Chicago

A Better Chance – National *
Grades: 4-9
A Better Chance seeks to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. This is done by facilitating their entry into independent college preparatory schools. Through its network of member schools, A Better Chance is able to leverage an estimated $20+ million per year in financial aid for talented, economically disadvantaged youth of color. More than 96% of A Better Chance's graduates go on to college directly after high school, a majority entering our country's most selective colleges.

After School Matters
Grades: 6-12
After School Matters is a non-profit organization that offers Chicago high school teens innovative out-of-school activities through Science, Sports, Tech, Words and the nationally recognized Gallery programs. Apprenticeships are the core model of After School Matters and are programs in which teens learn marketable skills in a professional atmosphere from industry experts. The instructor-to-student ratio is 1:15, and the ideal program incorporates two instructors working with 30 teens. Most apprenticeships last 90 hours over ten weeks during the school year and 135 hours over six weeks during the summer.

Better Boys Foundation
All ages
Better Boys Foundation (BBF) serves boys and girls ranging in age from five to 18 through innovative out-of-school time programming such as apprenticeships, mentorship, academic support and more. We also address the needs of young adults through scholarships for post-secondary study and work with families via integrated crisis intervention, counseling, case management, and referral services.

Beyond the Ball
Grades: K-12
Beyond the Ball provides a variety of programming aimed at reaching kids early (Kindergarten) and staying with them through college (up to age 24). We teach youth personal and social responsibility through sports. The goal is to maintain a relationship with youth all the way through college, mentoring them at each step of the way. As kids grow, they are not only participating in different programs, they also begin to mentor those who follow. These elements of youth leadership, mentoring, and serving create the environment through which our mission is accomplished.

The Black Star Project
All ages
The Black Star Project is committed to improving the quality of life in Black and Latino communities of Chicago and nationwide by eliminating the racial academic achievement gap. Our mission is to provide educational services that help pre-school through college students succeed academically and become knowledgeable and productive citizens with the support of their parents, families, schools and communities. In order to achieve our goal of eliminating the racial academic achievement gap, we concentrate on three main areas of initiative: student engagement, parental development and advocacy.

Broader Urban Involvement & Leadership Development (BUILD)
All ages
BUILD’s mission is to engage at-risk youth in the schools and on the streets, so they can realize their educational and career potential and contribute to the stability, safety and well-being of our communities. We accomplish our mission through violence prevention/intervention, youth development, and coalition building. Over the years, we have taken the best elements of our program experience and created the BUILD Model, consisting of Prevention, Intervention, and BUILDing Futures (college/career prep and youth leadership development), which provides coordinated services that assess youths’ needs, identify their assets, and involve them in our programs and refer them to our community partners.

Center for Talent Development – Northwestern University
All ages
The Center for Talent Development Summer Program provides summer learning and enrichment for students from PreK through grade 12. Through our Leapfrog, Spark, Solstice, Apogee, Spectrum, Equinox and Civic Leadership Institute course series, we serve outstanding students, facilitating high achievement, self-confidence and a love of learning among all our participants.

Centro Romero Youth Program
Grades: 1-8
The Youth Program at Centro Romero serves youth grades 1st-8th, providing them with the necessary resources to achieve academic and social success. We focus on academics but also enrich participants’ lives through a wide range of recreational and educational activities such as art, theater, sports, and community service. The Youth Program is divided into the Youth Learning and Leadership Program, which serves youth in 1st-5th grades, and the Latino Youth Power Program, which works with 6th-8th graders. Both programs employ a holistic and age-appropriate approach to the services they provide.

Chicago Youth Centers
All ages
Chicago Youth Centers (CYC) is Chicago's largest independent, locally based, multi-site youth services organization, with eight neighborhood centers on the south and west sides of Chicago and Camp Rosenthal, a summer residential camp in southwestern Michigan. CYC is dedicated to improving the lives of low-income, at-risk children and teens through a variety of innovative and effective programs—from early childhood education to and through college.

Chicago Youth Programs
All ages
CYP’s programs engage youth long-term, from preschool to college. At each academic and developmental level, program volunteers and staff develop interventions aimed at helping at-risk youth learn grade appropriate concepts. By combining these educational interventions with a wide variety of recreational, social, health, and career programs, CYP creates its comprehensive formula for success. Our programs operate in three broad community areas: Washington Park, Near North/Cabrini Green, and Uptown. Please visit our individual community pages to find out more about the programs that run in each of these communities.

Columbia College of Chicago Art Programs
Grades: K-12
CCAP's work takes many forms. There are programs that support the students, teachers and parents of K-12 Chicago Public Schools through its Community Schools, Project AIM, and TEAM initiatives. CCAP's Urban Missions program creates important collaborations with community-based arts organizations throughout Chicago. The Teaching Artist Development Studio works to build and support the field of teaching artistry, serving new to established artists. Columbia College students and faculty are provided with avenues for real world, experiential learning, thanks to student programming made possible by BigArt and an ever expanding menu of volunteer opportunities.

Digital Youth Network (DYN)
Grades: 6-12
The Digital Youth Network (DYN) is a hybrid digital literacy program that creates opportunities for youth to engage in learning environments that span both in-school and out-of-school contexts. While the middle-school component focuses on the development of youth's ability to create and consume across multiple media, the high school component allows youth to focus their development on an individual medium.

