Created in 1994 and administered by the AKArama Foundation, F.A.M.E. (Families As Mentoring Entities) is a community service, after school program serving students, grades 3rd through 6th, in the Dixon and Pirie elementary schools in the Chatham neighborhood.
Springboard Foundation Photo Galleries
Art Therapy Connection (ATC) provides art psychotherapy to students within their school setting who have been identified as at risk of failure socially, emotionally and academically and who are currently not receiving any mental health services. ATC offers intervention for students who are experiencing difficulty at school because of personal crisis, neglect, abuse, poverty, violence, alcohol/drugs, poor peer relationships, disabilities and negative behavior. We teach useful anger management and coping skills for “real life” problems that affect their ability to grow into productive students and well-adjusted adults.
The Blue Sky Inn provides creative, recreational and educational activities to at-risk adolescents in Chicago. All of our work is carried out by trained, committed volunteers. Our programs take place in domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, and community center.
Breakthrough Urban Ministries was created in 1992 to provide neighborhood-based holistic services that empower individuals, families and urban communities in the Edgewater/Uptown neighborhood to overcome poverty, addiction and isolation.
Chicago SCORES mission is to inspire a lasting dedication to education, healthy living and civic responsibility in urban children.
CircEsteem is an arts outreach program that unites youth of diverse backgrounds to build self-esteem and respect for each other through the practice of circus arts. CircEsteem’s after-school tutoring project, HomeWork & CircusWork, serves 30 primarily Latino, African American and African children, ages seven to 17, from the Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods. The program provides circus skills practice, healthy snacks and assistance with homework and reading during the school year.
Founded in 1989, the Cluster Tutoring Program provides free one-on-one tutoring to more than 60 school-age youth, grades one through 12, from the Austin community in Chicago. All of the tutors are volunteers who mostly live in Oak Park and other western suburbs. Students are matched with a tutor and they work together for the duration of the school year. Many of the student-tutor pairs continue to work together for many years. Students and tutors meet either on Tuesday evenings at the Pine Avenue United Church in Austin or on Thursdays at the First United Church of Oak Park.
Corazon a Corazon provides an after-school educational enrichment program for youth who are at risk for academic failure on the southeast side of Chicago. The program uses Illinois certified teachers that work one-on-one with 45 students during the school year and 25 students in the summer.
The Dime Child Foundation seeks to provide educational resources and services to children and youth that would ensure them hope for a promising future. Services include tutoring, mentoring, motivational/professional speakers, career exploration, job shadowing, cultural excursions, technology training, leadership development, and scholarships and financial aid assistance. Dime Child serves 89 elementary and high school students in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Girls in the Game (GIG) provides and promotes sports and fitness opportunities, nutrition and health education and leadership development to enhance the overall health and well being of all girls in Chicago. Since its inception in 1995, GIG has reached over 11,000 girls through direct service, and thousands more through advocacy and resource materials.
Girls on the Run-Chicago (GOTR) uses the power of running to educate and inspire girls for a life time of self-respect and healthy living. GOTR is one of the largest independent chapters of an international organization, Girls on the Run International, based in North Carolina. Founded by five area women in 1999, GOTR-Chicago now has more than 150 volunteer coaches who mentor nearly 1,300 young girls, age eight to 12, in after-school sessions that combine training for a 5K running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts.
JHP Community Center’s mission is to help children and youth commit to a life-long pursuit of self-development through service to one another and their communities by offering a comprehensive community and school based curriculum called the A-CLASS Learning System Series. A-CLASS is based on a instruction using martial arts as the foundation of teaching physical fitness and health, team sports activities, academics, art and life skills, technology related activities, counseling, and nutritional guidance.
The Make A Difference Youth Foundation provides educational programs for children and adolescents ages 6-18. Elementary programs include after-school tutoring, summer technology camp, a stock market program and a children's book club. High school programs include ACT preparation classes, college trips, live college videoconferences, career speakers and job shadowing, youth led weekly planning sessions, educational workshops and retreats, community service, e-mentoring, e-tutoring, and a book club.
Using a direct instructional approach that connects everyday life to music, the MusicAlive program helps students improve perceptive listening, critical thinking and creative participation skills. Through practical application and integrated, standards-based content, the curriculum addresses national and state goals for social science, language arts, math and science. Participating students attend full semester, weekly sessions with teaching artists/mentors who reveal the connection between the arts and other disciplines through teaching and applying the fundamentals of music theory, cultural applications of music and music education techniques.
The South Chicago Art Center was established over four years ago to address a pressing need in one of Chicago’s most blighted neighborhoods. At that time the community was devoid of free after-school programs and local teenagers had no after-school programs available at all. The Art Center is a unique place in South Chicago, a storefront institution where kids use culture as a tool for social exchange.
Based on the Montessori Philosophy, the South Harper Montessori School cares, nurtures and educates children utilizing hands-on, minds-on activity oriented strategies. Serving Avalon Park, Chatham and Pill Hill, this school combines academics with arts and crafts, games, music, drama and outdoor activities to foster individual growth. South Harper also provides after-school and summer swim programs for its students.
Starfish Learning Center provides a safe, nurturing environment where at-risk children and teens learn, are encouraged and have fun. Starfish is dedicated to countering gang influence on community youth by offering healthy, alternative youth activities that blend education, recreation and moral guidance. Starfish educates, empowers and mentors students through homework assistance, computers, recreational opportunities, moral studies, art, weekend activities, special outings and more.
Sue Duncan has been teaching kids at her South Side Chicago after-school Children's Center since 1960. On a daily basis, an average of 40 children attend the Center to receive one-on-one tutoring, participate in educational group discussions on a variety of topics, receive a nutritious meal and enjoy recreational activities. The daily program runs Monday through Thursday at Jackie Robinson School. A group for younger children is provided while the older ones work with tutors to complete their homework.
Urban Initiatives (UI) provides a year-round program to actively engage boys and girls, ages six to 12, from under-served communities in Chicago. Through before- and after-school soccer programs, UI uses the child's natural desire to run and play with others to motivate improved school attendance and academic performance while improving physical exercise, nutrition awareness, teamwork and self esteem.?UI programs provide a structured and safe team environment and coordinated communication among teachers, parents and coaches.
Program Spotlight
New Life Centers of Chicagoland
As a multi-site organization serving three underprivileged communities across Chicago, New Life Centers of Chicagoland exists to share and show the love of Christ to all people through educational enrichment, health information, and life resources. Working to nurture and strengthen families as a whole, New Life Center Humboldt Park strives to provide unique opportunities for each age group that combat the barriers of limited education and unemployment existing in the neighborhood. Through S.A.Y. Yes! After School programming, 50 youth ages 4 years old through 8th grade receive academic tutoring, recreation time, nutritious snacks, and enrichment activities four days a week. With staff working in the local public schools 3 mornings each week, New Life Center has established a respected and beloved place in the neighborhood. Teenage internships through BLING, an entrepreneurial program for teenage girls to create and sell their own jewelry, open basketball, and family education banquets provide for further growth to meet the needs of the community.
Website: www.nlcenters.org
Afterschool Program Research
28% (641,975) of Illinois’ K-12 children are responsible for taking care of themselves after school.