Get to Know Running Forward
Running Forward is a youth running program that focuses on the overall physical and emotional wellness of Middle and High School students. Groups meet separately once a week, Mondays and Tuesdays. Each participant might run anywhere from 2-7 miles each week, but students run at their own pace as they set and meet their individual goals. Addressing emotional wellness, the program also provides space for youth to process and discuss different topics important to them. During Summer months, youth then have the opportunity to put their skills to the test and participate in various local 5K’s and a Half-Marathon!
Turkey Bowl 2017
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Urban Life Skills participated in the the Turkey Bowl again this year. The Turkey Bowl is a collaborative community event in Little Village that started almost 30 years ago. There was a great turn out with over 40 participants coming out to compete and play in different challenges as well as the game itself. Thanks to many people from the community and donations from organizations, there was an abundance of great food. On the menu was ham, turkey, chicken pot pies, churros and hot chocolate! Big thanks to all the players, volunteers and organizations such as Enlace, Cease Fire, CYBC, Youth Guidance and La Villita Community Church who braved the cold weather to provide a great meal and even better fellowship.
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New Life Centers Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
Our 10th year “It Takes A Village Gala” celebration was a huge success! It was a very special night with great food, a fun auction and great keynote speaker Father Greg Boyle. We would like to thank everyone for their participation, whether it was as an attendee, donor or volunteer. Without your help, this event would not have been possible.
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Gala Highlights
https://vimeo.com/242427116
Father Boyle's talk
https://vimeo.com/243352617
#RespectCommunity with the Chicago Cubs
Beloved Community,
We are proud to continue to partner with the Chicago Cubs. Today we were the featured #RespectCommunity partner and Coach Joe Maddon represented our Urban Life Skills Program shirt at the post game interview. Thankful to be able to serve our youth and mentor them toward New Life and New Direction! Big shout out to Joe, the Cubs, and you our partners!
Join us as we build a mentoring movement to transform the city of Chicago! Want to get involved, please let me know! Would love to partner and tell you more about what God is doing. You can email me at mattd@newlifecenters.org or call/text me at 312-343-0642.
You can donate to support our work at www.newlifecenters.org/give!
Thanks!
Matt DeMateo
Executive Director
New Life Centers of Chicagoland
NLC Selected Beyond Sport Global Award Finalist
We are honored to receive word that our Little Village Summer Softball League has been named on the prestigious Official Shortlist for the Beyond Sport Global Awards 2017 for the Sport for Peace and Social Justice Award.
We been selected as one of 37 shortlisted organizations out of more than 300 entries worldwide that entered this year’s Awards. This year’s entries represent work from over 70 countries and 40 sports!
Blessed to know the hard work my team and many community agencies that partner with us is being recognized by this prestigious honor.
There will be an award ceremony in New York City in July. Thank you for all of your continued prayers and support.
- Matt and the Centers Team
Vote for John LaTorre as JrNBA Coach of the Year
Our very own John LaTorre is one of 8 semifinalists for the Jr NBA's Coach of the Year award.
Show your support and vote for @johnnybchicago by using #JrNBACOYCHI
[bctt tweet="I'm voting for @johnnybchicago from @NLCenters for Coach of the Year #JrNBACOYCHI" via="no"]
Full details from http://jr.nba.com/coachoftheyear/:
The Jr. NBA and Positive Coaching Alliance are proud to announce the 8 semifinalists for the national Coach of the Year award, due to their outstanding integrity, character, and leadership.
These semifinalists were selected because they have not only been successful in bettering their athletes on the court, but have also shown that their main focus was to make these athletes better people in their communities. These coaches have established and fostered meaningful relationships with their athletes and their families over the years, and have incorporated valuable life lessons into every aspect of basketball they coach.
Now we need your help to select the Top 3 Finalists. From May 8 to May 22, vote for your favorite coach on Twitter to see them recognized as the national Jr. NBA Coach of the Year! Specific hashtags for voting are included below each semifinalists’ photo.
