2011 Year-End Dinner

Last Thursday, Cabrini Connections celebrated the end of the 2010-2011 tutoring and mentoring year with its 18th Annual Year-End Dinner. About 250 students, parents, volunteers, alumni, staff, and board members crowded the Cornerstone Academy in Chicago to recognize each other for great accomplishments - the greatest of which is that all five of our seniors graduated from high school and are headed to college in the fall. This video shows the presentation of Graduation Dollars and yearbooks to our seniors, with a special surprise at the end ;-)

Thanks to Groupon and ContextMedia, the Graduation Dollars for this year's senior class have been doubled!

Spoil the surprise =>
I would like to personally thank all of my friends and family members who made this such a successful year. A year ago I felt lucky to have the opportunity to remain a staff member at Cabrini Connections, and I look back a year later proud of all that we accomplished. Congratulations!

Bonus video: Video & Filmmakers Club's spring quarter project

Live feed of Cabrini-Green demolition and lights

Project Cabrini Green’s live feed video component, coming from the demolition site, can be watched here 24/7, for the duration of the demolition. The light installation is visible every day, from 7pm to 1am CDT.

Click on the image above to be taken to the Project Cabrini Green web site. Once you are there, click the Home tab to find students' actual audio and text which become the lights. Below are two videos about the project.

"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).

GLC gives back

Hip hop artist GLC from Chicago visited Cabrini Connections on March 2nd, 2011 to speak about "love, life, and loyalty" - from growing up on the south side of Chicago to becoming a successful artist, working with legends, and winning two Grammies.

We all suffer losses and we take losses in our life, but from those losses we should just use those as motivation in order to win and become a winner and become successful, because if I did it, you definitely can. Church!

Previously: Rhymefest Gives Back

I'm quoted in the Chicago Tribune!

You can read the article at either of these links:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/art/ct-live-0323-cabrini-tichy-20110322,0,3604457.story
http://www.cabriniconnections.net/images/PDF/2011%20tribunepcg.pdf

It is about Project Cabrini Green which will light up the last high-rise building of Cabrini-Green beginning next week. In January, Cabrini Connections students took part in a public light art workshop with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They created stories and poems which, based on the rhythms of their recordings, were turned into blinking LED lights. Their lights will be among those placed in each of the 134 windows of the building.

Conference video

Last Friday, Tutor/Mentor Connection held its biannual Tutor/Mentor Leadership & Networking Conference at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. Over 100 leaders, volunteers, and stakeholders from the region took part in 20 presentations covering topics in branding and marketing, new media and technology, volunteer recruitment and retention, and more.

Special thanks to the three presenters who became involved through my asking - Brad Manilla and Anthony Bernas from let's dabble, LLC, CoCo Calixto from BUILD, and Amy Ludwig from Illinois Campus Compact. It was a pleasure to welcome you and I appreciate your contributions to the conference. I believe many others did as well!

You can read comments from attendees on Karina's blog here. Our next conference will be in May 2011, but until then, you can find us online in our Ning forums. Thank you!

Two big wins!

Last Thursday night, Michael Bridges and his mentor Jason Tennenbaum enjoyed a night at the Chicago Bulls game courtesy of ContextMedia! The Bulls defeated the Golden State Warriors 120-90. My friend Rishi Shah, CEO of ContextMedia, was kind enough to donate the tickets. His company also donated the TV which runs in our center.

Our method for selecting which lucky pair would get these tickets was... whichever Wednesday night pairs were free on Thursday night had to pick a number 1-100. We preselected 33 as the winning number because that is the number of tutoring weeks in a year. It is also Scottie Pippen's jersey number. Jason ended up coming closest with his pick of 32, which he chose because he is a big Los Angeles Lakers/Magic Johnson fan. Maybe we should have disqualified him for that, but we gave him the tickets anyways and he and Michael had a great time. Thanks, ContextMedia!

Also last week, on Saturday, several mentors and their friends took advantage of free tickets to the sold out Northwestern-Iowa football game. Big thanks to Betsi Burns and John Mack from the Northwestern athletics department for donating 25 tickets to the program! It may have been cold and rainy, but the 'Cats pulled off a dramatic comeback in the 4th quarter to beat the Hawkeyes 21-17, making the trip well worth it. Now it's on to Wrigley Field! Go U!

