Basketball Team Enjoys Competition and Fellowship in Tony Aguirre Tournament
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The Little Village basketball team participated in the Tony Aguirre Tournament for the third year in a row and had a great time! There were teams that came from the states of Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa to compete. The tournament is named after Tony who was an athletic director from Kansas City that worked with youth for over 50 years to help them reach their full potential. His love and commitment to the youth has inspired many in the Latino community and the tournament has continued in his honor for 66 years.
Joining us on the trip was Dr. Claudio Rivera, a clinical community psychologist, who shared with our players about his work and the affects of trauma on the ride to Kansas City. The youth were able to compete all weekend and eat some of the best barbecue that Kansas City has to offer. Another highlight of the trip was witnessing the upperclassmen in high school teaching the younger youth about personal and social responsibility through conversations about peer pressure and other problems that arise in school and life. Praise God for the opportunity to fellowship and show the youth another part of the country!
Urban Life Skills Partners with SGA To Give Youth on Probation a New Experience
The Urban Life Skills Juvenile Justice program is striving to not only teach our young people essential life skills such as anger management or substance abuse intervention; but also, to give them the opportunity to experience different things and meet new people. That is why we are excited to begin our collaboration with SGA Youth and Family Services and participate in their drum making curriculum. Our youth were able to learn about Puerto Rican culture through music and experience the therapeutic process of making their own drums. We are excited for this partnership and look forward to teaming up with more agencies throughout the city to provide our participants with as many pro-social connections as possible.
Urban Life Skills Receives National Gold Star Mentoring Recognition Award
We were honored to receive the National Gold Star Mentoring Recognition Award for our top quality standards in mentoring. Jorge Roque, our Mentoring Director, was on hand to receive the award.
We are very proud of the hard work that the Urban Life Skills team has invested in order to receive this recognition. Thanks to all of you who continue to support this important work!
Arise Creations Empowers Young Women to Become Leaders
New Life Centers is raising up powerful young women to be the future leaders of our community. We’ve taken to heart that walking alongside the girls in our community can change the direction of our youth. Arise is a youth-fueled, creative business that seeks to empower, encourage and educate youth through the vehicles of entrepreneurship and discipleship. Our hope is to see the youth achieve these goals through creating and selling handmade jewelry.
Our signature piece which is called Urban Hope, is a creation of broken glass wrapped in wire. The inspiration behind this piece came about when a New Life Centers employee was waiting at a bus stop that had recently been shot out due to gang activity in the community and they overheard a young girl comment that the broken glass looked like gemstones. What was broken, suddenly was found beautiful and of great value. The girls in Arise carefully wrap each piece of glass as a reminder that God is taking each of us in our brokenness and sin and re-purposing us into something new.
Through making and selling handmade jewelry, each one of the youth that enter the program learn, create and sell their pieces, equipping them with job skills while giving them a safe space to express themselves and grow. Each day these young women are being empowered to be agents of change in their own community.
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Boxing Program Teaches Discipline Both In and Out of the Ring
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Our boxing program has grown as we have been given the opportunity to partner with new schools and expand our in-school mentoring program. As a result, our boxing program attendance has doubled in the past two months. In the month of January, participants set goals for themselves which will help foster discipline and perseverance. We have been focusing on teaching basic breathing techniques to help them relax and control themselves in the ring. They were also taught that these same techniques can be applied outside of the ring when they are in difficult life situations.
Girls Program Celebrates Christmas and Reflects on a Great Year
On December 15th, the Urban Life Skills Girls Program gathered together for a Christmas party. Girls from both our high school and middle school programs came together to celebrate the end of the year. We ate tamales, drank champurrado and played games. We spent some time reflecting on their experience with ULS. Paloma, who has been a participant since she was 11 years old, stated that “ULS has changed her life” and encouraged the younger girls to stay involved with the program. Ximena shared that she really enjoyed the Christmas party because she was able to meet new people. In total we had 35 girls celebrating and enjoying each others company.
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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