You don’t have to take a two-year meditation on a mountaintop to find your calling in life.
Jim Dower found his just by walking through the front door of a Chicago public school.
In 2003, college buddies Jim Dower and Daniel Isherwood started Urban Initiatives after spending time as teachers in schools around the Cabrini-Green housing projects. The kids they worked with came from broken homes and rough neighborhoods, and they were failing in school because of it. They needed a way to inspire these underserved kids to perform in school, live a healthy lifestyle, and to learn about the importance of teamwork and leadership in their communities.
The first rule of soccer club is…
Their solution came in the form of a soccer ball.
“I was fortunate enough to grow up in a Chicago Public School with lots of programming, and I wanted the same for my students,” says Dower, Co-founder and Executive Director of Urban Initiatives. “I was coaching the Wilmette Wings soccer team at the time, so one day I brought all of the equipment out of the trunk of my car and got the kids playing.”
Dower and Isherwood quickly found a way to transform pick-up soccer games into a way to get kids to engage in the classroom. They had one rule: you have to work hard in school in order to play on the team. The program is based around a feedback form given to teachers who grade each student on academic performance and behavior, both in school and off the field.
“The results of these forms really inspired us and allowed us to see the impact on our students,” Dower says.
Whole-child development
Since the creation of this Work to Play program, Urban Initiatives has developed two other platforms that help students and their communities grow in unique ways.
The Take the Lead program gives dedicated graduates of the Work to Play program the opportunity to be a peer leader and an assistant coach to a team of younger students. These mentors, or team captains, also participate in retreats and conferences to strengthen their leadership skills.
Play with Potential is a structured recess initiative that engages a partner school in high-quality recess for 20 minutes, while simultaneously building the school wellness culture.
“These kids feel joy from day one, and they feel empowered by the knowledge they receive and the healthy choices they make,” Dower says. “It inspires them to be promoters to their family and community. We’re putting kids on an empowering trajectory—giving them a chance to start off right in school, despite the trauma they face daily.”
A high-energy, high-passion approach
Dower believes that the reason behind Urban Initiatives success is its dedicated, passionate staff, in addition to a well-defined mission and plan of action.
Having grown from just two coaches and 12 kids in Cabrini-Green, to more than 10,000 kids in schools across Chicago in just 10 years, Urban Initiatives proves that it is more than ready to make a permanent mark on the city.
Social change requires two things: a leader calling others to action, and one person brave enough to step out from the safety of others and become a follower. If this organization, or any organization that we highlight in the “Get Inspired” section resonates with you, step out and support them in any way you feel. One small action of support can go a long way.
Urban Initiatives by the numbers
- A $50 donation provides healthy snacks for 30 kids for one week at a single school.
- A $100 donation provides one child with healthy snacks, coaching and equipment for a season.
- A $250 donation provides a bus trip for 30 kids to travel on a game day.
- A $500 donation provides a safe play space for a team of 30 children at a school for a year.
- A $750 donation provides all the current schools with end-of-season dinners and awards parties.
Donate to Urban Initiatives here, or find ways to volunteer here.
Upcoming Events
10th Anniversary Party, August 8, 4-8 p.m., 650 W. Lake, Suite 340, Chicago
All are welcome to help the Urban Initiatives staff celebrate 10 years of success! Light refreshments and lots of fun are guaranteed.
Make It Better is a proud Media Sponsor of the wildly popular Soccer Ball, January 24, 2014, which raises funds to support current health and educational programming and helps programs reach into additional schools and neighborhoods.
