July 2009
No Vacation for Mikva Youth Leaders!
It's super busy here at Mikva! Our six programs, serving over 135 students, are challenging students to think outside of the box on how to address issues facing Chicago youth. Here is a closer look at what's been happening at Mikva:
Yes we do a lot at Mikva, but you know what? We absolutely love it!
It is with your ongoing support that we continue to offer rigorous summer programs that engage young people to think of themselves as change agents in their communities.
| MIKVA INTERNS ARE WORKING ALL OVER CHICAGO THIS SUMMER | |
Meet Kevin! A 2009 graduate of Kelly High School, Kevin Fong has been an active participant in many Mikva programs. This summer he is interning for State Rep. Ken Dunkin, where he is doing constituent outreach and meeting with directors, staff and residents of retirement homes and adult care centers to carry out Dunkin's elderly care initiatives. He is also putting together a legislative report for Rep. Dunkin's newsletter. He will attend UIC in the fall to major in Political Science. Congratulations, Kevin, on your great work this summer!Thanks to your support, we were able to give nearly 70 more high school students like Kevin paid internships through Mikva's Summer Government and Leadership Institute this year. These hands-on work experiences with local, state and federal elected officials are rare opportunities to work alongside our public officials. Read more here! | |
| YOUTH POLICY COUNCILS AT RESEARCH BOOT CAMPS IN IOWA & WISCONSIN! | |
 Mikva Challenge's Youth Safety Council and Teen Health Council went to the University of Iowa to work on a polling project with the University's Political Science Department. Council members were coached by expert political scientists on every aspect of policymaking during the week-long experiential training. The group was charged with polling 400 residents in the rural Washington, Iowa community, analyzing the data, and summarizing and presenting their findings to the Washington City Council. Read full story here. Mikva Challenge's Education Council visited Beloit College earlier this month to participate in a "research boot camp." The two day camp was designed to develop the leadership and research skills of the 14 member council, and to introduce these young policymakers to life on a college campus. Read more here.Mikva Challenge's Education Council launched a blog to reflect on their policymaking experiences this summer. Check out the Education Council Blog here. | |
| MIKVA IN PRINT! | |
| In Janet Bixby's new book, Educating Democratic Citizens in Troubled Times, Mikva Challenge is the subject of Chapter 10, appropriately titled "To Think, Live, and Breathe Politics." Bixby, a professor at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, used Mikva as a case study of how a local organization can build civic identity in young people in unique and powerful ways. Mikva is also recognized in the opening pages of Richard Wolffe's new book, Renegade: The Making of a President. Wolffe describes the Chicago polling place where Obama voted on Election Day 2008, and guess who was there to be interviewed by him? Mikva student judges! Mikva Challenge is being recognized because there are no other organizations out there quite like ours. Our comprehensive civics education model gets young people involved in every aspect of the political process. We are humbled by the attention, but we know our work is not yet complete! | |
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