On April 27th, Project YES!

members were joined by 32

volunteers and 91 participants

from kindergarten to eighth grade

for a sunny Saturday afternoon

filled with a variety of activities to

celebrate Global Youth Service

Day. The annual campaign

celebrates and mobilizes children

and youth to improve their community through service across

6 continents, with the ultimate

goal of setting youth on a lifelong

path of service. Project YES!

celebrated by emphasizing the

importance of healthy lifestyles

and raising community awareness

of the childhood obesity epidemic

by hosting the 4th Annual

Ultimate Field Day at Pulaski Park.

The afternoon was filled with fun

and games to encourage children

and their families to stay active

and take pride in their community.

Children enjoyed face-painting,

yoga, soccer, relay-races, kickball,

and a boot camp presented by the

ROTC members of Rowe-Clarke

Math & Science Academy, among

other outdoor events. Participants

and families alike spent the

afternoon outside learning about

new and fun ways to be active and

stay healthy. The event ended

with participant receiving

backpacks and raffle prizes. After

an extremely successful day,

volunteers and Project YES!

members enjoyed lunch together

and spent time reflecting on their

day of service.

Project YES! Celebrates Global Youth Service Day Linda Kovac

Edited by Megan Green 2012-2013, Issue 3

AmeriCorps Project YES! Operated by the Northwestern Settlement

Inside this issue:

Global Youth

Service Day

1

Augusta and

Noble

2

PY! Summer Plans 2

Seeds of Service 3

Alumni Panel:

“Where do I go

from here?”

3

Jr. AmeriCorps

Orientation

Members to

Remember

4

4

Save the Date!

5

Like us on Facebook:

AmeriCorps Project

YES

Follow us on Twitter:

@ACProjectYES

Project YES! Throughout the Year (Continued on page 2)

Project YES! Summer Plans Paul Hibbeler

Page 2

Augusta and Noble Joshua Jackson

University of Wisonsin-

Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, respectively.

Their plans involve moving and

preparing for school.

Others just plan on taking it

easy at home, like me. I’m

going to ride my motorcycle

to St. Louis and then hang out

with my family.

There are the usual vacations and trips, like Gorguis Yalda

who plans on going camping

and doing lots of fishing.

Megan Green is going to

Seattle, Washington with her

family. She says, “I’m so

excited! I’ve never been to the West Coast. The farthest west

I’ve been is Chicago to put

things in perspective!”

Annalise Petranoff has quite a

trip planned as well; in August

she is going to travel to South

Korea to teach English for a

year. “I want to travel and I’m

interested in teaching English

as a second language, so for me this is a dream job.”

Not everyone is going on

trips; most are staying in

Chicago, like Miguel Ramos

Summer is upon us, school is

winding down, and those hours logged are slowly

creeping toward that magical

number of 1700. So naturally,

I decided to find out what

other members plan on doing

with their summer and

beyond.

A few members plan on

continuing their education and

going to graduate programs in the fall. For example, Marta

Michalska and Kerianne Fullin

plan to attend medical school

at Stritch School of Medicine

at Loyola University and

Adventure Stage Chicago is

one of the most notable programs at the

Northwestern Settlement.

Adventure Stage fuses the

theatre arts and education to

develop the imaginations and

creativity of the youth of

Chicago’s West Town

community and beyond. This

year, Adventure Stage went

even further in engaging the

West Town community through its production of

Augusta and Noble.

Augusta and Noble, written by

DePaul University playwriting

professor Carlos Murillo and

directed by Tom Arvetis,

Artistic Director of Adventure

Stage, tells the story of Gabi as

she makes the transition to

high school in an unfamiliar environment. Having grown

up in a Latino community in

West Town, Gabi must adjust

to going to a high school on

Chicago’s North Side.

Discovering that her parents

are undocumented immigrants

makes her journey much more

difficult as she fears that they

may be deported.

The story was actually

derived from a series of

story circles done with

neighbors who live in the

community surrounding the

Northwestern Settlement. It is

a perfect example of how

community can be built with

art-making as well as how

social justice can intersect with

art.

Northwestern Settlement

employees and Project YES!

members were also able to

participate in their own story

circles this year. Adventure

Stage plans on using these

stories as inspiration for a

production in the upcoming

season.

who plans on preparing for a

second year of service with

the American Red Cross.

Hannah Lantz also plans to

relax this summer before starting a job at Rowe-Clark

Math and Science Academy

this fall.

