November/December 2009
Mikva Challenge Top Ten Moments of 2009
We've had another wonderfully successful year at Mikva Challenge! We have a lot to be proud of, but wanted to share with you our favorite moments from this year. Here are our Top 10 Mikva Moments of 2009, in no particular order:
| Winter/Spring | |
 1. TEN Years & Counting! We celebrated our 10th Anniversary in March at the Hyatt Regency Hotel - over 500 people, including elected officials, journalists, civic leaders and Mikva students, teachers and alumni came out to celebrate the organization's success and to honor Ab and Zoe Mikva for their long-time commitment to developing young people's civic and leadership skills. 2. In the spring, Bowen Peace & Leadership Council students focused on carving out a space for youth voice in school decisions. They successfully advocated for a Student Bill of Rights & Responsibilities, made changes to the Peer Jury model to make it more student-friendly and function campus-wide, and instituted a "Feedback Form" to gather student input about school programs. Mikva restructured and launched five Peace and Leadership Councils this fall at Little Village Lawndale, Sullivan, Julian, EPIC, and Bowen High School. 3. Our Issues to Action program, which is our six-step activism program, exploded this year - over 1,500 students gave a speech on an important issue in their lives through Project Soapbox, 48 civic activism projects competed at the Civics Fair in May, and over 200 students attended the Youth Activism Conference in November. | |
| Summer | |
 4. This year, we have had over 40 media hits, which is a 100% increase over last year! This is in large part to our citywide youth policy councils' work from this summer - our Education, Youth Safety, and Health Council members have been appearing on TV, radio, online, and in print to discuss their research and recommendations for city leaders. Check out this year's media hits here5. Seventy Chicago high school students worked in paid, hands-on  public service internships in the offices of city, state and federal officials this summer where they met with constituents. This is the largest group of interns we have ever placed, and we are absolutely thrilled that we have been able to give so many motivated young people the opportunity to share their talents, and learn first-hand the day to day responsibilities of their elected officials. These students ended the summer with a recommendation letter from an elected official, which will be useful when applying for college or professional positions. | |
| Fall | |
 6. As part of our Elections in Action Campaign Program, Mikva Challenge held four successful events already this year; these events gave students the opportunities to grill the candidates competing in the Senate, Governor, and Cook County Board President races (photo from the County Board President forum right). Students asked the candidates some tough questions about immigration, health care reform, the environment, same-sex marriages, and the economy. One student asked the candidates running for the County Board President seat - "Cook County supports burning in the forest preserve to protect native species. The City doesn't. How would you work with the city to come to a consensus on this issue?"7. Eight suburban Chicago high schools joined the Mikva Challenge Suburban program and 150 suburban youth hosted a forum for Illinois Gubernatorial candidates! Read more about Mikva Suburban here 8. Our new Out-of-School Time youth policy council is advising city leaders and lobbying in Springfield for more state funding of afterschool programming for city youth. 9. Democracy in Action, our action civics course, is being taught in 24 Chicago high schools this year and challenges both students and teachers to make their community the curriculum. | |
| LASTLY, | |
| 10. This has been a tremendous growth year for the organization. In fact, it is safe to say, the face of the organization dramatically changed this year - not only did we move into a new and much larger space at the beginning of the year, but we also flipped the number of outstanding individuals working for the organization this year - we started off the year with only 12 employees, today, we are at 21. Our efforts to provide professional development to more teachers, partner with more Chicago schools, and impact more students, in large part came out of this significant expansion. Mikva Challenge staff is a group of dedicated individuals, who understand the mission of the organization. They are all passionate about getting youth to actively participate in the political process. Click here to read the bios of Mikva's Rock Star staff! ...Congratulations to the Mikva staff for a terrific year! | |
| A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | |
| To the staff, supporters, and friends of Mikva Challenge, I would like to thank you all for making 2009 a year to remember. Our growth has been remarkable this year, especially in this economy. I am also grateful that despite our growth, we continue to hold our programs to the highest of standards. It is that commitment to providing quality, innovative programming that will ensure our success in the future, and I look forward to sharing our successes with you again in 2010! Thank you and happy holidays! Brian Brady | |
| Don't forget - there is still time for Mikva to match your gift! If you make a contribution by December 31, our generous supporter Steve Cohen and the Cohen Family Foundation will match it 100%! We know that many of you have already given this year, and if so, we hope you'll consider contributing again while we have this incredible opportunity to double your gift. If you have never made a gift to Mikva Challenge, now is the best time because your can make double the impact with your contribution. Please help support our youth leadership and action civics programs by making a secure online contribution here or send your gift to us at 25 E. Washington, Suite 820, Chicago, IL 60602. All gifts are tax-deductible. |
Thank you all for a wonderful 2009! We are looking forward to delivering the same top-notch programming in 2010, and hope you will continue to share in our successes. Please know that you can also read more about these and other great Mikva moments on our website!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
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