YC Connections After-School Program:

The YC After School Connections Program happens 2 days each week throughout the school year at Freedom Middle School in Berwyn. In addition to homework help and life skills training, YLP teen leaders recently mentored teams of 6^th - 8^th graders through our service project training and preparation process. Those students then created different ways to prevent and discourage bullying at school and in the community by filming short videos.

Connections Program participants also went on a field trip to the Chicago House of Blues in March and saw a live blues performance that included a history of blues music. We also hosted the Connections Kitchen Restaurant, an evening event where Connections students ran a restaurant out of a local church to host their families for dinner. Connections participants worked at the “restaurant” as hosts, servers, table bussers, cooks and food preparers. The Connections Kitchen Restaurant hosted over 70 family member guests.

In our last month of program, we are now preparing to go to Journey World for a field trip. Journey World, operated by the Girl Scouts, is a re-creation of a city with businesses ranging from the Chicago Tribune Newspaper to a restaurant, wellness center and multimedia (radio) center. Connections participants along with Teen Reach participants will interview and be selected for different job positions to run the city businesses. This field trip aims to teach students entrepreneurship and business management skills, as the goal of the program is for participant’s to have paid back their business loan by the end of the field trip. April will be the last month of programming, but we are looking forward to new opportunities with the Connections Program for next year.

Program components include: Homework Help, Educational/Social Skills activities and Service Learning Projects, and Recreational/Teambuilding activities.

The program meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm at Freedom Middle School (3016 S. Ridgeland Ave., Berwyn, IL | Map) and runs from October 6, 2008 through May 13, 2009.

All services at YC are free of charge for youth in our service area.

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