Archive for the ‘Chicago Center in the Community’ Category
July 13th, 2010
This week’s edition of the Hyde Park Herald showcased Chicago Center’s new student housing. Click the image to check out the article “Chicago Center raising digs dough” on the Hyde Park Herald Website, or read the article below!
Chicago Center raising digs dough
By DASCHELL M. PHILLIPS
Staff Writer
The Chicago Center has begun fundraising for its new Hyde Park student building.
The Chicago Center, which is a Hyde Park-based non-profit organization at 1515 E. 52nd Pl., offers programs that expose college students to city living and world cultures. The center has cooperative agreements with about 40 colleges to act as a host to students who want to study any subject in an urban area.
The center’s newly purchased student housing, which is located on the 1600 block of Hyde Park Boulevard near Kenwood Avenue, is a three-flat with five bedrooms on each floor, which has 3,300 square feet. Each floor can house up to eight students so the building can hold up to 30 students total. The property also has a garden level where a study, recreation and laundry room will be added
Each residential floor is named after the center’s principal founders Don and Unice Shatz, Phyllis Cunningham and Jim Bertucci. The center is planning to make plaques with the founder’s names for each floor.
Scott Chesebro, executive director of the program, said the center once owned a building at 5004 S. Blackstone Ave., but sold it in 1992 “because it was too small for the program’s purposes.”
Although the program went on to rent several apartment units in the neighborhood, Chesebro said that they always intended to purchase another housing unit, so when the center’s real estate agent called to tell them about the property, which once served as housing for students of the Zavarian religious order, they moved quickly, purchasing the property on Dec. 21, 2009, and moving in on Jan. 5, 2010.
“This building represents more than a building – it’s how our students relate to one another and community,” said Althea Conyers, marketing and public relations director at the center. “The students will learn what it means to live as a community.”
Chesebro said with all the students living in one building they won’t feel isolated and the center will have an easier time dealing with issues of safety and maintenance.
“Since most of the students come from rural areas their colleges and parents will feel better knowing they are together in a central place,” Chesebro said.
Conyers said weekly student staff meetings and other workshops also help students feel secure and gain confidence in their areas of study.
Kevin Renderman, who completed his urban teaching practicum at Kenwood Academy in April, was a part of the first group of students to live in the new student housing property. He said he enjoyed the level of support he received. He was especially grateful for the education seminars and other professional and lifestyle support classes given through the center.
“In the [education seminar] class we would just talk about our week and our experiences and when problems arise we would talk them out and get advice and lesson plan ideas from each other,” Renderman said.
Shortly after the property was purchased, the center received a $200,000 loan from the Illinois Facilities Fund for remodeling. Now the center is reaching out to alumni and friends to make donations toward maintaining the property.
Donators can sponsor the upkeep of a room for $1,000 or have their names inscribed in bricks for the garden for $200.
The Chicago Center is gearing up for a weeklong celebration of its 40th anniversary in November. In addition to the purchase of the student housing property, the organization has a new logo and Web site.
For more information about the Chicago Center, call 1-800-747-6059 or 773-363-1312 or email info@chicagocenter.org.
May 14th, 2010
This week’s edition of the Hyde Park Herald showcased Chicago Center Student, Kevin Renderman. Kevin is from Millikin University, he participated in Chicago Center’s Urban Teaching Practicum during the Spring 10 semester and student taught at Kenwood Academy in Hyde Park. Click the image to check out the article “Student as Teacher” on the Hyde Park Herald Website, or read the article below!
Student as Teacher
Chicago Center student taught at Kenwood
By DACHELL M. PHILLIPS
Staff Writer
Although Kevin Renderman is a Chicago native he never traveled too far outside of his tight-knit Irish Catholic neighborhood of Mount Greenwood until it was time for him to attend Millikin University, an undergraduate, Presbyterian institution in Decatur, Ill. Once he decided he was interested in teaching in the city, Renderman found the Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture’s Urban Teaching Practicum as a great help.
