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.
Teaching Intentionally Through Black History Month
Some of our programs have been intentionally learning during this Black History Month and have spent time learning more about trailblazers in the Black community. Our Sluggers program reflected and dialogued after watching the movie "42: The True Story Of A Sports Legend", a biographical sports film about baseball player Jackie Robinson, the first black athlete to play in MLB.
The Vine after school program intentionally took time to learn about black artists, inventors, and creators during #BlackHistoryMonth like George Crum, Alma Woodsey Thomas, and Mae Jemison. Middle school youth spent time finding their favorite songs by black artists and explaining why they appreciated each of the song lyrics. Elementary school students watched videos and read books.
The students then applied their knowledge through art and science by making their own potato chip bags and flavors, creating their own color field picture, and built their own rocket ship. We are looking forward to learning more in the next few months.
La Semilla after-school participants have been learning and reading about Ruby Bridges. In 1960, she became the first Black student to integrate an elementary school in the South. Despite U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas ending racial segregation in public schools, some in the South resisted integration.
Ruby and her mother were escorted by four federal marshals to the school every day her first year. This is a great example of how young people can be history-makers.
First and only indoor batting cage in Little Village opens at New Life Centers
“This gives kids in the neighborhood a safe space to develop athletic skills for free,” said Coach Tony, “They were super excited, their jaws dropped, they said they can get better now”.
Previously, the team would pay over $100 at an indoor batting cage, which made it difficult for some parents who could not afford it. This was made possible thanks to Cub's Charities' Diamond Project.
The goal of the Diamond Project is to expand opportunities for children to play baseball and softball, create or preserve green space in under-resourced neighborhoods and foster a love for the game.Through the Diamond Project, Cubs Charities provides funds and equipment to nonprofit, neighborhood-based organizations that support baseball and softball leagues and capital improvement projects that improve the quality, safety and accessibility of local baseball fields or indoor training facilities.
At this moment, the batting cage is not open to the public but will potentially have free lessons in the future.