Recent Photos

A photographer from Meadville Lombard, Brian Ashby, came recently to take some photographs at WYS. Below are a couple of them!


1. Ian and Cecelia leading the kids in making crepes!


2. Pouring the batter.


3. Clean up!


4. Kyle and I sharing ideas for the newsletter.

The Second Return of WYS!

Greetings!

If you hadn't noticed, this blog has been inactive since December. I was not at Woodlawn Youth Solutions for a good chunk of December and all of January due to the semester break, though programming did happen thanks to our wonderful new intern Cecelia (more on her in a moment). Since returning at the beginning of March, I have been working to establish a new blog but have found a great deal of complications in that, and since I believe it is more important that we are maintaining our online presence than I am in establishing a snazzy new website, we will be resuming the updates here. Thank you for your patience in this!

And now for some updates!

As I mentioned above, I have been joined by wonderful new interns Cecelia and Ian, a classmate of mine at Meadville Lombard. They have been taking a more active role in programmatic implementation, where my focus has shifted more toward the developmental and foundational work. I am very glad to have them with us -- as are the kids!

I will update this again soon with some information on the activities of January and February, as well as content from our newly established newsletter. Thanks again for sticking with us as we broaden our focus to include many new and exciting things!

Chris

Apron Decorating

Today we decorated aprons for our future cooking events!

First we discussed nutrition and the food pyramid:















Then got to decorating:













































One of the seven finished aprons:




















Thanks to Amanda for all the help!

Until next time,
Chris

Making (and Eating) Pumpkin Soup!

Here are some pictures from when we used the pumpkins from our carving activity to make pumpkin soup!

Getting set up:




















Going over the recipe:















Chopping up onions while observing kitchen safety:















Cooking the pumpkin and onions:




















Making vegetable bouillon to add to the soup:















Stirring the pot:















Cleaning up after:




















Making Thanksgiving-themed place-mats:















Getting creative:




















Eating the soup the next day:















Sharing food at the table:















We had a great time making the soup! I'll post the recipe soon so you can try it for yourself.

Until then,
Chris

Election Cookie Activity #1 Photos

Here are some photos from the first election-themed event, where we made cookies that we brought to a nursing home in the community the next day. Sorry for the delay!

November / December Events!

Hello all!

I hope this message finds you well as the air turns cold and we anticipate snowfall. Please check out what we've got coming up at Woodlawn Youth Solutions below:

UPCOMING EVENTS AT WYS!
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER

Monday, November 17 -- Soup Making

We will be making pumpkin soup with the leftover pumpkin we froze after carving in October. Dorothy and Chris will help the youth of the program learn to make it for the next day's party.

Tuesday, November 18 -- Thanksgiving Party!

We will eat and serve the soup we made the day prior with bread and beverages. Community members welcome / volunteers needed!

Monday, November 24 / Tuesday, November 25 -- No activities planned

Chris will be in Minnesota for the holidays, so there are no events planned.

Monday, December 1 -- Nutrition Speaker

There will be a speaker on nutrition and healthy eating. We will be working with the food pyramid and doing coloring activities.

Tuesday, December 2 -- Food Pyramid Apron Making!

Everyone can design an apron to be kept at Christ Way for future cooking activities. We will use blank white aprons and decorate them with paint and markers, incorporating what we learned the day before about nutrition and the food pyramid. We are still seeking donations of inexpensive white re-usable cloth aprons and decoration materials such as permanent markers and puff paint... if you know of any resources for acquiring such items, please let me know. I'm following a few leads of my own. Community members welcome / volunteers needed!

Monday, December 8 -- Gingerbread Cookie Decorating

We will be decorating gingerbread people cookies in anticipation of the next day's party. Community members welcome / volunteers needed! Also, if you know of anyone interested in donating supplies for this, please let me know!

Tuesday, December 9 -- Holiday Party!

We will be eating gingerbread cookies, making hot cider and cocoa, singing carols with a musician from the community, and discussing the holidays. Please join us and, again, if you know of anyone interested in assisting or donating resources, please let me know!


Please note: There will be no WYS activities between December 9th and February 1st, as Chris will be at home for semester break and taking J-Term courses.

Again, we are always seeking resources and assistance with these projects, so please let me know if you are interested in helping in any way. We've appreciated your help with past events -- they wouldn't have been possible without you! -- and would love to see you involved again.

Many thanks, and warm wishes!
Chris

ps. Please pass this on if you feel so called, and don't forget to track our progress right here at this blog!

Cookies, Quotes and Conversations!