Renderman said he decided he wanted to become a math teacher his junior year at Marist High School, but once he got into college he changed his mind and began to pursue a degree in physical education because he “didn’t want to be stuck in the classroom eight hours a day.”
Faced with the choice to student teach in Decatur or Chicago Renderman chose Chicago and said although he is a native he has learned so much more about his hometown through participating in the Chicago Center Urban Teaching Practicum.
The Chicago Center, which is a Hyde Park-based non-profit, offers programs that expose college students to city living and world cultures. The center has cooperative agreements with about 40 colleges to act as a host to students who want to study any subject in an urban area.
“The center’s experiential learning philosophy, which allows students to learn through first-person experience, is what attracts many of the students to its programs,” said Althea Conyers, marketing and public relations director at Chicago Center. “Unlike most higher education institutions in Chicago, the students who attend are encouraged to live, work and study in all part of the city.”
Renderman, who started the program Jan. 5, said he saw parts of Chicago he’d never been to before and learned about Chicago’s architectural history.
Renderman was also part of the first group of students to live in the Chicago Center’s newly purchased student housing. The new building, which is located on Kenwood Avenue and Hyde Park Boulevard, is a three-flat that can house up to 30 students. The program formerly had long-term leases on several apartments in the neighborhood. Renderman lived in one of the units with seven roommates.
Renderman said that he’s enjoyed the level of support he has received during his time here.
“I heard a lot of bad things about [Chicago Public Schools],” Renderman said. “When I told people I was coming here they would say, ‘Oh sorry,’ but I have not had any problems.”
On Jan. 11 Renderman started teaching three 7th through 8th grade PE classes and two health classes at the Kenwood Academy, 5015 S. Blackstone Ave. He was also the assistant coach for the freshman basketball team.
He said that Kenwood teachers were great mentors and that principal Elizabeth Kirby and assistant principal David Barain were great influences.
He said the Chicago Center’s weekly education seminar with Nancy Friesen has also provided a great deal of support.
“[Friesen] has been a teacher for over 25 years and is a great mentor,” Renderman said. “In the class we would just talk about our week and our experiences and when problems arise we would talk them out and get advice and lesson plan ideas from each other. “
After completing the Urban Teaching Practicum on April 30, Renderman returned to Millikin to prepare for graduation on May 16. He said that he is considering teaching in Boston for a short time but after that, becoming a CPS teacher on a permanent basis is definitely a goal for him.
The Chicago Center is gearing up for a weeklong celebration of its 40th anniversary in November. In addition to the purchase of student housing, the organization has a new logo and Web site. For more information about the Chicago Center, call 1-800-747-6059 or e-mail info@chicagocenter.org.
d.phillips@hpherald.com
April 26th, 2010
On Wednesday, April 21, Chicago Center Social Work students traveled to Springfield, Illinois to participate in the annual Lobby Day event where thousands of social service providers, teachers and union members gathered at the state Capitol. The students spend the day learning the parameters of lobbing for any issue that may face them as a social worker. Students had the opportunity to go inside the capitol building, speak with members of congress, and participate in the “Save our Schools” march (For more information, check out www.illinoiseducationassociation.org).
Members of the rally wore pink to illustrate the pink slips indicating the dismissal of nearly 20,000 teachers in Illinois. Below are pictures of Urban Social Work Practicum Director, Arvis Averette (pink suit) and Chicago Center Social Work Practicum students.
April 8th, 2010
Last week, Chicago Center hosted First Thursday in Hyde Park, a monthly networking event for Hyde Park businesses and community members. First Thursday in Hyde Park is sponsored by the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, and each month a different business district in Hyde Park is highlighted. This month, the event focused on 53rd Street businesses, including Chicago Center! We want to thank everyone who was in attendance for helping to make this event a true success.
Food and drinks were provided by CHANT, Pizza Capri, Hyde Park Produde, and Kimbark Beverage Shoppe.