Let’s not forget the people in

charge of Project YES!,

Yasmin and Claire. While we

are all relaxing and enjoying

our break, they will be busy

getting ready to start up the

next year of Project YES!

Project YES! Throughout the Year (Continued from page 1)

2012-2013, Issue 3

$1,200 (double our original goal!) for pro-

ject supplies through Razoo, an online fund-raising site for nonprofits. At the day’s con-

clusion, all volunteers enjoyed a delicious

meal together and took home a keepsake

that included everything they needed to

grow an herb of their own.

Seeds of Service: Growing an Ethic of Service in Humboldt Park Neha Ahuja

Alumni Panel: “Where do I go from here?” Annalise Petranoff

Page 3 2012-2013, Issue 3

On May 6, 2013, current and past

AmeriCorps Project YES! members had

the chance to meet and talk about life

after AmeriCorps at the Alumni Panel.

Ten PY! alumni joined the current members to share their experiences in

the post-Project YES! world. It was

great to be able to hear where life after

Project YES! can lead and all of the

alumni had different paths, from

teaching to law school to other

AmeriCorps programs. I know that life

after Project YES! is a somewhat

daunting prospect for many members,

even if you know what you are going to

do. It was a great opportunity to talk with alumni about what they are doing

and how their experiences in their year

(or years) of service helped them in

their current career paths.

At the start of the day, we heard from

all ten alumni about what they were

doing now and had a chance to ask

them questions, mostly about what they

enjoyed most about their PY!

experience. After learning a little bit about everyone in the whole group, we

moved on to breakout sessions with

two alumni each. Unfortunately we

didn’t have time to talk to all of the

alumni during these smaller sessions,

but everyone I talked to had great

advice about how to leverage your

Project YES! skills in order to get the

most out of your experience. Some of the advice that stuck with me is “You

don’t have to take on everything to

prove that you are a good employee,”

“Make sure you take time for yourself

too,” and “Never underestimate the

importance of networking.”

Overall, it was a great Monday meeting

and I know that the current team

really appreciated hearing from alumni.

As we approach the end of our time with Project YES!, we are all looking to

the future and what will come next

year. It was great to hear from some

people who had no idea what they

wanted to do after Project YES! and

also from people who had already

decided where they were going and

what they were doing. Hearing from

the alumni, the bottom line of

everything was that things will always

work out in the end and you should try to hold on to the connections and

friendships you have made along the

way.

This year marked our 9th Annual Seeds

of Service volunteer day. Project YES!

partnered with nine community gardens

and engaged over 75 volunteers to get

things done! Seasoned and inexperienced gardeners came together

to plant and beautify Humboldt Park’s

community gardens on Saturday, May

18th.

This year’s committees went

beyond the core goals to enrich the

experience of their volunteers.

Volunteers had the opportunity to

participate in informal gardening workshops and engage in meaningful

discussions on food justice. Seeds of

Service also raised the awareness of

food deserts and highlighted the

importance of access to affordable

healthy foods.

Our hard work in preparing for the

event gave us results far beyond the

day of service. At the end of the day,

many volunteers expressed an increased interest in volunteering and

were thrilled with the opportunity to

able to give back to the community

and try to new things, such as radishes

from the garden. We also raised over

Junior AmeriCorps Orientation Hannah Lantz

Spring Members to Remember

Page 4 2012-2013, Issue 3

With the end of the school

year comes the beginning of

Project YES! Jr. AmeriCorps, an opportunity for students to

gain valuable service

experience and earn a stipend

as well as an Education Award

to be used for higher

education. The program has

grown to 48 members this year, with placements at

Association House,

St. Stanislaus Kostka School,

Pritzker College Prep, and the

Northwestern Settlement.

Depending on their site,

members help out with

summer camp for children or

perform tutoring and

mentoring duties with high school students.

Project YES! members took

the lead on training the Jr.

AmeriCorps members during

the three day orientation. The

three days consisted of ice breakers, an introduction to

AmeriCorps and Project YES!,

and trainings on child

development, tips for keeping

kids engaged, including

spontaneous games and

rhymes, conflict resolution,

March: Dan Schleich

Dan was recognized by his

peers for his dedication to

his site, the program, and his fellow Project YES!

members. A peer noted,

“He is always willing to listen

to others and put them

first.” Several members

recognized and appreciated

his hard work and leadership

at House In The Wood

during the Spring Retreat –

pushing others to keep going

and never complaining about the difficult jobs or cold

weather. Additionally, peers

commend Dan for his

personal development and

growth throughout the year

as he has continuously

worked on improving his

public speaking skills.

and aspects of

professionalism

such as

leadership and

effective

communication.

