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!
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!
For the second year in a row, Cabrini Connections is hosting a fundraising tournament called Cabrini Madness, and for the second year in a row, I am co-producing weekly videos to promote the campaign and its teams. Above, you can watch "Maybe" - the original Michael Jordan commercial and the EL Da' Sheon Nix remake. Below, you can watch "The Decision" - mimicking LeBron James' ESPN special - and "Training Days" - showing teams, including my Green Team, preparing for the 2011 Cabrini Madness season.
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.
11am Last Thursday, EL Da' Sheon and I attended a Delegate Agency Meeting & Recognition Luncheon for the City of Chicago Department of Family & Support Services Youth Division. You may remember, last year we won an award "For Outstanding Performance in Youth Development." Well, this year, we were honored again, "For Outstanding Performance in Youth Opportunities." Of all the programs funded by the city for mentoring, we are the best! Thank you to every student, volunteer, staff member, board member, and donor for making this possible. I hope you will continue to support us as we go for a three-peat in 2011!
6pm On Thursday night, we held our last tutor/mentor session of the quarter. It was an "open" session for the holidays, meaning students could bring food and play games if they chose to, or continue working as usual. Attendance continues to be fantastic and both students and volunteers finished at over 85% for the quarter. (Our goal is 80%.) Listen to holiday messages from our students below.
8pm A parent called at the end of the night to warn her daughter about a shooting in Cabrini Green on Cambridge Avenue where they live. Two fellow students ended up walking her from our center to the area. A policeman had to walk her the rest of the way to her house. It is stunning to think that someone was being shot at on the other side of the bridge while we were celebrating the holidays at 800 W. Huron. It is a sad reminder of why programs like Cabrini Connections are still needed in this area and in high-poverty areas around Chicago. Mike Trakan's recent series of maps does a good job of picturing this situation. I recommend viewing them on his blog here.
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!
Check out this new video, featuring ME, as I walk through Cabrini Connections. This was shot on Wednesday night by Mitch Holzrichter in one continuous shot on the first take. Yes!
For the full story, please read Dan's blog post. Thanks for watching!
It has been a September to remember at Cabrini Connections. I apologize for my lack of posts recently, but I assure you, I have been keeping busy with the start of the 2010-2011 tutoring season. I am very excited to be returning for a second year as Assistant Coach, during which time I can build on existing relationships and ideas while also meeting new people and exploring new possibilities. Cabrini Connections began its 18th year last week, and EL Da' Sheon ("Coach Nix") and I are determined to make it the best yet.
At the end of last year, we made a commitment to meet over the summer with every student and volunteer who wishes to return to the team. We did this 1) to check-in with matches during what is usually a three month off-season, 2) to receive further feedback about the program and its resources, and 3) to assess all players (students, volunteers, and coordinators). These meetings were tremendously productive and gave us the opportunity to address issues - positive and negative - face-to-face.
Today is July 1st, 2010. It is a day which has been anticipated for years in the NBA. Free agency officially began last night at 12:01am and teams are scramblinfg to acquire players from the greatest free agent pool in history: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzski, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce... These eight players alone have been selected to the All-Star Game a combined 44 times!
University of Illinois at Chicago economist John Skorburg estimates James' impact on the city of Chicago could be worth as much as 2.7 billion if he chooses to sign with the Chicago Bulls. Bars will be full, TVs will be on, jerseys will be sold, but what about the charitable impact? This article nicely summarizes the charitable side of the NBA's top free agents. The Bulls are all but guaranteed to acquire at least one if not two "big names" this summer. What impact can these players' foundations have on Chicago?
What will it take to assign athletes ownership of our mission? What will it take to get LeBron James or Chris Bosh or whoever comes to Chicago to give a shout-out to Tutor/Mentor Connection or host a volunteer recruitment fair?
I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know that we must demand this type of action from professional athletes who are role models to our kids. In the same way that we expect 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists a game from LeBron, we should expect charitable giving and community activism. Enjoy the drama of free agency, and hopefully by the 4th of July we'll have even more to celebrate.
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.
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!
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.
Above and below, you can watch short video recaps of two workshops. The first is "Non-Profits: Time to Get Mobile" presented by Brian Banks of AdvaTEXT, and the second is "How to Help Your Students Finance College" presented by Maria Bucio of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC).
Twice a year we receive great feedback from attendees who value this leadership & network opportunity. If you, too, see value in this service, please consider making a donation to support the Tutor/Mentor Connection. And if you're around in November, we would love to see you at our next conference. It's bound to be even better! Thank you!
Listen to what Tutor/Mentor Program Leaders say about the work they do and why they come to the Tutor/Mentor Conference. The next conference will be held this Thursday and Friday, May 27th & 28th, at Loyola University Chicago's Lake Shore Campus. For complete information, including an agenda, a list of speakers, instructions for registration, and more, visit http://www.tutormentorconference.org/. Thank you!
P.S. I spent a lot of time on this video so I would love it if you can watch any amount, even if it's just a minute. Also, there's a surprise at the end if you want a guaranteed smile :)
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."
This week's video features an interview with Anupam Basu, Captain of The LeBrons, who were, in fact, eliminated at the first cut.
Just like the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Cabrini Madness' Final Four is this weekend. Guaranteed Victory, Team Impeccable, Give Hope, and my team, The Green Team, are still in it. Our "championship game" between the top two fundraising teams will be set on Saturday night at 11:59pm. A winner will be crowned on Monday night at the same time.
Visit http://www.cabriniconnections.net/cabrini-madness/ for complete information, including tournament updates, rosters, a bracket, and more - and pick a team to support! (such as, The Green Team!) It should be a fun weekend of competition. Good luck to you all.
Last week's video (below) is a play on this NBA Cares commercial. NBA players give back to their communities and so do Cabrini Madness players. Watch this short commercial highlighting "The Awesomes" fundraiser at Green Heart Shop. They brought in over $600!
To help promote Cabrini Madness and energize the teams, we will create a new sports-themed viral video each week. In this, the first episode, Loyola intern E Wilson interviews Tim Minton and Jessica Newberg, coaches of the #1 team, Team Impeccable.
January is National Mentoring Month and today is Thank Your Mentor Day! Watch Cabrini Connections students thank their mentors in the video above. I hope you will take time out of your day to thank mentors in your life, and, please, consider being a mentor yourself. You can find a list of Chicago-area programs here. Thank you!
I am a recent graduate of Northwestern University and the current Assistant Program Coordinator at Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection in Chicago, Illinois.
