country!
Today Urban Initiatives serves 14 underserved Chicago Public Schools and over 420 students. Our program is needed now more than ever because the Chicago Public Schools faces a budget crisis of unprecedented severity that has triggered layoffs of teachers and other staff, necessitated increases in classroom sizes, and cut much needed extra-curricular programs for students. Because of this funding crisis, physical education classes, recess and sports teams have also been reduced further contributing to the obesity epidemic that costs the country a staggering $147 billion a year in weight-related medical bills.
The Wilmette Wings community should be very proud of their relationship with Urban Initiatives and we’d like to thank everyone who worked so hard to organize the Crosstown. Thanks to all of the wonderful parents, coaches, players who helped with the event. The dedicated crew who hosted the picnic, the players who participated, the families who attended, and everyone who sponsored an Urban Initiatives participant. We look forward to the Crosstowns of the future and will keep our fingers crossed for good weather. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Best,
Dan & Jim
P.S. Click here to see additional photos of the event. Thank you to Stacy Stutz for putting her superb photography skills to work!