Our programs empower students and unite communities.

We believe that play has the power to make Chicago safer, more equitable, and more connected. Click HERE to watch our new video and hear students, coaches, and parents share why they think play is serious.

We provide four approaches to youth and community development:

Continuum of Programming

SEL Suite of Services

      21st Century Programming

      Adult programming

Each approach expands on the inherent power of play to support youth as they learn and grow. 

If you would like to bring our programs to your school community, please contact info@urbaninitiatives.org

Our Continuum of Programming builds on the foundation of social-emotional learning youth develop in elementary school to further hone leadership skills and build social capital.

Our leadership development and high school readiness program offers middle school students the opportunity to serve as Team Captains for younger students on the soccer team. Captains participate in group mentoring sessions that build on social emotional skills taught in our elementary school programs.

Our high school program pairs participants with mentors from Chicago’s professional community and hosts workshops that teach the skills needed to succeed after high school. The program provides work-based learning opportunities that expose participants to diverse examples of success.

Urban Initiatives’ suite of social-emotional learning services provides elementary school partners with the opportunity to design a suite of robust programming that meets their school’s unique needs.

Designed for youth K-8, the SEL suite of services builds a strong foundation of social-emotional learning through play. 

-Out-of-school-time soccer program

-Sports camp

-SEL retreats

-Recess programming

UI knows that well-trained coaches provide higher quality programming, which in turn creates more positive youth impact.

We invest heavily in training not just our own coaches, but coaches all across the city of Chicago. 

Through a partnership with We Coach—a nationally recognized leader in trauma-informed coaching—we facilitate a training to prepare parents, guardians, or community participants to immediately organize and implement sport and play sessions for healing, connections and resiliency.

Community Schools Initiative is a federally funded, out-of-school time program that seeks to bring resources like enrichment activities and extracurricular programs into schools.

We serve as the lead partner organization for schools and coordinate the program. We integrate our belief in the power of sports and play to cultivate active, vibrant learning communities.