"Cabrini's Got Talent" for real!

Thank you to all of the performers and audience members who came out to the first ever Cabrini Connections Talent Show presented by the Youth Leadership Council on Saturday. All six members of the council worked the entire quarter to make their dream of this show a reality and it paid off... literally! $115.50 was raised from 32 attendees and will go towards the Council's next event (TBA).

After all of the performances were done, we had everyone vote on their top three and we said that the "winners" would be invited to perform at the Year-End Dinner. No one knew this beforehand or during the show because we didn't want it to feel like a competition.

The top three students are:

1. Marquita Fisher & Dominique Curtis (poem)
2. Mylana Williams (singing)
3. Ana Tate (singing)
   

We would also like to invite Gabe Chapman (guitar) who was the highest vote-getter among the volunteers who performed. You can see all five of these performers live at the Year-End Dinner on Thursday, June 9th, at Cornerstone (1111 N Wells St).

Council plans Talent Show, serves mentors

On December 16th, the Youth Leadership Council met for the last time in 2010 to decide on a group assignment for winter quarter. Each quarter, the Council is expected to complete one group assignment and each member is expected to complete one individual assignment. After debating several options, the decision came down to a lock-in or a talent show. The group decided to go with a talent show because, given our financial situation, they felt it would be helpful if their assignment had a fundraising element. The lock-in will most likely be saved for spring or summer as a celebration of the year.

Youth Leadership Council Meeting 12/2/10

Youth Leadership Council held its second meeting of 2010-2011 on Thursday, December 2nd. Two projects were on the agenda: creating a suggestion box and stuffing holiday mailing envelopes. Cierria volunteered to take the lead on the suggestion box, which is intended to be a place where students and volunteers can anonymously suggest, criticize, or praise programs and policies of Cabrini Connections. Cierria created the box after the meeting, during her tutoring session. It is now located on top of the supply cabinet.

For the bulk of the meeting, Cierria, Savon, Melissa, and I stuffed, labeled, and stamped envelopes for our 2010 Holiday Appeal. We had a great assembly line system allowing us to get several hundred envelopes put together, which were later sealed and mailed by a volunteer during the session. Thank you to all the Youth Leadership Council members for helping out during this labor-intensive meeting. At the next and final meeting of Fall 2010 on Thursday, December 16th, we will decide on a group project for winter quarter and begin planning.

2010-2011 Youth Leadership Council

After weeks of campaigning and a night of speeches, six students were elected to the 2010-2011 Youth Leadership Council in late October. Wednesday night representatives are Savon Clark, Charles Hill, and De'Jour Stewart, and Thursday night representatives are Cierria Tharpe, Mylana Williams (above), and Melissa Young (below).

The council held its first meeting on Thursday, November 18th. After brief introductions (they all know each other already), we talked about identity, goals, and expectations - What is the Youth Leadership Council and why does it exist? A good layout of the council plan can be found here on Chris Warren's blog (my predecessor who revitalized the Youth Leadership Council in 2008). The new council will continue to form its own rules and roles, but Chris's plan is a good starting point.

Continuing in the meeting, we reviewed project ideas from last year's council and brainstormed project ideas for this year. Since it is a brainstorms session, anything goes! Ideas included a snack bar during tutoring sessions, a lock-in, a dance, painting the walls to bring more color into the center, a homecoming event for alumni, creating a mascot for the program, and more. As winter quarter approaches, the council will decide on at least one project to pursue, but for the remainder of fall quarter, their focus will be to assist with the holiday fund raising campaign.

On November 17th and 18th, when EL and I talked about the status of Cabrini Connections with our students and volunteers, all six members of Youth Leadership Council joined us up front to help lead the discussion. On the way out that night, they distributed holiday appeal letters to students for them to take to friends, family members, teachers... anyone who may take interest in their participation at Cabrini Connections. Lastly, on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, council members came in to write personal appeal letters to potential donors, several of which can be read here.

Congratulations to the new members for being elected and thank you for immediately helping where you are most needed. I look forward to writing further updates about the accomplishments of this group over the course of this year. Thank you for reading.

Youth Leadership Council Meeting 1/25/10

The 2009-2010 Youth Leadership Council held its fourth meeting on Monday, January 25th. Providence St. Mel 9th grader Mylana Williams (above) was introduced as the council's newest member. She replaces Victoria Rivera whose schedule does not allow her to participate at this time. We welcome Mylana and look forward to incorporating her perspective into a new year of YLC initiatives.

As opposed to its usual external focus, this meeting was very introspective. I asked the students to define leadership. "What qualities and characteristics do you look for in a leader?" I prepared a list of what I thought to be good answers, and they just blew me out of the water! Not only did they cover all of my suggestions, they had plenty more! According to YLC, good leaders set goals, show respect, stay on task, listen, are strong & bold, take criticism, practice what they preach, are willing to follow, and the list goes on. Now that I've recorded their excellent answers, they are going to hold each other accountable for them. If they are leaders in our program, they should be exhibiting these qualities and characteristics all the time.

Their next exercise was to start an asset map. Asset mapping is modeled to work on a community level, but you can do it with any group of people. Have each person list their assets, bring them all together, begin to make connections, and use your assets collectively to work toward a goal. Assets can be personal traits like "trustworthy," people you know like "my teachers," groups you're apart of like "my basketball team," and so on. Here are some of the council's assets:

• We have members who are outgoing, enthusiastic, talkative, friendly, hardworking, motivated, athletic, helpful, and nice to be around.
  
• We have members who are good at acting, singing, writing, dancing, drawing, speaking, and with computers.
  
• We have members who work at Jewel-Osco, are on Region 2 Youth Leadership Council, are in Tech Club, and go to CME Church.
  

