The CommUnity Matters program is excited to kick off its 16th year of providing youth services! On July 23, Community Development Specialist, Shelby Mammano, hosted the partner agencies for a quarterly meeting. Here are updates on what our program partners are accomplishing with funding from the City’s Community Development Block Grant.
Champaign Park District is gearing up for Afterschool and School Out Days programming as the school year approaches. They are excited about marketing their programs in new ways, including attending community events, like CNNC Live, to register youth in their programs.
Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club currently has 78 active youth participating in the summer programming at the Club, which is an increase from prior years. This summer’s “Mall” theme has been a success. Each youth pod works together throughout the summer to build a store and design and market its products. The youth earn club bucks by participating in certain activities and accomplishing goals, allowing them to spend their club bucks at other pod stores when the mall premiers on July 31ST at 4:30 p.m., where friends and family are welcome to attend.
DREAAM is excited about its sport-focused program, DREAAM Elite. The football program will start at the beginning of August, with practices on weekday evenings. There are 77 youth, including 75 males and two females, currently enrolled.
Unit 4 School District shared that Operation Hope achieved a 100% graduation rate for its enrolled seniors, with an average GPA of 2.2 (over their goal of 2.0). They also achieved an 85% attendance rate, which aligns with the state average and an 8% increase from last year.
This meeting allows Neighborhood Services staff to assist the grant subrecipients in managing their grant programs and meet regulatory requirements by providing tools and discussing best practices.
Picture was provided by Unit 4 and highlights the Operation Hope Senior Celebration Night.
