Creating Safe Spaces in Little Village Throughout the Summer
This is part of a city-wide initiative called Light in the Night. The purpose is to help community members reclaim public areas as safe spaces and take back their communities to build peace.
West of McCormick Elementary School, we had various youth compete at a basketball tournament Hoops in the Hood! This was launched many years ago as a response to Chicago's violence by providing young people a place to play basketball safely.
Celebrating Graduations with Youth in Little Village and Humboldt Park
Pan de Vida Fresh Market Opens in Little Village
Pan de Vida is here thanks to those who started it and have passed the baton to the young people who responded in times of crisis and decided to love and serve their community.
Moms Experiencing Mentoring Program
"It was a pleasure participating and meeting other mothers. Thank you for sharing what you do with my daughter. I felt so relaxed! I loved hearing fro
El Grito 5K is Back after 2 Years of Canceling Due to COVID-19
After canceling for 2 years due to COVID-19 restrictions and surges, our annual El Grito 5K Family Run/Walk is finally happening this year! The race is taking place in Little Village on Sunday, September 11 preceding the Mexican Independence Day Parade.
Registration is open! You can sign up individually or with your family at newlifecenters.org/elgrito5k . There is a special Early Bird registration fee of $25 for the month of May only.
About the race: El Grito 5K runs along 26th Street, Chicago’s second magnificent mile, in the culturally rich Mexican neighborhood of Little Village. The race will precede the annual Mexican Independence Day Parade. We invite runners of all fitness levels to participate in the event!
New Life Centers is Awarded Mayor's Medal of Honor
New Life Centers was awarded the Mayor's Medal of Honor last Tuesday, for our “heroic work during the pandemic". During this season, we were able to expand mentoring to 400 additional youth through C2C, sports, after-school and mentoring programs. Our Juvenile Justice Project Coordinator, Amy Williams, was able to expand programming to incarcerated youth in IYC Warrenville. Our Street Outreach and Resiliency Services teams grew and continue to walk life, love and mourn with youth and their families. Our youth-led Pan de Vida food pantry distributed fresh produce to over 2 million people. Most importantly, our staff love people deeply in the name of Jesus.
We are also thankful for everyone who supports the work, prays, volunteers and gives. We are excited to see all that is going to happen in 2022!
Learning How to Make Clay Earrings
The young women in our Arise Creations program experimented with new materials for jewelry making. We had a guest come in and show them how to create out of polymer clay! They got a chance to feel it out, cook it and make their own unique designs to take home. Although not part of the collection, Arise Creations always strives to challenge and expose young women to new material. However, they did introduce their new Rose Gold Urban Hope Necklace! You can get yours at arisecreations.org/shop
Restarting Open Gym in Humboldt Park
Open Gym
An average of 13 youth come out every Monday evening. From the open gym came the basketball team "New Life Boyz" which locally competes in a youth league.
Expanding Programming to IYC-Warrenville
We recently expanded programming to the Illinois Youth Center in Warrenville. Amy Williams, IYC Program Coordinator, tells us they have started art and afro-Cuban drum classes. They will begin practicing peace circles, writing classes and many other monthly activities. She says the young people are very excited to have these activities there. Click play to watch the full update!
Introducing Therapy Through Adventure
Youth i
Jose Barragan, Street Outreach Mentor, says it amazes him how we are forced at a young age to adapt to our surroundings in order to survive every season.
"These young men have braved so much and continue to show how resilient they are no matter what obstacles are thrown their way," said Jose.