Neighborhood Programs staff members Jennifer Carlson, Betsy Barclay, and Shelby Mammano recently wrapped up site visits with the City’s CommUnity Matters partners: DreAAm, Champaign Park District, and Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club. The site visit for Champaign Unit 4 School District will take place during the school year.
Boys and Girls Club youth were hard at work putting together and personalizing their RC cars provided through Steam Genius. This was all in preparation for the upcoming showcase where parents and community members were invited to observe the projects the youth had been working on all summer.
During the site visit, DreAAm youth played board games and participated in their e-sports week. Tracy Dace provided a tour of the facility and shared information on additional programming where local business professionals come and teach stocktrading to the youth. Dace reported that his biggest challenges are transportation and the need for one centralized location for programming to take place.
The final site visit was held at Champaign Park District’s Douglass Community Center, where staff toured the facility and observed youth participating in cooking classes. These classes are offered in partnership with the University of Illinois Extension. Youth are provided with workbooks and are taught food safety, preparation, balanced nutrition, and fun recipes.