"Cookies for a Cause"

On Saturday, October 30th, fourth year Cabrini Connections student Melissa Young hosted her 2nd Annual Halloween Bake Sale to benefit the tutoring program. She came up with this idea all on her own last year after wondering why we didn't have a Halloween event and, also, how we raised money. She promoted the event to mentors, mentees, and to people in her own neighborhood and school. She collected donations of baked goods from those people as well. And when it came time for the actual event last Saturday, with the help of several student and adult volunteers, she raised over $225!

Thank you, Melissa, for taking charge and giving back to Cabrini Connections. One of our former students, Isaiah Brooms, has raised over $1000 in the last week after sending a message to his network about the influence of this program in his life. He also pledged to match donations up to $600 total. It is a joy to see current and former students advocating for Cabrini Connections. They are the ones who benefit most and they are the ones who exemplify the effectiveness of this program with their successes.

The more we can get alumni (students and volunteers) involved, the better! Please continue to follow Isaiah's story and look out for an update from me soon about new forms of alumni engagement. Thank you.

Drumroll, please

Last Sunday, Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection held its 1st Annual Tutor/Mentor Jam at darkroom on West Chicago Avenue. Nearly 150 people attended and over $2,000 was raised as five bands performed, a comic MCed, and food was served by Man B Que. Above, listen to Veteran Volunteer Brea Adams speak at the Jam about her experience as a tutor/mentor for Crystal Townsend.

I would like to thank everyone who came out in support of this event, especially my friends, some of whom are pictured below. Tutor/Mentor Jam is strategically timed to take place at the start of the school year when many out-of-school time programs are looking for volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer tutor/mentor, please contact me directly or use our program locator to find a program near you. Thank you!

Game Day & Buffet

As part of the Cabrini Connections program, we offer various incentives throughout the year to encourage and reward students for doing well and fulfilling expectations. We strive to offer rewards to those with the greatest attendance each quarter, and after third quarter, the end of the year, rewards become extra-special because we have more time to plan.

In June, Ana Tate was awarded a bicycle for being the only student with perfect attendance for the entire year; earlier this month, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders with 75% or better attendance in third quarter were invited to Dave & Buster's; and, last but not least, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders with 75% or better attendance in third quarter were invited to a "Game Day & Buffet" here at Cabrini Connections.

This past Saturday, Chuck "Diesal" Seaton of Concepts by Design hooked us up with four 42" flat-screen televisions with Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 video game systems. We also provided sandwiches from Subway and wings from Hooters. We started the day off with group "get to know you" games like Catchphrase and a fun worksheet called "The Number Game," and then kids were free to roam the center and play video games.

Thank you and congratulations to all of the following students who were able to attend: Savon Clark, NyShanell Freeman, Kierre Halbert, Arden Harris, Dionte Herron, Charles Hill, Charles Kilpatrick, Sean Mayfield, Brittany Murphy, Reggie Murphy, Amari Roby, Ana Tate, Malina Tate, Crystal Townsend, Olivia Williams, and Patricia Williams.

Jammin'

We're jammin
I wanna jam it with you,
We're jammin, jammin
And I hope you like jammin too
-Bob Marley

Tutor/Mentor Jam is a benefit concert for Tutor/Mentor Connection to be held on Sunday, August 29th, at Darkroom on West Chicago Avenue (map). This coming-together of bands, entertainers, and the local business community represents a village, coming together to draw public attention and support toward volunteer-based, non-school tutor/mentor programs in high-poverty neighborhoods throughout the Chicago region.

Hole in One Hundred

More than 100 golfers, volunteers, students and dinner guests attended last week's 15th Annual Cabrini Connections Golf Benefit. You can read about staff members' experiences here. It was a wonderful day by all accounts.

The bulk of my day was spent with 2006 CC alumnus Jonathan Summers (left). In the morning, Jonathan and I rode around in a cart taking pictures and chatting up the golfers. Later in the day, we were assigned to keep an eye out for holes in one on hole #11. If you enter the hole in one contest and are miraculously successful, you win one of several trip packages. There would be no lucky strokes this year, though.

I am very thankful for the opportunity to get to know Jonathan better. He and I spent about four hours together on the course and we were talking almost the whole time. He's 22 and I'm 23, so it turns out we're a lot alike. And to hear him reminisce about Cabrini Connections with such joy really brought the event full circle for me.