Well, the election has come and gone, and though I perhaps shouldn't reveal who I supported for President on this blog, as a resident of Barack Obama's neighborhood I think you can probably guess for yourself. :P

Now that a member of our community is the President-elect of the United States, the youth of our program can reflect on their role in the election. Last week we decorated cookies and brought them to a local nursing home. The kids really enjoyed their time visiting with residents, sharing the cookies they made, and discussing the upcoming election. We've got pictures from the cookie decorating, and I'll post them as soon as I am able.

This week we continued in the spirit of cookies and conversations by having an event at Meadville Lombard Theological school. Members of the University of Chicago and Meadville Lombard communities came to hear what the kids had to say about the election and to share in making (and eating) cookies. We all began to hand out cookies and quotes on the sidewalk outside the school with the kids encouraging people to vote with creative rhymes and sayings, and we soon learned that CSPAN was just down the street. We were invited to come on their bus, where the kids got to learn about the election and sing the song they had come up with for the CSPAN cameras. If we find footage of this I will post it here.

Meadville Lombard did a really great story on the event, with some excellent photos and quotes from people involved. You can find it here.

All in all we had a really great time! We'll have some reflections from the youth next week.

Until then,
Chris

Election Event: Monday, November 3rd!

Pumpkin Carving!

Last week we carved pumpkins at Christ Way M.B. Church. We had 30 pumpkins donated by Hyde Park Produce that we carved just in time for the Halloween season! Though things got a bit messy, we learned a lot about food waste and food preparation (and carved some pretty cool jack-o-lanterns, too!). It was a process with several steps...





We pulled out the insides of the pumpkins...













...and separated the insides that we will use to make soup next month...













...from the seeds that we roasted the next day!













The roasted seeds were a big hit all around, and we managed to make enough to share with everyone in the church that afternoon.

We learned about ways to use the WHOLE pumpkin instead of throwing the rest away after we've had fun carving them. Below is a pretty easy recipe we used for roasting the seeds that worked well for us, courtesy of allrecipes.com:

1. Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out the pulp and strings. (This is easiest just after you've removed the seeds from the pumpkin, before the pulp has dried.)

2. Place the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet, stirring to coat. If you prefer, omit the oil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees F until toasted, about 25 minutes, checking and stirring after 10 minutes.



We hope you try it for yourself! We had a lot of fun learning how to use the whole pumpkin and enjoyed eating the seeds. Just make sure you use your kitchen safety skills (like washing your hands and using protective devices when removing hot items from the oven) and always ask an adult for help if you need it!

The whole pumpkin-carving crew:













Some kids from the program wanted to share their experiences:





We was cutting pumpkins so that we made pumpkins and was making pumpkin seeds. I really like helping out with Chris because it feels like home.
Theresa Speights, age 8 (left)

I learned to cut pumpkins and my favorite part was that I learned good.
Hajai Speights, age 6 (right)








I really liked helping Chris bake pumpkin seeds. First I washed my hands, then I helped clean the orange insides out of the seeds. Then I helped put them on a separate plate. Next I helped prepare the soup for us to eat. Finally, we ate pumpkin seeds. I really really like when Chris helps the kids do different activities.
Shania Price, age 9 (left)





I really really like doing it too!

Until next time,
Chris

The Second Coming of Woodlawn Youth Solutions

Hello all! My name is Chris, and I am interning with Woodlawn Youth Solutions this year. It's nice to meet you!

Woodlawn Youth Solutions is back with a new program for the Fall! Through a joint collaboration of Christ Way M.B. Church, The University of Chicago's Civic Knowledge Project, Brickyard Community Garden, and Meadville Lombard Theological School's Community Partnership Program, WYS is developing a nutrition-based program. Here's a taste of what's coming up:

Monday, October 20th
Pumpkin Carving at Christ Way Church from 4-5:30 PM!

Tuesday, October 21st
Interactive Food Waste Activity at Christ Way Church from 4-5:30 PM! We will be roasting the pumpkin seeds from the previous day's carving activities and saving the leftover pumpkin pieces to make soup at a later date. In conjunction we'll talk about different ways to avoid food waste. We will also make a thank you poster for Hyde Park Produce for donating the pumpkins.

Monday, October 27th
Cookie Decorating at Christ Way Church from 4-5:30 PM! We will be decorating cookies to distribute for the election, as well as compiling a list of ways that youth under 18 can get involved in the election.

Tuesday, October 28th
Visit to the Kenwood Healthcare Center in Woodlawn at 4 PM! We will distribute cookies, visit with residents, and talk about how people of all ages can get involved in the election.

