Tag Archives: Block Party

Annoucement: UP2Youth Program launches with new positions!

Universidad Popular’s (UP) youth program has been assisting at-risk youth and families in Little Village since 2008.  This program has evolved to include partnerships with many institutions and community organizations such as the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, University of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Sinai Urban Health Institute, Boy and Girls Club, Enlace Chicago, Gary Elementary School, Little Village Academy, Farragut Career Academy, Little Village High School, St. Agnes of Bohemia School, Violence Prevention Collaborative, Chicago Police Department, Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Public Parks – including many community groups and advisory committees. The program is intended for youth to find a place where they feel comfortable and safe through mentorship with caring adults. This program nurtures youth minds with social, cultural, reading and writing skills, academic achievement, life skills, parental involvement, sports and recreations, health literacy and service learning. Each youth develops leadership skills to achieve their goals and inspire others along the way.

UP to Youth is a youth-led initiative that seeks to empower young people through an environment where they can express themselves and engage their community freely through service-based projects that build skills among youth to enable them to create positive change in their world.  UP to Youth is founded on the model of popular education as conceived by the social theorist and educator, Paulo Freire with the goal of providing a holistic approach to youth leadership and positive youth development that serves as a gateway to higher education.

Since early 2014, Universidad Popular has been advocating with the assistance of youth and parents to reach out to State legislators to support funding efforts of after school programs. We urge you to help us build upon the structure for youth programming we have created and share these job descriptions with others.

Positions available below:

1.)

Job Title: Academic Specialist Fiscal Year: 2017
Department: Youth Programming Program: UP2Youth

Job Summary:
The Academic Specialist assists and supports the UP2Youth Program Coordinator with curriculum-based tutoring plans and tracking grades and progress of youth. In addition, the Academic Specialist is responsible for delivering programmatic activities and tutoring assistance to youth in the community, The Academic Specialist reports directly to the Youth Program Coordinator

 Job Responsibilities:
Create curriculum-based after-school classes that focus on educational achievement and academic outcomes.

  • Oversee tutoring and studying groups to ensure tutors/mentors are using techniques that will help participants develop assets crucial to learning.
  • Collect progress reports and report cards from participants and/or schools to track and analyze academic progress.
  • Meet with participants quarterly to analyze their strengths and weaknesses in school and together create a plan for educational success using goal setting, plans for healthy study habits, and other techniques.
  • Match academically low-achieving participants with volunteers, staff, and peers who excel in areas of weaknesses for individual or group tutoring sessions.
  • Plan and facilitate quarterly trips to college and high school campuses for program participants to learn more about higher education and the benefits of academic achievement.

Job Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree.
  • Bilingual Spanish/English is mandatory.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Word, and Excel.
  • Experience working with youth.
  • Be patient, good listener, responsible, and culturally sensitive.
  • Excellent organizational and communication skills.

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties to meet the growing needs of the organization.

Send Cover Page and Resume to:                                            apply@universidadpopular.us

Universidad Popular
Olivia Flores-Godinez
2801 S. Hamlin Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60623

2.)

Job Title: Program Coordinator Fiscal Year: 2017
Department: Youth Programming Program: UP2Youth

Position Overview
UP’s Youth Program Coordinator will administer the design and implementation of the UP2Youth program. He/she will ensure program quality and performance, which includes overseeing staff development, communicating with parents and youth participants, and maintaining relationships with funders, community partners, media, and other youth development providers. This programs hours of operation are Monday – Friday 3pm – 5pm

Responsibilities
 Create program design and work plan for the current year to be approved by Management Team.
 Oversee recruitment and registration process for new participants.
 Maintain participant and volunteer records updated and organized.
 Develop and manage a strong team of youth facilitators, providing leadership in the vision for the program and training and assistance for day-to-day program activities.
 Cultivate current and prospective funding for the UP2youth program.
 Develop relationships with other youth providers, local high schools, parishes, community organizations, local businesses, and ensure UP2Youth’s presence at community events.
 Plan and organize program events.
 Attend administrative conferences and other available trainings.
 actively participate in weekly coordinator meetings, staff meetings and organization-wide events and activities.
 Adhere to UP’s mission and policies
 other duties as required.
 Guide Youth research/advocacy projects
 Encourage Civic engagement on UP2Youth
 Do PR on UP2Youth matters issues

Requirements
 Bachelor’s Degree with an emphasis in positive youth development, social work, psychology, education or another related field.
 Two or more years of experience working with youth.
 Bilingual and bicultural in Spanish and English.
 Proficient in basic computer software: Microsoft Office, Internet, basic database management and data entry.
 Demonstrated experience in nonprofit fundraising, grant writing and reporting.
 Familiarity with the participatory education.

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties to meet the growing needs of the organization.

Send Cover Page and Resume to:                                            apply@universidadpopular.us

Universidad Popular
Olivia Flores-Godinez
2801 S. Hamlin Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60623

3.)