One week away

From Golf Benefit

Cabrini Connections' 15th annual Golf Benefit will take place next Thursday, July 15th, at Highland Park Country Club in Chicago. Last year, we had 97 golfers play in the afternoon and over 120 present for dinner and a silent auction in the evening. If you or someone you know would like to golf with us this year, you can register on the Golf Benefit web site. Dinner tickets are also available... and you do not have to golf to attend the dinner! So even if you have to work all day, you can still join us for dinner (fully catered) and drinks (open bar) in the evening.

Lastly, for those of you who are not in Chicago, you can always make a general donation in any amount (very much appreciated) OR you can pre-bid on some of our silent auction items until 12am on July 15th. The highest pre-bids will become starting bids at the actual silent auction. For more details on this new opportunity, visit Cabrini Connections home page.

Thanks for reading and thank you for the support. Good luck, golfers!

More Videos!

It's hard to believe that since we opened our Vimeo account in January, 28 videos have been added by myself and our Video & Filmmakers Club! Collectively, they have been viewed more than 900 times! Thank you so much for sharing in these moments with me. I hope that you will continue to spread our stories through your networks of friends, family, and coworkers.

Today, I present three more videos - one from the Year-End Dinner and two from our 31st biannual Tutor/Mentor Leadership & Networking Conference. Above you will see parent speakers Ms. Caprice Mitchell and Ms. LaJoyce Brown reflect on what Cabrini Connections has meant to their families. Below you will see Loyola University Chicago Professor James Garbarino Ph.D. speak about youth violence and Scott McFarland speak about the Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

Though regular tutoring session have ended for 2009-2010, summer is in full gear here at Cabrini Connections. You can read more about our summer schedule here, and, as always, check my blog for previews and recaps of everything! Thanks for visiting!

2010 Year-End Dinner

Words can hardly describe what an uplifting and inspiring time was had by me at Cabrini Connections annual Year-End Dinner on Thursday, June 10th, at Cornerstone Center. Luckily, I have videos to share with you that convey some of what took place. Thank you to each and every person who supported the dinner either by attended or promoting or donating or just reading this post. We are all about connections and one is being made right now. I hope you enjoy these videos (especially the ones created by students) and share them with people in your network. The more eyes we can get on our work, the more support we can find to continue doing it. Thank you for your help!

First up is a four-minute video and picture montage which recaps the entire night. It was produced by one of our interns from Illinois Institute of Technology, Minsang Lee.



Second is a video of alumni speaker Tangela Marlowe who participated in Cabrini Connections from 1993 to 1997. It was shot by Reggie Murphy and Shaquille Strauther and edited by me.



Last is all four of the Video & Filmmakers Club's short films. Two are fiction, two are documentary, and all were produced entirely by students in grades 7-11. These are a must watch! Click on the club's picture to be taken to their video showcase.

It's a celebration!

Our annual Year-End Dinner is tomorrow! I am very excited to see over 200 students, parents, volunteers, staff, board members, donors, and others come together in celebration of yet another fantastic year of tutoring and mentoring at Cabrini Connections. It is hard to put into words how much this year has meant to me, but I guess I've been doing that all along here on my blog. Thank you so much for reading!

Whether this is your first time or you're subscribed via e-mail (special shout-out to you guys!), I really appreciate your attention. Through me, you are giving our students attention and that is a tremendous blessing. In describing the impact of our program, I often try to have people imagine a 12-year-old in 7th grade, who may live in poverty or have other hardships, being instantly connected to almost 100 caring adults (our volunteers) as soon as he or she walks in our doors.

Rhymefest gives back

A few weeks ago, Grammy Award-winning hip hop artist Rhymefest was in Hawaii working on Kanye West's new album. Last night, he was at Cabrini Connections speaking to youth about his life, the music industry, fear vs. love, and more. The above video includes:

0:13 Speaks about radio
1:48 Performs "The City is Fallen"
3:47 Students read their freewrite poems
4:56 Interview

Rhymefest spoke for almost an hour and a half, capturing the attention of about 25 students and their mentors. At one point, he said fellow hip hop artist Rick Ross recently asked him, "Would you rather be loved or would you rather be feared?" Rhymefest solicited responses from the students before providing his own. Using the example of Martin Luther King, Jr., he said, "True love sometimes inspires the greatest fear." He went on to discuss radio and say, "Music is constantly telling us not to love ourselves."