As you can see, we have a dynamic group of young people on Youth Leadership Council. At their next meeting, members will discuss how these assets are connected and how they might leverage them as a group. I think asset mapping will be very helpful in facilitating their brainstorming.

The last exercise for this day was also an assignment. I asked the members to write down what they want to be when they grow up. Then I told them to go out and interview a person in that job/career before their next meeting. They will need to document their interview in some way. It can be simple transcription, an audio recording, a summary with quotes... just some kind of documentation. At the end, their reports will be posted in the center for everyone to see. I think this is a good leadership development activity for them personally, but it will also set an example to other students in the program. It is a simple, effective project that any student can take on. Here is what everyone wants to be:

Ashaunti - lawyer/professor
De'Sean - business owner
Israel (right) - architect
Mylana - actress or criminal psychologist
Savon (above) - professional football player or work with computers
Sean - video game designer

Stay tuned for their reports next month. Thanks for keeping up!

Youth Leadership Council Meeting 12/4/09

The 2009-2010 Youth Leadership Council held its third meeting on Friday, December 4th. Their first order of business was to determine guidelines for the Winter Clothes Drive. The project seems simple on the surface, but a lot of details had to be discussed. For example: is it best to sort by type (hats, gloves, coats, etc.), size (small, medium, large, etc.), or gender?

After a heated debate, four categories were determined: 1) hats, gloves, scarves, and facemasks, 2) coats and jackets, 3) shirts and sweaters, and 4) jeans and pants. Other stipulations: donated items must be clean, in good condition, and neatly folded into a collection box. Also, when it comes to taking: "take what you need and be considerate of others," says Israel.

Two weeks later, we now have overflowing boxes of winter clothes in our center. Thanks, volunteers, for donating so many items! Our students truly appreciate your generosity.

Stay tuned for more news from the Youth Leadership Council in 2010, when they will begin work on a fund raiser and a lounge.

Youth Leadership Council Meeting 11/18/09

The 2009-2010 Youth Leadership Council held its second meeting on Wednesday, November 18th. The primary purpose of this meeting was to follow-up with ideas presented at the first meeting and to work toward those which are most promising. The Council has chosen to pursue three projects:

• Each year Cabrini Connections holds a winter clothes drive so that students who may otherwise find it difficult to get to our program can receive some thermal assistance. Savon Clark and Israel Dosie will take the lead on this project. Savon is in charge of logistics (bins, rules, sign-in/out sheets) while Israel is in charge of publicity (flyers, announcements, etc.).
• Inspired by Melissa Young's Halloween Bake Sale, De'Sean Hale (pictured above during announcements) and Ashaunti Roby are going to arrange a fund raiser for Cabrini Connections. De'Sean would like students to sell candy over the holidays. He and Ashaunti are going to research ideas and present them at the next meeting.
• Sean Mayfield and Victoria Rivera will take the lead on arranging a lounge somewhere in our center. Sean will design the layout and Victoria will figure out what furniture is needed. At the next tutoring session, they will ask around for student input.

Please be on the lookout for further news regarding these projects. Savon, Israel, De'Sean, Ashaunti, Sean, and Victoria are going above and beyond, and we want to support their endeavors as best we can. By donating clothes, money, or furniture, you will not just be reinforcing the work of these six council members; you support 76 students, 88 volunteers, and six staff who use our facilities on a weekly basis. We greatly appreciate your generosity. Thank you.

Youth Leadership Council Meeting 11/4/09

The 2009-2010 Youth Leadership Council held its first meeting on Wednesday, November 4th. To start off the meeting, expectations, rules, and roles were discussed. Council members will essentially function as junior staff on tutoring nights - enforcing rules, helping with announcements, and being aware upcoming events' details. Several returning members recounted the accomplishments of last year's council, including the production of videos for National Mentoring Month. It was acknowledged that they often worked behind-the-scenes and needed to do a better job this year of making their presence known.

The bulk of the meeting consisted of a brainstorming session for new ideas. The council discussed center improvements and potential fundraisers to support them, such as a bike-a-thon, a candy sale, and a car wash (or bash). As for additions to Cabrini Connections' space, the council would like to pursue the arrangement of a lounge in the back of the center for more relaxed mentor-mentee time. This will involve reorganizing what's already there and collecting donated furniture. Stay tuned for more details as this project develops.

The last part of our discussion had to do with activity in the center. Members insisted that students need to bring homework for each tutoring session. If they don't have homework, their tutors need to get creative: look up math problems on the Internet, go over courses for next semester, read a book, etc. Members recommend that games be kept locked up for the first half of tutoring sessions in order to facilitate more constructive work. I favor this recommendation and we are looking to enact it after Thanksgiving break.

As you can see, the council is already having an effect on rules and regulations at Cabrini Connections. We as staff appreciate their direct input and look forward to hearing more from them as the year goes on. Thank you.

2009-2010 Youth Leadership Council

Congratulations to the following six students who were elected to the 2009-2010 Youth Leadership Council!

Savon Clark
9th grader at Lindblom
third year in the program

Israel Dosie
7th grader at Andersen
first year in the program

De'Sean Hale
12th grader at Wells
fifth year in the program

Sean Mayfield
9th grader at Rauner
third year in the program

Victoria Rivera
11th grader at Lincoln Park
fourth year in the program

Ashaunti Roby
9th grader at Providence St. Mel
third year in the program

The Youth Leadership Council will meet biweekly to discuss policies and procedures at Cabrini Connections. The Council may influence field trip destinations, the tutoring schedule, the points system, and more. They will also devise strategies to increase youth involvement and attendance (particularly in Winter months). I'm eager to see what they come up with!