Finally on the

last day,

Jr. AmeriCorps

members

gathered in Vittum Theater to

receive their AmeriCorps

‘Getting Things Done’ medals and Project YES! t-shirts, and

to recite the AmeriCorps

pledge.

We all wish them a fun,

educational summer that

increases their ethic of

service!

April: Emma

Vanderheyden

Project YES! members value

the energy Emma puts forth into the program. Emma

continuously goes above and

beyond and Gets Things Done

for Project YES!. She was an

excellent Project Leader for

Global Youth Service Day,

working well under pressure

to ensure a successful event.

Additionally, Emma is equally

invested at her site,

implementing an afterschool soccer club, canned food

drive, and career fair, and

being a great team member.

April: Gabriel Solis

Gabriel’s peers wanted to

acknowledge his passion for

and commitment to helping

others. Members value his

leadership as the Seeds of Service Logistics Committee

Head, and his ability to make

everyone feel comfortable.

Gabriel is very engaged in the

communities he lives and

serves in and is always sharing

events and news to help raise

his Project YES! peers

community engagement levels

as well.

Members (left to right): Dan Schleich, Emma Vanderheyden,

Gabriel Solis, Annalise Petranoff, and Kerianne Fullin

May: Annalise Petranoff

Annalise was nominated by her

peers for her strong work ethic

and her positive attitude. Members appreciated this

especially as she served as a

Project Leader for Seeds of

Service, noting that “she helps

eliminates obstacles.” One

member shared, “Annalise

always goes above and beyond

her duties as an AmeriCorps

member. She really deserves to

be recognized.” Members also

appreciate the baked goods and treats that Annalise regularly

shares with the group.

May: Kerianne Fullin

Members recognized Kerianne

for her hard work and

leadership as the Donations Committee Head for Seeds of

Service. As a leader, she did a

great job motivating the group,

while keeping things fun.

Project YES! members and

gardens alike appreciated how

hard she worked to

accommodate the garden’s

supply requests. Kerianne was

also described as being open

and engaging, involved, helpful, and a great friend.

AmeriCorps Project YES! 1012 N. Noble Street

Chicago, IL 60642

Phone: 773-278-7471

Fax: 773-278-2621 E-mail: yrodriguez@nush.org

Save the Date!

AmeriCorps Project YES! is

a proud program of the

Northwestern Settlement.

More information on Settlement programs can

be found on our website:

www.nush.org

PROJECT YES! (Youth, Education, and Service)

Project YES! educates youth holistically by providing classroom support, after school

programming, and volunteer initiatives.

Project YES! nurtures youth through positive mentorship by fostering relationships of trust

and respect.

Project YES! inspires youth through connections with caring role models by encouraging and

facilitating civic engagement and leadership opportunities.

Project YES! provides a structure of growth and self-motivation that empowers youth to develop

skills in becoming self-sufficient individuals who succeed and contribute responsibly in a global

community.

Make a Difference Day : Saturday, October 26, 2013

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service : January 20, 2014

Global Youth Service Day: April 12, 2014

Seeds of Service: May 2014, TBA

Email cunger@nush.org with questions

The 2012 - 2013 AmeriCorps Project YES Team

Top Row: Dan Schleich, Linda Kovac, Jamie Donaldson, Leila Walker, Diane Rutter, Bridget Sanchez,

Claire Unger (Program Manager); Second Row from Top: Josh Jackson, Miriam Barcus, Julia Weinberg, Jessica Griggs, Gorgius Yalda, Paul Hibbeler; Middle Row: Ally Moloney, Miguel Ramos, Megan Green, Marta Michalska, Hannah Lantz,

Annalise Petranoff, Robin Gilbert; Second Row from Bottom: Sue Winn, Tasha Richardson, Tasha Banks, Naomi David, Neha

Ahuja, Gabriel Solis; Bottom Row: Kerianne Fullin, Emma Vanderheyden, and Yasmin Rodriguez (Program Director)

Looking for more service

opportunities?

Check out Serve Illinois

at: www2.illinois.gov/serve/