MAY 2024
MENTEE SPOTLIGHT
Consistent, Dedicated, Amazing
Our student of the month for April is Lauren, a 7th grader at Julian who has shown both consistency and dedication in her personal growth. Lauren maintains near perfect attendance to the program. She was engaged in all activities throughout the month, was a team player during recreation, and showed good decision making on a rough day at school. Great job, Lauren!
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
YEMBA Attends BUILD the Future Gala
At the beginning of this month, YEMBA was proud to support a beloved community partner, BUILD Chicago, at their BUILD the Future Gala. The event featured youth speakers sharing their powerful stories of hope and resilience for a bright future. BUILD is a gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development services organization. Each year BUILD helps more than 3,200 West Side Chicago youth and families to disrupt the piepline of gun violence in our city. With services like gang intervention and mental health care, out-of-school camps and college counseling, studio art and sports—BUIlD helps youth develop the skills and support network they need to overcome barriers, survive, and thrive.
GET INVOLVED
Support Our Summer Empowerment Programs
As we prepare for our 2024 Summer Empowerment Programs to begin in June, we invite you to support us by making a donation to our Summer Empowerment Donation Drive.
WHY:
The transition to middle school and high school bring about a lot of change that can make or break a student’s confidence and overall trajectory, both personally and in school. New building, new peers, new adults, new developmental changes, new challenges and opportunities for personal growth. These vital summer programs ensure that youth are prepared with the knowledge & skills to thrive not only academically, but socially & emotionally as well.
WHAT YOUR SUPPORT PROVIDES:
Every $50 dollars donated provides 1 hour of mentoring to a group of 10 youth! Help us reach our goal to provide a comprehensive and enriching program at NO COST to incoming 6th and 9th graders, including mentoring services, workshops, food and other program supplies, and transportation to field trips.
PROGRAM RECAP
Our content area focus for April was Financial Literacy. Mentors and Program staff led workshops on relationship with money, budgeting, and credit. Mentees demonstrated great interest in the budgeting workshop. They had the opportunity to create a budget based on randomly assigned income, fixed utility costs, and additional expenses selected based on their preferences (rent vs.mortgage, new car vs. used car, etc). Several students mentioned learning about budgeting from their parents for tasks like grocery shopping. They were also intrigued by various aspects of the credit report system, such as the starting credit score. A standout experience from the recreation component of programming this month was our kickball series. Students collaborated to design team banners and showed great sportsmanship.
We look forward to finishing the year strong with our mental health unit and program commencement!
COMMENCEMENT DATES:
Julian May 21st at 4:30pm
Brooks May 23rd at 4:30pm