New Life Centers is an award winning, nationally recognized nonprofit that has been transforming the lives of youth and families in the heart of Chicago for over 14 years.
Latest Updates
Bright Colors & Fun for Running Forward First Run of the Season
This was the 2nd year that Running Forward youth participated in the 5K Color Run in Wheaton. Our runners finished looking more colorful than ever. This was the first run of the season; the youth [...]
Little League Expands This Year with New Age Division
Little Village Little League season has officially started! The players are practicing every week preparing for opening day on May 4th. This is the first year that we have a Junior division for ages 13-15 [...]
Teaching Restorative Justice In St. Louis
NLC staff were able to facilitate two workshops at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. The workshops highlighted the restorative justice and alternative to detention programming that NLC staff [...]
Our Vision
Within each community we serve, New Life Centers seeks to empower this generation to transform the next. Listening to our neighbors’ stories and requests, we work alongside community partners to create solutions that fit our neighborhood. We desire to host Centers to which neighbors can continually come with needs or ideas that transform their community. We envision a city where joyful, productive families, supported by the community, equip youth and neighbors with the vision and skills to live in fullness of life.
Who We Are
We are neighborhood based Centers that connect youth and young adults with Christ and Community through mentoring, education, and sports. We believe that ‘life together’ makes a difference – walking alongside each other through the ups and downs of life.
What We Do
We operate sites in the Humboldt Park and Little Village neighborhoods of Chicago. Each site offers unique programs that respond to the specific requests of our neighbors, most of which fall under three broad categories: Mentoring, Education and Sports.
How to Get Involved
There are many ways you can get involved at New Life Centers. Whether you would like to become a regular mentor or volunteer to serve at an upcoming event, we invite you to join our work and participate in what God is doing in our communities. Please use the link below to contact our volunteer coordinator, who will get you plugged in.
Making an Impact
TESTIMONIALS
In 25 years of studying efforts to stem youth violence, I know of no more important and comprehensive intervention work to gang members than that of the Urban Life Skills program. This faith-based organization is setting a new standard for how sacred-secular partnerships should work together in addressing and transforming individuals and communities.
I have had the oppourtunity to work with the Urban Life Skills program for the past several years pursuant to my duties as a Juvenile Court Judge in the City of Chicago. In my 20 years as a judge in a delinquency courtroom, I have found it to be the most effective program in dealing with gang related minors in an area of Chicago with a very large gang population… I believe one of the reasons their program is so successful is because of the mentoring component… they have some of the most dedicated mentors I have ever encountered. Cook County is attempting to replicate this program in other areas of the city to provide all of our court involved youth with the support they need to become successful.
I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating directly with New Life Center’s Urban Life Skills programming for the past 3 years. New Life Centers is mission driven and has refined their model of mentorship over the past decade. They have a dedicated core of mentors who work tirelessly for the most at-risk youth and families in the Little Village Community. As a result of their long term efforts, New Life is widely known as the ‘mentorship experts’ in Little Village and beyond. School, community based organizations, law enforcement, and corrections all place their confidence in New Life’s ability to assist youth and families in crisis.
I am a witness to the valuable contributions of the Urban Life Skills program to the Little Village community. The ULS environment provides a structured and supportive atmosphere offering accompaniment by the mentors towards pro-social development. ULS staff skillfully establish a meaningful relationship with the youth to increase competency development. If my child was involved in the system and required a gang intervention program I would without hesitation trust ULS with my child.
RECOGNITION
Our programs have received local and national recognition for the impact they are having on our communities. Our Urban Life Skills mentorship program was rated #1 in Illinois.
PARTNERSHIPS
We work together with many amazing groups and organizations, both locally and nationally. We recognize the great importance of addressing complex problems with holistic solutions, and our partnerships seek to do just that.
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