April 29th, 2009
Chicago Center Executive Director Scott Cheseboro reflects on the Olympic Bid Panel hosted by Chicago Center:
“Who knew the possibility of hosting the Olympics could arouse such strong emotions? The passion of the panelists for their point of view was obvious from the start. From advocating for the Olympics to advocating for community involvement, to being flat out opposed to hosting the 2016 Games, the perspectives varied but the passion remained high. It is clear that if Chicago is chosen in October there will be an outburst of both jubilation and protest. Students, staff and others in the audience peppered the panel with thoughtful questions. It was two hours well spent. The great response from the community and the value as a class for the students has prompted Center staff to consider future panels on relevant topics as a part of the program.”
Scott E. Chesebro, PhD
Executive Director
Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture
April 28th, 2009
Panelists: Denise Dixon, Action Now Executive Director; Glenn Reedus, Chicago Media Money Monetizer; Dr. Stephen Alexander, Sr. Research Fellow Depaul Univeristy; Tom Tresser, No Games Chicago
- Scott Chesebro, Chicago Center Executive Director introduces 2016 Chicago Olympic Bid Panel to Chicago Center students and community members.
As the International Olympics Committee leaves Chicago and heads to Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Madrid (Spain), Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture congregated a panel of Community leaders and activists to discuss the impact of Chicago hosting the 2016 Olympics on neighborhoods and communities.
Action Now Executive Director, Denise Dixon has fought for a community benefits agreement (CBA) to be passed by City Hall. This legally binding agreement would insure that a portion of jobs, housing, and minority contracts for neighborhood residents would be allocated. Currently, City Council has decided against approving this legal agreement.
Panelist: Dr. Stephen Alexander, Sr. Research Fellow Olympic Study Group DePaul University
Dixon is not opposed to the 2016 Olympics being held in Chicago but asks, “Is he [Mayor Daley] going to sell out the people of Chicago in the communities where the venues are to be held?”
Chicago Center Executive Director, Scott Chesebro states “these issues are exactly why there is need for a community based forum where an assortment of voices can be heard and a discussion can take place on the benefits and the drawbacks that Chicago faces if granted the 2016 Olympic bid.”
Chicago Center is an Urban Education program which provides college students from across the country with internships and seminars designed to broaden their understanding of complex issues and increase their effectiveness as citizens. For forty years Chicago Center has prided themselves on a ‘first-voice’ pedagogy that encourages their students to hear the diverse voices that are represented in Chicago.
This event was for Chicago Center students and was also open to the public and the media.
July 9th, 2008
On Monday, July 7th, Chicago Center students and staff hosted a panel discussion on youth violence featuring some of our City’s most passionate and influential voices. Panelists included Ronald Holt, father of slain student hero Blair Holt, Wilbert Taylor, Jr., a young man injured by gunfire during a house party, Diane Latiker, founder of Roseland’s Kids Off the Block Club (profiled in Chicago Tribune Magazine on June 15, 2008) and Lisa Rivera, Armenia Rodriguez and Oscar Contreras who, together, have given mothers of youth involved in gang activity a crucial vehicle for support (Rivera, Rodriguez and Contreras were profiled in a May, 
2008 Chicago Sun-Times article).
Panelists shared their life experiences with youth violence and spoke about what Chicagoans must do to make a difference. Jonathan Peck of the Southwest Youth Collaborative facilitated the panel discussion.
Leesa Albert, Instructor
Photos by Pam Adams, Instructor
February 2nd, 2008
From
The Rough Guide to the USA (page 356)
“Chicago is in many ways the nation’s last great city. Sarah Bernhart called it “the pulse of America” and, though long eclipsed by Los Angeles as teh nation’s second most populous city after New York, Chicago really does have it all, with less of the hassle and infrastructure problems of its coastal rivals.
“Founded in the early 1800s, Chicago grew up with the country, serving as the main connection between the established East Coast cities and the wide-open Wild West frontier. This position on the sharp edge between civilization and wilderness made the city into a crucible of innovation. Many aspects of modern life, from skyscrapers to suburbia, had their start, and perhaps their finest expression, here on the shores of Lake Michigan.”
