Wings Welcome UI for Biggest Crosstown Ever!
The 11th Crosstown Classic was the biggest one yet! The Crosstown was hosted by the Wings in Wilmette’s beautiful Avoca Park. We were pleased the rain stayed away for our fun, soccer-filled afternoon together. UI is forever grateful to the Wings community for their ongoing support of Urban Initiatives’ efforts.
This year, we had over 150 Wings players participating as players, coaches, or referees. Urban Initiatives also brought 110 players from Jenner, Lloyd, Morton, and Walsh schools. It was our biggest Cross-town ever! It is always such a treat to watch the Wings and Urban Initiatives players play together. On every field, there were tremendous displays of teamwork, sportsmanship, and soccer skills.
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Interfaith Cup Scores a Goal with Chicago Youth
Last Wednesday, ninety youth from all corners of Chicago – from Kenwood and Hyde Park to West Town and Rogers Park – descended upon UIC’s soccer field for an afternoon full of soccer, healthy food, and making new friends. These youth represented a rich array of faith traditions, coming from Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and non-religious families. While all of the youth currently reside in Chicago, many of them were born in other countries, including Somalia, Nepal, and Burma.
The kids relished the exposure to different cultures. The small-sided (5 versus 5) soccer games featured mixed-teams, which encouraged the youth to develop their teamwork and communication skills with their new teammates. While some were a bit timid at first, by the game’s end, all were high-fiving like old friends.
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Volunteer Wowed by UI's Impact
Urban Initiatives wishes to thank Stacy Stutz for contributing this insightful blog post and the amazing photos of the Work to Play Program in action. Urban Initiatives considers Stacy one of the most valuable players on our team!
Originally introduced to Urban Initiatives in the Fall of 2007 when my daughter first participated in the Urban Initiatives Cross-town Classic held in Wilmette, I continue to be amazed at the impact UI has on the inner-city children, families and communities it serves.
Last Friday I had the privilege of spending the afternoon at beautiful Sherman Park which is across the street from Libby Elementary school. Libby’s UI team was hosting Pasteur Elementary School, one of UI’s most recently added schools, for their first official UI game. The coaches and kids came out excited to play soccer! My primary reason for joining the team on this day was to take some photographs to use on UI’s website and for UI’s annual fundraiser, the Soccer Ball.
To Support the Back of the Yards, UI Trades Soccer Cleats for Running Shoes
Last weekend, two Urban Initiatives staff members took off their soccer cleats and put on their running shoes to take part in the 1st annual Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council Family Fun & Fitness 5k! Simba and April warmed up for the race with Southpaw, the White Sox mascot (what is he supposed to be, anyway?), and then took off for a run around the Stockyards.
Big thanks to the folks at Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council for a great first race experience. We were proud to be part of the group as we remembered the victims of 9/11, and dedicated our race to people affected by the attacks as well as those who are serving our country in the military.
April ran the race super fast (looking forward to the fresh fruit at the finish line) and took 2nd place in the women’s category, with Simba right on her heels (he must have eaten a good breakfast and wasn’t as hungry).
We are looking forward to improving our times next year!
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Save the Date September 21st - Interfaith Cup
INTERFAITH CUP UNITES CHICAGO YOUTH ON THE SOCCER FIELD
Urban Initiatives teams up with One Chicago, One Nation to host the Interfaith Cup on September 21st at the beautiful UIC Soccer Stadium. This exciting event brings together youth from Reavis Elementary (Kenwood), Otis Elementary (West Town), the Tibetan Alliance of Chicago and Refugee One for a fun-filled afternoon of soccer and food.
The Interfaith Cup provides the opportunity for youth from different faith and cultural backgrounds to meet and develop new friendships. The Cup is also partaking in Peace One Day’s global initiative to encourage soccer matches all over the world on September 21st. All Peace One Day matches celebrate cooperation, unity and the power of sport to bring people together on the UN International Day of Peace.
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Save the Date September 23rd - Crosstown Classic
Urban Initiatives is proud to be partnering with the Wilmette Wings Soccer Club for it's eleventh annual Crosstown Classic on Friday, September 23rd! The Crosstown Classic is a unique way to bring communities together to celebrate soccer, further promote active and healthy lifestyles, and - most importantly - for youth to make new friends from outside their immediate communities. Through the collaboration of Urban Initiatives and the Wings, the event provides a unique and fun-filled experience for all involved!
Join us in continuing this great tradition by cheering on the kids or volunteering! Contact Urban Initiatives to get involved: jim.dower@urbaninitiatives.org
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