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Mikva Youth Rock the Summer!
| Mikva Youth Policymakers Advise City Officials | |  Mary Ellen Caron, Commissioner of the Dept. of Children and Youth Services (left), recently met with Mikva youth serving on the Teen Health and Youth Safety Councils to hear their recommendations on important issues that impact young people. The newly created Teen Health Council spent the summer studying issues of obesity, sexually transmitted infections and teen depression, while the Youth Safety Council focused on issues surrounding gangs, youth-police relations and dating violence. Read both Councils' reports on the Mikva website here.
Commissioner Caron, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Surdna Foundation helped Mikva Challenge launch the councils this summer so that young people would have a seat at the table during the policymaking process. We'll keep you updated on the Councils' progress this coming year as they work to improve city government! |
| Mikva Youth Advise School Principals, Train Security Guards | |  On August 26, members of Mikva's Education Council presented their powerful policy recommendations on how to improve student-teacher relationships to a crowd of over 200 people that included CPS high school principals and Area Instructional Officers. The Council talked with teachers, principals, union members and academic experts on this complex subject while they researched their recommendations (read them on the Mikva website here).
Education Council youth will conduct their third annual CPS security guard training on August 29. This year's student-led training will addresses issues of sexual harassment, how to interact peacefully with students and professional conduct. |
| Youth Leaders Pitch Chicago Journalists on "Untold" Youth Stories | |  This summer, thirty Mikva youth (left) interned for 6 weeks in the offices of city, state and federal lawmakers to learn first-hand how goverment offices work. When they weren't interning, these youth attended Mikva activism workshops that focused on how Chicago media covers young people. At the end of the summer, every student pitched an original youth story to an esteemed panel of print, radio and TV journalists at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Panelists included Veronica Anderson (Catalyst Chicago), Emily Barr (ABC-7 News), Mary Field (Chicago Tonight), Tran Ha (Chicago Tribune) and Cate Cahan (Chicago Public Radio). "The students were very impressive," remarked Ms. Barr. Several panelists were so taken with students' stories that they vowed to follow up with their segment producers and editors right after the presentation! |
| Mikva Launches Democracy Course | | The Democracy in Action civics course -- a 400+ page interactive curriculum designed by Mikva staff and two CPS social studies teachers -- has received rave reviews from our 12 pilot teachers and the CPS curriculum team. The course is truly Mikva in spirit and built around core civic action skills that help young people take action both inside and outside the classroom. This course is part of Mikva's effort to redefine how young people learn civics and government. Keep an eye on the Mikva website for updates!
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And finally...this week 8 Mikva youth are at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and 5 youth will travel with Mikva to the GOP Convention in Minneapolis next week!
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| Thanks for your support and don't forget to tell a friend about the Mikva 1000 Donor Campaign. Over 50 people have become new Mikva donors since the start of our campaign! By donating as little as $10 or $25, you help Chicago youth take action on the issues that matter to them. Become a donor online here. |
Stay up-to-date with Mikva Challenge news and events by signing up here to receive our e-newsletter. Click here to join our e-newsletter list.
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