Monday, November 3rd
Election Event at Meadville Lombard from 4:30-5:30 PM! The aim of this event, like the visit to the Kenwood Healthcare Center, is to create a space for young people to feel as if they have a voice in the election and allow for them to engage with people of voting age (as well as share their cookies!).

Stay tuned for more information and changes to the blog, and please contact us at woodlawnyouthsolutions@gmail.com if you'd like to get involved!

Read All About It!

Woodlawn Youth Solutions was recently the subject of two published news pieces. These can be viewed here and here!

We did it!

Looks like we successfully completed our mission, despite obstacles and challenges at every turn....



PLEASE JOIN US to celebrate the exciting and triumphant completion of our summer project!

Friday, August 8th
Noon-2pm
@ 62nd & Kimbark
(the playground across from Christ Way Church)



Thanks again to all our sponsors, supporters, and everyone who encouraged us along the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only One Week Left!?!?!?

With a week remaining, we are moving along, but we still have much to do before we can take a deep breath and celebrate.
***We URGENTLY need a SIGN PAINTER or MURAL ARTIST who can help us by doing some well-designed LetterinG on our planters.
***We are about 80% done with the rest of the PAINTING....
***...but we still have to do some planting!!!!!!!

PLEASE leave a comment below if you are/know a painter , as described above, who can help us complete this wonderful community project (compensation available), or email Renee at : reneeuna@gmail.com

So we got the planters moved yesterday, and we had a blast filling them with soil today - in their new locations!

Thanks to ALL who came out to volunteer for today's Workday - we couldn't have done it without you (no, really!)!!!
Special thanks to the Harold Washington College Horticulture Club, who have been helping us coordinate the landscaping aspects of our project - they also put us in touch with Larry Asimov Landscaping, who donated some much-needed soil to our project!

A note from Cushman & Wakefield:
"Cushman & Wakefield appreciates the opportunity to give back to the community and would like to commend the work of Woodlawn Youth Solutions' team, for being able to organize and motivate so many people. We are grateful to participate in this enrichening experience and to be able to contribute to this great community project!."

Finally, - WE RAN OUT OF SAUSAGE PIZZA!!!!!!!!!

End of Week Four

Today we began practicing with our logo stencil by painting large panels in teams, which is how we intend to paint the planters.
The Alderman's office has come through, and the planters are being sandblasted as this is published; on Monday, July 26th, the planters will be painted green, our chosen background color. The plan is to begin relocating them to their new(adopted) locations on Tuesday, and then we could begin painting by mid-week, next week.

Also, PLEASE NOTE:
WYS Workday w/ Cushman & Wakefield
Wednesday July 30th...
(leave a comment below for more info...)

We spoke with the Alderman's office and it appears we may be able to begin moving the planters this week!

Last week architreasures hosted their Jewels in July event. We attended; here are Kishon's thoughts about the event:

"...architreasures' Jewels in July was a great experience for me. I met some great people. Since I'm pursuing a career as an architect, it was good for me to talk to other famous architects. All in all it was a wonderful event!"

Next Wednesday, July 30th, will be a work-day in collaboration with one of Supporters, Cushman & Wakefield (see link in the sidebar); we invite any and all volunteers and interested parties: more information forthcoming!

Week Three

As we approach the midpoint of our summer adventure, we still have some obstacles to overcome. But we have made progress:

-We have six (6) commitments to adopt our beloved planters.

-We have developed a couple of design templates which we are pleased with.

-Before our Advisory Committe meeting earlier this week, we splashed right into painting one of the planters! Check it out!

Progress!

Yesterday's outreach was quite successful: three different groups have already started applications for our planters. Outreach continues today.

Early in the morning, Arthur L. Jackson, the pastor of Holy Trinity Church, came and spoke to the group about the role of community leadership and character development.

We have made critical aesthetic decisions regarding the planter design.
We are getting much closer to having finished models of the future designs.

Check out our Woodlawn logo!

Also, please note:
Advisory Meeting
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 10:30am
Christ Way M.B. Church

Community Meeting
Christ Way M.B. Church
62nd & Woodlawn
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 6pm

Mid-Week Two

Yesterday we went to the Field Museum. We talked about New Zealand's culture.
We also spoke about natural disasters. Demetria never knew how a tornado was formed. We took a lot of pictures of the Sears tower and the CNA building.
Today the teens split up into two groups. One team went into the neighborhood asking people to adopt the planters, while the other group made stencils for the mini planters.