Youth Department
YOUTH DEPARTMENT
CMAA's Youth Department offers a variety of academic, social, and educational programs and is comprised of eight components with over 100 active participants. The Youth Department operates daily and serves youth ages 5-18 years old. CMAA has created a safe and healthy environment for youth to excel. The Youth Department focuses on educational assistance, leadership skills, teambuilding strategies, career explorations, cultural celebrations, field trips, and also provides opportunities for youth to become involved in community issues.
Chi-Krew
Chi-Krew serves 25 youth ages 11-18 years old. This co-educational program provides age-appropriate workshops that emphasizes empowerment while encouraging youth to develop socially in a stimulating and challenging environment. The life skill-building activities outlined below range from educational to recreational and include service learning projects, field trips, sports leagues, and cultural celebrations.
Krew-iletics
Krew-iletics is a program centered around sport appreciation. Chi-Krew members form basketball, soccer, and football teams in order to learn the rules of the sports as well as the importance of teamwork.
Doc-Krew-mentary
Doc-Krew-mentary allows Chi-Krew members to learn more about the world around them through documentaries and films. This program meets twice a week to discuss the issues presented in each movie and enjoy the company of other Chi-Krew members.
Chi-oetry
This program meets once a month. Participants of Chi-oetry meet at local coffee shops to read, write, and discuss poetry. Individuals build trust and relationships through sharing and artistic expression.
Chi-dance
This group seeks to connect to culture through the art of dance. Dances vary from waltzing to break-dancing. Male Chi-Krew members are also involved in the Lionhead dance.
Chi-music
Chi-Krew provides its members with music lessons so that they may learn to play instruments and more about music in general.
Taste of Chi-Krew
This monthly program allows members to learn about different cultures by trying a variety of foods and learning how to prepare ethnic dishes.
Heart of Chi-Krew
Once a month, Chi-Krew members express themselves by showing their love for the city by undertaking social service projects such as cleaning parks and helping the homeless at homeless shelters.
To become a member of Chi-Krew, individuals must complete an application. Chi-Krew meets on the third floor of the Sheridan building on 4836 N. Sheridan Road, above MYCP at 11:00 am. Meetings continue until the afternoon Monday through Friday. At times, Chi-Krew meets at Foster Beach; members are notified in advance.
Young Women Warriors (YWW)
Young Women Warriors is a female youth group that serves individuals from 12 to 18 years of age. The goal of the program is to foster strong friendships between participants and create a support network, develop leadership skills, and increase the self-esteem of youth in Uptown and neighboring communities. YWW meet during the first and third Fridays of every month. The program is broken up into two seasons six months long. One season involves workshops, activities, and two yearly retreats; the other season builds on leadership abilities by allowing the girls to plan the next six months. Workshops discuss racism, the female body, green living, and healthy eating among other topics. YWW has about 20 members with 18 regular participants. The program also has 10-15 adult mentors at any given time.
The upcoming retreat is scheduled for June 19, 2009!
Boys Breaking Barriers (Triple Bs)
Boys Breaking Barriers (BBB) has very similar goals as the YWW program in terms of allocating leadership, improving self-esteem, developing close ties to other members, and learning life skills such as interpersonal communication. The Triple Bs meet every second and fourth Fridays of each month and serve boys 11-18 years of age. This is a fledgling program that currently has eight boys and seven adult mentors as participants.
Summer Day Camp
Each summer, CMAA offers a 7-week summer day camp that serves local youths. Camp will run from Tuesday, July 7 to Thursday, August 20. Campers meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 9 am-2:30 pm. This program is for children in elementary and junior high schools in the 1st through the 6th grade levels. There is room in the program for approximately 8 children for each grade level for a total of about 50 campers.
Currently, registration for the Summer Day Camp is closed. However, parents can place their children's names on a waitlist. Please refer questions to Theresa Song, Lilly Pontius-Goldblatt, or Sa Tran.
Twenty teens between the ages of 13 and 18 develop leadership and teamwork skills during the Summer Day Camp by helping to plan and lead activities. Mornings are devoted to educational activities for the children focusing on math and reading. The Summer Day Camp makes weekly visits to the Bezazian Library on W. Ainslie Street, a branch of the Chicago Public Library. The children spend their afternoons exploring the park or at the CMAA youth center busy with arts and crafts projects.
Bilingual brochure for Youth Department 2008 (in PDF format) is attached. 
| Attachment | Size |
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| Youth.pdf | 367.46 KB |