Who does Inspired Youth serve?

Inspired Youth helps elementary and high school students from Edgewater, Roger's Park and Uptown neighborhoods of Chicago with their academic needs. Inspired Youth offers free tutoring, summer piano institute and Inspired Youth singers for students. The students who participate in Inspired Youth's programs bring assets with them as well. In my experience, the students bring enthusiasm, optimism, energy, laughter and so much more. I feel my tutoring skills have improved greatly because of the honesty the students bring with them. These students are not afraid to tell me they do not understand my wording, and presentation of material. I will try a different approach to presenting the materials if the students feel I am being unclear. I learn which approaches work and which don't.

The usual students I get to work with are Melissa, Felix and sometimes Anna. Felix loves to talk about video games, magic and anything he finds cool. If Felix learns something interesting in class he will usually share the information with me. Just the other day, Felix showed me how to make a crane out of paper, which was pretty neat! I had completely forgotten how to make one. Felix is also a very determined individual. He tries to work through math problems himself but if he cannot figure it out, he will then ask me for help. In the past we've been going over division and although he has yet to start division in class, he was determined to figure out the answers. Felix is also good at asking outside of the box questions. He will question the way the author wrote the story and give his input as to how he would change the story. Additionally, Felix is very creative and loves to write stories that are original and unique.

Melissa and Anna love to talk about music, family, what happened in class, homework they need help on, and many other things. Every time I tutor just Melissa or both, Melissa and Anna, at some point, we all laugh for a few minutes. The girls will joke with me about many different things. Sometimes they'll tell a corny knock-knock joke or make one up on the spot. The girls will also talk about their family. Both of the girls are very proud and close to their families. I can tell they both are quite fond of their families by the way they talk about them. The girls and Felix are also very respectful and nice. For the most part, they listen when I'm talking to them, they are polite and always ask to go to the bathroom or drinking fountain, they put their best effort to be cooperative, and so much more. In general, I leave each tutoring session with Melissa, Anna and Felix feeling great! Knowing I have helped them improve just a little bit makes my day. Melissa, Anna and Felix are also great students to teach, so I have a blast tutoring them. 

Who keeps Inspired Youth going? 

 Inspired Youth is able to keep helping students because of Beth Palmer and volunteers! Beth Palmer is the wonderful director and founder of Inspired Youth and keeps it up and running. She is always upbeat and gives praise to everyone for all their hard work. She basically is a loving mom to all her students. Sometimes she must be stern in order for the students to listen but she definitely encourages the students to succeed. She maintains the folders for each student by providing extra materials to work on, in case the student does not have homework. Each week new worksheets, book(s), pictures to write about and/or more will be provided for the student. Beth Palmer makes volunteering at Inspired Youth easy. She responds to e-mails, and phone calls in a timely manner.  The online application is quick and easy (http://www.inspiredyouthchicago.org/application.html) and take only a few minutes. 

Volunteers are also an important part of Inspired Youth. The volunteers of Inspired Youth come from all walks of lifes, from Loyola students, to parents of students, local neighbors and many more! The diverse blends of tutors bring with them different cultures, knowledge of foreign languages, relatable experiences to the students and so much more. If you want to help change a student's life, Inspired Youth might be right for you! Some tutors will bring books for the students to read and/or other materials to stimulate their minds. I bought Melissa and Anna mulitplication cards so they could practice at home. Volunteers use their knowledge to help their student(s) with their homework or general work on math, reading and writing. The volunteers also give up some of their time to devote to helping the students succeed academically. Additionally, volunteers are usually great listeners, respectful, and welcoming. As a volunteer at Inspired Youth, I care about my students academic needs but also personal needs. If Melissa, Anna or Felix need to get advice or just vent for a minute, I'm there to help them out and put their worries to ease. 

Where do the tutoring sessions take place?

 The tutoring sessions have different locations almost every session. Inspired Youth tries to use any of the resources that the community has to offer.  On Mondays the tutoring sessions take place at Edgewater Presbytarian Church (http://edgewaterpres.org/)   On Wednesdays and Thursdays the tutoring sessions take place at Bezazian Branch Library(http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/bezazian/). The Bezazian Branch Library has plenty of books for the students to use while there. On Saturdays the tutoring sessions take place at Margate Park Field House (http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/Margate-Park-Fieldhouse/). These various locations allow Inspired Youth to keep their different programs running. These locations are also accesible by public transportation, which allows for more people to volunteer.

Edegwater Presbytarian Church

(image from http://www.barnabasproject.net/smedgepres.jpeg)

Additional Community/Neighborhood Involvement

Having different places to host Inspired Youth programs, is just one thing the community/neighborhood has to offer. Books are also kindly donated or loaned to Inspired Youth. The students also have access to addition, mulitplication, division, subtraction cards, because of donations the community provides. Donations of money are also received. Some of Inspired Youth's donors are/have been: Glenview United Methodist Women, Ravenswood Kiwanis Club, parents of students from Wilmette Jr. High School. and the Sun-Times Judge Marovitz Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Programs. There has also been grants and awards given to Inspired Youth. In 2005, the Grip Grant was given. The Much She List Founders' Award was given in 2006 through 2010. On Inspire Youth's web site, anyone can donate through paypal at http://www.inspiredyouthchicago.org/donate.html,  donate today! Or for those who prefer to mail in a check, you can send it to : 

                                                                              Inspired Youth
                                                                               5715 N. Ridge
                                                                             Chicago, IL 60660