Youth Crossroads’ B.U.I.L.T. Summer Camp in Session
B.U.I.L.T. (Building Unique Individual Leaders Today) Summer Camp welcomed 50 middle school campers into the program this month. This free summer camp provides middle-school students with a positive and safe summer program that allows them to participate in arts, STEM, SEL, recreation, and team-building activities; help bridge the summer learning gap; interact with high school role-models; and have fun. Students also attend field trips throughout the summer catered to developing their specific skills and interests. YC partners with the Greater Chicago Food Depository Summer Nutrition program to provide students with daily breakfast and lunch..
Business, Community, Philanthropic, and Civic Leaders Help Make Youth Crossroads 2022 Gala A Huge Success
Earlier this month, students in the Youth Leadership Program (YLP) took a four-day Service and Social Justice Trip to Flint and Detroit Michigan to discover the historical, racial, and economic barriers residents face as a result of the downfall of General Motors factories in Michigan.
The students participated in two service-learning opportunities with Genesee County Habitat for Humanity in Flint, Michigan, and Arts and Scraps in Detroit, Michigan. At Habitat for Humanity, YLPers assisted in park repair in an almost deserted part of Flint, which included picking up debris and foliage. At Arts and Scraps students designed and repurposed used recycled materials that would later be used for low-income school districts and communities. Additionally, as part of the service curriculum for YLP, the youth created a service-learning project. The YLPers collected over 50 cases of water and donated it to Hydrate Detroit, a nonprofit that provides immediate emergency water deliveries and water restoration to families in the City of Detroit experiencing water shutoffs.
Impact 100 Chicago Awards $5,000 Grant to Youth Crossroads
Youth Crossroads was awarded the 2022 Merit Grant Award conferred by Impact 100 Chicago at an award-ceremony on June 14 at the Grove Country Club in Long Grove. The $5,000 award will support our Youth Leadership Program students. Youth Crossroads was one of three finalists for the $100,000 Impact Grant, which went to Youth Conservation Corps in Waukegan. The mission of Impact100 Chicago is to award membership-funded, transformational grants to local nonprofit organizations while empowering women to change lives through philanthropy.
Women Leaders in Philanthropy Awards $15,000 Grant to Help Fund a Community Counselor
Youth Crossroads has been awarded a $15,000 grant by Women Leaders in Philanthropy, a program of the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation. It is hoped that a Community Counselor can be hired by September to provide mental health services to youth and families in our community year-round regardless of what school they attend. The vision of the Women Leaders in Philanthropy is to empower, cultivate, and recognize women as philanthropic leaders and volunteers within our communities. Their goals are to enhance philanthropy of the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation by reinforcing bonds and social networking; providing philanthropic education for the next generation of women leaders; and supporting social impact organizations and causes.
Byline Bank Awards $5,000
Grant Byline Bank has awarded a $5,000 grant to Youth Crossroads to support comprehensive youth services, including our counseling programs, after-school enrichment, and youth leadership training.
Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundations Awards YC a $2,500 Grant
The Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation, a program of the Dekalb County Community Foundation, has awarded a $2,500 grant to Youth Crossroads, to support classes for Youth Leadership Program students to construct and play their own musical instruments.
Youth Crossroads Hosts Panel Discussion on LGBTQI Youth
Youth Crossroads hosted a panel discussion on LGBTQIA youth at the conclusion of the Berwyn Pride Parade on June 25. Panelists included Yadira Padilla and Nyla Lawson from the student organization Junior State of America, and Pauline Gumin, a math teacher and faculty advisor for the Morton West group. The panelists spoke to an audience of over 150 exploring such questions as “How can we build an atmosphere of inclusion regardless of personal or religious views?” and “What might a person who is coming out go through.”