We Are Looking For Volunteers!
We are looking for volunteers to help with tutoring and programming at the Little Village location. See the below opportunities and contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Laura Willis, at lauraw@newlifecenters.org if you would like to help! If you are unable, please think about who you can forward this to who might be interested. Thanks!
One on One Tutoring: 7th Grade Girl/Math and Reading
She’s available weekdays starting at 3pm. Meet with youth for at least 1 hour once a week for one semester.
One on One Tutoring: 11th Grade Boy/Geometry and Civics
He’s available Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays starting at 3:45pm. Meet with youth for at least 1 hour once a week for one semester.
La Semilla Program Support
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday; 3:30-5:30pm
La Semilla is an after school program for K-8th graders that includes homework help, gym time, Bible lessons, and other extracurricular activities. Join the volunteer team one day a week to help the program run smoothly and build relationships with the children and families!
Hoops In the Hood Uniting Neighborhoods
"Hoops in the Hood is a sports-based, community safety initiative that creates safe spaces for youth to interact and build positive relationships with peers and caring adults while making visible use of public spaces and fostering a sense of community." This year, more than 400 young people participated at the city wide basketball tournament that took place in downtown Chicago.
The players came from 22 different neighborhoods to compete for tournament prizes and to claim the title as 2019 champion. Due to the heavy rain, the tournament was shut down half way through the event and eventually finished at the Attack Athletics Center. The New Life Centers basketball program, La Villita Basketball, brought two teams to compete this year. All of the players showed exceptional teamwork, communication and great defense. The team that was competing in the older age bracket made it to the finals and was able to claim the title of Hoops in the Hood Champions!
Volunteer Mentors Learning About Trauma-Informed Mentoring
All of the NLC volunteer mentors from Midway, Little Village and Humboldt Park gathered together for dinner and a trauma training. The goal of the training, which was led by one of our RJ Hubs partners from Adler University, was to help the mentors effectively care for and walk alongside their mentees who may be struggling with trauma. The evening ended after we brainstormed how we could put this material into practice. We all left feeling encouraged to mentor with renewed compassion and perspective!
Learning More About God in the Woods
This was the third year we were able to take The Vine students to Pine Trail Camp in Saugatuck, MI. It’s a 3-day event that the kids look forward to all year. Throughout our time there, the students were encouraged to try every activity we planned which were swimming, kayaking, ziplining, hiking and racing up a huge sand dune. The most challenging activity was the ziplining but the students faced their fears and took literal leaps of faith off the zipline. Each of them walked away proud of their accomplishment.
During the chapel time, NLC staff members taught about God’s healing, love, forgiveness and call on our lives, and how He has that same call on the students' lives. One evening we asked the students to write down on a piece of paper any negative things that they believed about themselves and one by one they threw them into the fire and proclaimed the truth of God over their lives. We pray that moments like these are ones that our students will cling to as they enter into a new year.
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Over 1,000 El Grito 5K Participants This Year!
If you didn't join us for El Grito 5K you missed out on an amazing event! There were over 1,100 participants this year and together we ran/walked, laughed, got rained on, ate tamales, did Zumba, drank Jarritos and had an amazing morning! This is our largest event of the year and we could not have done it without the support of sponsors and volunteers. We look forward to next year and hope to see you there:-)
MORE PICTURES HERE: https://runsignup.com/Race/Photos/IL/Chicago/ElGrito5k
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Riding Horses & Conquering Fears All In a Day's Work of Mentoring
Our volunteer mentors took their mentees horseback riding! Many of our mentees and some mentors had never been on a horse before so they were pretty nervous. Despite their fears, they got on the horses and did a great job! We all rode through some beautiful trails in the Cook County Forest Preserves near Palos Heights. At the end of the day, we all felt like we had conquered some of our fears and learned some new skills along the way!
CrossOver Teaching About God, Family and Basketball
Crossover Little Village Basketball Program is becoming a strong root for the youth in the community. This year, the group bond was stronger, the youth were eager to start the season and the skill level was heightened each week. There is a focus on mind, body, and soul through great workouts, life lessons, and most important - a spiritual awakening. We ended the season strong and many of our participants completed the program successfully. The expectation and commitment level remained high and the young people entering the program achieved their goals.
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LIN (Light in the Night) Program is Bringing "Sunshine" to the Neighborhood
New Life Centers hosts LIN events at local parks to bring safe spaces to the neighborhood during the summer months which tend to be the most violent time of the year in Chicago. It consists of softball, basketball, free food, carnival games and kids activities. We have had the opportunity of praying with the softball and basketball players before each game. Very grateful for the work that God is allowing us to do in Little Village.
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13.1 Mile Run Checked Off The List✓
Running Forward conquered the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon again! There were many new youth running the 13.1 mile run this year. NLC staff was able to transport their parents to the race so that they could cheer them on throughout the course and to wait to embrace them at the finish line. We are so proud of our runners!
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Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton Comes to La Villita
On July 10th, New Life Centers staff and youth had the opportunity to meet with Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. We shared about our neighborhood, our work, and our young people talked about their experience with the justice system, the challenges they have faced and things that they would like to see change. It was a great morning of laughter, story telling, listening and building bridges. We are so thankful that Juliana made time to come to our community and are looking forward to building together.
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