Voting Rules
• Voting is open from May 8 – May 22, 2017 on Twitter only
• Tweet specific coach hashtag to count as one vote
• Retweets count as votes
• There is no limit on the amount of times users can vote per day
Benny and Jorge and the Quest for Peace
Wow...
God continues to bless the work at New Life Centers and open up new doors. On Friday morning the Chicago Tribune released an article featuring two of our mentors, Jorge Roque and Benny Estrada. It is front page in the Sunday morning print edition. You can read the whole article here:
www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-little-village-met-20170421-story.html
You can also see the video featuring them and the neighborhood:
www.facebook.com/
Jorge and Benny have been working for over 20 years with youth in Little Village, and it is great to see positive news coverage about our work and community.
The video has had over 300K views, 5K likes and shares, and the comments and feedback have been overwhelmingly positive.
In an effort to continue to grow our work, we have started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $30,000 for another van. Thanks to everyone who helped us raise the resources for our first van. Our programming has been packed and a second van is needed to safely transport youth around the city.
If you would like to give, please go to:
www.gofundme.com/benny-and-jorge-quest-for-peace
Thanks again for being a vital partner in our work. We couldn't do this work without you.
Thanks,
Matt DeMateo
Executive Director
New Life Centers of Chicagoland
#ThatsCub - Partnering with the Chicago Cubs
Beloved Community,
Recently our basketball programming was highlighted by the Chicago Bulls and last night we had the amazing opportunity to be featured by the Chicago Cubs. We are proud of all of the work that our team puts in to reach hundreds of youth each week through mentoring, education, and sports.
Last night we took 10 of our youth to the annual Cubs Charities Bricks and Ivy Gala. We were a featured partner at the event. Our kids greeted guests as they arrived, welcoming them to this great event. They met Tom Ricketts, got to talk with Kyle Hendricks, saw Theo Epstein, walked past Joe Maddon, Baez, Lester, Arrieta, Contreras, Almora, and also saw greats Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, and others. They were star struck! They ran around with Clark the Cub, met business owners, high fived guests, and smiled a lot.
Our baseball fields and Little League program were featured in their Gala video, check it out here:
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We are blessed to partner with the Cubs and continue to build community across our great city.
As our work continues to be recognized we are continuing to grow. We are serving more youth than ever before and need more resources to continue to reach the kids on our waiting list. Will you partner with us and make a donation to this vital work?
Become a monthly partner or make a one time donation by going to www.newlifecenters.org/give.
Excited to continue to build community together.
Matt DeMateo
Executive Director
24 hours at New Life Centers
Dear Beloved Community,
As I was reflecting on the day I was so grateful for all the things that God has provided and all the amazing things that our team does each day. I wanted to give you a quick snapshot of the last 24 hours at New Life Centers. Life is full but we wouldn't have it any other way.
- 22 youth head to a Bulls game
- 50 youth play in 9th-10th grade basketball league
- Over 60 youth at after school program
- Our girls visit a bookstore to learn about leadership
- Completion of our annual financial audit ensuring we manage resources with utmost integrity
- Social entrepreneurship training
- Multiple teams play in our neighborhood basketball playoffs
- Youth head to the gym to lift weights
- Multiple one on one mentoring sessions
- 15 coaches come together to plan this years Little Village Little League
- Basketball training and apprenticeships for multiple youth
- Meetings with funders and neighborhood networks
- Leadership development and training as we grow and build neighborhood leaders and capacity
- Grant budgets submitted
- Strategy and development of a citywide violence prevention effort
- Data team working on tracking our outputs and outcomes
- Multiple meetings around strategy and growth as an agency
- Lots of memes sent between staff to keep us laughing and encouraging each other
- Deep conversations about the challenges we are facing
- Street intervention with a situation one of our youth is facing
- Late night emails to keep up with the tasks at hand
- Prayer and thanksgiving for all that God has done and is going to do
- A quick update on social media to tell the stories
Thanks for your prayers, encouragement, and support. Love you all.
Give, Pray, and Get Involved
Matt DeMateo
Executive Director
New Life Centers