Rapper Rhymefest to visit Cabrini Connections

I am pleased to announce that one of my favorite hip hop artists, Che "Rhymefest" Smith, a native of Chicago's south side, will visit next week's Wednesday night tutoring session. And he's not just coming to speak for a few minutes; he will run a full, classroom-style workshop! He will facilitate a language arts activity, a freewriting exercise, and a discussion about goals and dreams, and he will top it all off with a freestyle! I can't wait!

All of our students are big fans of hip hop, and this activity should be a good way to capture their attention in entertaining fashion, but, also, to make them think about life choices and their futures. I admire Rhymefest's willingness to participate in community forums with youth. He is a great example of an industry figure - in this case, music - using his or her talents to support and promote quality tutoring and mentoring programs. If figures from every major industry can think of ways to match their financial and social capital with programs like Cabrini Connections, future generations (the young people we serve now) will all be better off.

Video & Filmmakers Club and I will film the event, so look forward to a full recap next week.

What's Up?

A lot is going on this spring at Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection. Thanks as always for reading my blog. Hopefully these positive stories are heartwarming and inspiring and give a different perspective to inner-city neighborhoods than your typical nightly news broadcast. We have bright kids with bright futures, and I'm committed to seeing their dreams come true.

Just to catch you up, here are some recent and upcoming happenings around CC, TMC...

Cabrini Connections

• Our annual Art Festival was held on Friday, April 16th, at Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts. More than 100 adults and students turned out for the event which raised more than $2000. Check out pictures from opening reception here, and, to learn more about our learning and enrichment clubs, click here.
• Our 18th annual Year-End Dinner is approaching fast. This year it will be held on Thursday, June 10th, from 5:30-8pm at 1111 N. Wells St. If you've volunteered, donated, or worked with us in any way this year, we'd love to see you there. It will be a fabulous night filled with food, fun, and performances. Click here to RSVP.
  
• We have a new theme for 2010-2011 - "My Dreams are My Reality!" - submitted by 12th grader Dijana Smith and chosen by the Youth Leadership Council. When asked about what inspired her to write it, Dijana said, "Now that I'm a senior, I'm close to my dreams, and I want to make them a reality." How great is that?! We'll kick off this new theme at the Year-End Dinner, so until then, "Hope, Build, Believe, & Achieve!"
• This summer, Highland Park Country Club will host Cabrini Connections Golf Benefit on Thursday, July 15th. If it's anything like last year, it will be a beautiful day and a great celebration. Visit our web site if you'd like to tee it up in a foursome or promote your business as a sponsor.

Tutor/Mentor Connection

• Our 31st biannual Tutor/Mentor Leadership & Networking Conference will be held on Thursday and Friday, May 27th and 28th, at Loyola University Chicago's Lake Shore Campus in Rogers Park. Much of the schedule is beginning to take shape as workshops, panels, and keynotes are confirmed. Read Nicole White's blog posts here and here for a complete list and visit our conference web site to officially register.
• Our GIS Mapping Coordinator Mike Trakan has been doing a great job of keeping up with current events and highlighting their interconnectedness to the quality and availability of non-school programs for youth. On his blog, you can read about the role of Tutor/Mentor Connection and what you can do to help. Mike is looking for a consistent flow of investment in our maps and someone to help market our mapping technology. He asks that you please consider a donation, sponsorship, or referral to someone with similar interests and a philanthropic budget.

Thanks for catching up! Stay tuned for more as we close out yet another successful year of tutoring and mentoring at Cabrini Connections!

On To The Next One

Last week, Cabrini Madness came to a close in dramatic fashion as Guaranteed Victory beat Team Impeccable by a score of $6402 to $6120. Overall, the tournament raised $23,109.89 and my team, The Green Team, raised $1865 (third place). I want to thank each and every person who donated to and/or spread the word about our cause. You have made a difference for Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection and I truly appreciate it. Thank you!

Now, with the adrenaline of Cabrini Madness behind us, we shift focus to our annual Art Festival. This year's festival (free and open to the public) will be held at the Palette & Chisel art gallery (1012 N Dearborn) on Friday, April 16th, from 6-10pm. Original works created by members of our Art Club will be on display and up for auction. Bidding closes at 9pm and the artwork will remain on display through April 27th.

My birthday is on Tuesday, April 20th, but I'm encouraging all my friends to come celebrate with me on Friday at the Art Festival. I would love to see you there! Come meet students, volunteers, and staff, enjoy complimentary food and drinks, and check out some awesome artwork! What better way to spend a Friday night?

RSVP on Facebook here. Make a donation to support the club here. Thank you!