Job Title: Outreach Specialist/Facilitator Fiscal Year: 2017
Department: Youth Programming Program: UP2Youth

Job Summary:
The Youth Outreach Specialist assists and supports the UP2Youth Program Coordinator with recruiting new youth and networking with local schools and organizations. In addition, the Youth Outreach Specialist is responsible for delivering the sports and psychical recreation program to youth in the community. The Youth Outreach Specialist reports directly to the Youth Program Coordinator. This programs hours of operation are Monday – Friday 3pm – 5pm.

 

 Job Responsibilities: 

  • Create recruitment and outreach plan to attract local youth participants to programing
  • Develop and maintain partnerships with all schools participants attend.
  • Create mutual agreements and contracts with principals and other administrators that assist the program with data collection and information gathering on participants.
  • Become familiar with standards in physical recreation and implement them in program design
  • Plan daily opportunities for physical recreation that appeal to a broad spectrum of youth interests including team sports, various styles of dance, yoga, aerobics, and others
  • Evaluate progress in participant’s physical health based participation in physical and nutritional activities
  • Actively participate in community coalitions and dialogues with the purpose to explore resources, prevent violence, and promote cultural expression among youth

 

Job Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree.
  • Bilingual Spanish/English is mandatory.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Word, and Excel.
  • Experience working with youth.
  • Be patient, good listener, responsible, and culturally sensitive.
  • Excellent organizational and communication skills.

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties to meet the growing needs of the organization.

Send Cover Page and Resume to:                                            apply@universidadpopular.us

Universidad Popular
Olivia Flores-Godinez
2801 S. Hamlin Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60623

4.)

Job Title: Parent Engagement Specialist Fiscal Year: 2017
Department: Youth Programming Program: UP2Youth

Job Summary:
The Parent Engagement Specialist assists and supports the UP2Youth Youth Program Coordinator with parent communication in addition to referring families to proper agencies for assistance. The Parent Engagement Specialist reports directly to the Youth Program Coordinator. This programs hours of operation are Monday – Friday 3pm – 5pm

Job Responsibilities:

  • Act as a liaison between the organization and families of youth participants
  • Maintain continual contact with parents regarding activities, events, youth behavior and progress, and other relevant issues as they occur
  • Plan and deliver new parent orientations at the beginning of each school year
  • Provide all families with information regarding rules, policies, events, daily activities and other items and ensure their understanding
  • Connect families to internal and external resources
  • Refer youth and their families to services not provided by UP
  • Plan and host monthly Parent Advisory Council meetings to share information about the program with the parents and to gain feedback
  • Distribute and collect evaluations to analyze and monitor success of program
  • Provide quarterly workshops for parents based off interest surveys
  • Organize parents to provide bi-weekly healthful meals for youth participants

Job Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree.
  • Bilingual Spanish/English is mandatory.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Word, and Excel.
  • Experience working with youth.
  • Be patient, good listener, responsible, and culturally sensitive.
  • Excellent organizational and communication skills.

NOTE:  This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties to meet the growing needs of the organization.

Send Cover Page and Resume to:                                            apply@universidadpopular.us

Universidad Popular
Olivia Flores-Godinez
2801 S. Hamlin Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60623

These positions expire 11/18/16

Building Blocks of Peace 7/24/2014

Block Party

Thousands of Little Village residents of all walks of life, abilities, and experiences came together today Thursday July 24th, 2014 to celebrate our Little Village community on Universidad Popular’s (UP) block of 28th st. between Ridgeway and Hamlin Ave. Building Blocks of Peace, as the series of block parties is called, strives to inform and educate community residents of the importance of keeping an active and vibrant community. Focused on street closures to open up spaces that give kids and adults supervised spaces to enjoy outdoor activities such as sports, games, and dancing UP has joined with the City of Chicago and the Department of Public Health to host some of this year’s “PlayStreets” planned in various communities.

Zumba

Our participants, youth, community members, and facilitators were directly involved in the planning, coordinating, and implementing of this block party. In the span of four hours neighbors had a chance to participate in healthy activities such as yoga, zumba, and dancing; youth and children had the opportunity to play soccer, basketball, practice their riding skills in a bike rodeo, paint to their heart’s desires, enjoy cooking, face painting, and an exhilarating game of water balloon toss.

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Aside from the countless number of fun and healthy activities, we also hosted a teach-in celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act’s 24th anniversary. Differently abled community members shared their life stories and spoke about the issues facing their community in Chicago. Several of the speakers mentioned to us that this was the first time they had the opportunity to speak in a public event about the issues that mattered to them. It is especially this type of space that Universidad Popular seeks to create in all of its events and programs: an inclusive space where residents can teach and learn from each other while discussing and creating solutions and projects that matter to them collectively and cooperatively. 

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