Tune in to Watch Mikva Challenge on ABC-7's Heart & Soul this Saturday at 6pm

This Saturday, February 27th, Mikva Challenge will be one of a few organizations featured on ABC-7's Heart & Soul show at 6pm (CST). This Saturday's show will highlight how Mikva Challenge engages Chicago high school students by providing them with real, authentic political experiences that transform their attitudes about politics and civic engagement. Tune in to see how students, alumni, and others describe Mikva Challenge's success in developing strong, confident and life-long civic leaders in Chicago.

The primaries are now over and we are proud of our Mikva students, who were out in droves on Election Day - running the polls, doing last-minute campaign work for their candidates, and participating in election day news coverage (see media clips here). Our policy-making councils and activism groups were also out lobbying for their issues, and getting ready for a few major events of their own... 

Activism: Preview of the 2010 Civics Fair

Mikva Challenge's Annual Civics Fair will be held on Saturday, May 1st at Social Justice High School. Mikva students will be showcasing over 60 activism projects. Below is a sneak preview! Curie High School's Issues to Action Team is working on different issues around students' transit to and from Curie. For example, they are lobbying Alderman Burke (right) to build an island at the intersection between Archer and Pulaski in an effort to make the pedestrian crossing safer. Students are also lobbying to get bike racks installed on school grounds to encourage their peers to ride their bikes to school instead of taking public transit or driving. Chicago Military Academy's Issues to Action Team identified increased parental involvement as a crucial component to addressing the issue of violence in their community. They are looking to create Parent-Teacher-Student Associations to create an environment in which students and parents can interact and involve parents more in the school community. Mikva's Issues to Action (ITA) program brings the community into the classroom - students are asked to identify an issue affecting their community, and then follow a six-step process to create an action plan around that issue. At the end of the school year, students present their ITA projects at Mikva Challenge's Annual Civics Fair.

Policymaking: Upcoming Events

Youth Jobs Rally - March 1st Mikva Challenge's Out-of-School Time Council is organizing a youth employment rally to demand the passage of the Youth Jobs Act of 2010. The event will be held in front of Federal Plaza from 12-1pm. Come out and show your support for young people - hear testimonies from youth, advocates, and our public officials and make your voice heard for youth employment! Click here to read more. Youth Voice Conference - March 20th Mikva Challenge's Education, Youth Safety and Teen Health Councils recently announced the launch of their Youth Voice Action Fund, which will provide grants to support youth-led projects around issues of safe passage, incorporating student voice in schools, and teen health. The three councils will also host a bidders conference on Saturday, March 20th at Loyola University for high school students interested in running student-led projects on these issues. Click here to read more and to RSVP for the event.

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