East Village Youth Program
Grades: 5-12
The mission of the East Village Youth Program is to encourage and prepare primarily low-income, Latino youth for a college education. EVYP further strives to support these youth as they pursue their college degrees and enter professional careers. The youth program includes: after-school tutoring, college prep, mentoring, and more.

Gads Hill Center
All ages
Gads Hill Center provides children of all ages – from infancy through the teenage years – with asset development, learning support, life skills, leadership skills, sportsmanship, coaching and out-of-school care. And we do it in a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment that allows parents to go to work, confident that their children are being looked after.

Gary Comer Youth Center
All ages
The Gary Comer Youth Center (GCYC) was established in Chicago’s Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood in May 2006. The Youth Center’s mission is to provide the support for all of its students to graduate from high school, prepared to pursue college and careers. Located just one block from Revere Elementary, the Youth Center offers positive extracurricular education in a welcoming and safe environment. Programs within the 80,000 square-foot facility include college readiness, athletics, academic tutoring, performing and visual arts, health and wellness, culinary arts, technology, media and horticulture.

Girls 4 Science Program
Ages: 10-18
Girls4Science is a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing girls in Chicago ages 10-18 years old to science, technology, engineering and math. We focus on developing skills, self-esteem, awareness and relationships to help girls overcome barriers that may prevent them from achieving greater success in these fields. G4S draws upon external partners to provide comprehensive hands-on, personal experiences during our summer and fall six-week sessions.

Gonzo Soccer
Ages: 8-16
Gonzo Soccer is a soccer and leadership academy that targets girls ages 8-16 from underserved communities, affording them soccer and life skills training with the area’s top female coaches that improves health and fitness, boosts academic standing and fosters personal development. Our year-round program helps at-risk girls endure the perils of urban living, thereby growing into strong, healthy women who attend college and become productive citizens and leaders.

HighSight *
Grades: 8-12
HighSight awards partial, four-year scholarships for eighth-graders to attend private high schools in Chicago. HighSight also provides academic and social support to prepare its students to enroll in college.

Horizons for Youth
All ages
Horizons for Youth is a community committed to helping children successfully graduate high school, continue onto college and ultimately reach their full potential. In partnership with dedicated families, we provide 170 hard-working students with need-based scholarships, a summer program, one-on-one mentoring, monthly enrichment outings, tutoring, and college preparation.

"I Have a Dream" Foundation – National
Grades: 1-12
The "I Have A Dream" Foundation is working to ensure that all children have the opportunity to pursue higher education. We empower children in low-income communities to achieve higher education by providing them with guaranteed tuition support and equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and habits they need to gain entry to higher education and succeed in college and beyond.

Intonation Music Workshop
Ages: 6-17
The Intonation Music Workshop empowers children to become rock stars on every stage in life through innovative music education. Using donated instruments and a unique pop-band curriculum, our in-school, after-school and summer music programs provide kids age 6-17 in Chicago’s underserved communities with access to instruction and performance opportunities in a safe and positive environment. Our students learn to express themselves musically, at the same time developing essential life skills such as cooperation, practice, risk-taking, and setting and meeting goals.

IT's Your Summer
Grades: 6-8
IT's Your Summer is a computer summer camp for students who will be in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade in fall. The camp gives you an introduction to the world of Information Technology (IT). During camp you will play problem solving games, work with state-of-the-art machines, meet other students from across the city, and build your own IT creations.

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Grades: 7-12
The Young Scholars Program provides the most personalized, generous scholarship experience in the nation. The Foundation works closely with Scholars and their families to construct a tailored educational program that includes, but is not limited to, support for summer programs, distance learning courses, and music and art instruction. Some Young Scholars attend a private school if none of their public school options adequately serve their academic potential; however, many stay in their public schools.

METROsquash
Grades: 5-12
Our mission is to use squash, academics, cultural enrichment, mentoring and community service to help Chicago Public School students realize their full academic, athletic and personal potential. METROsquash students engage in equal parts squash and academic instruction three days a week after school. In addition, the program provides one-on-one mentoring and weekend activities including squash competitions, life skills sessions, community service projects and cultural trips.

The Miracle Center
Ages: 9-19
The Miracle Center is a non-profit organization that serves children, youth, and families in Chicago, Illinois. We are a Christian-based youth agency whose main purpose is to build strong individuals, families, and communities. Our activities include a Jr. Theater Ensemble, Youth Theatre Ensemble, Youth Dance Troupe, Summer Arts Camp, After School Programs, Community Outreach Events, and more.

Project Exploration
Grades: 6-12
Project Exploration’s mission is to make science accessible to the public—especially minority youth and girls—through personalized experiences with science and scientists. We work with nearly 250 middle and high school Chicago Public School students annually in out-of-school time settings. Project Exploration targets students who are open-minded and curious; we particularly focus on young people who may be struggling academically. After getting students interested in science, we focus on keeping them interested and building their capacity to continue their interests through high school and beyond. All of our programs are free.

Project SYNCERE
Grades: 3-12
The mission of Project SYNCERE (Supporting Youth's Needs with Core Engineering Research Experiments) is to increase the number of minority, female, and under-served students pursuing careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Project SYNCERE offers several different types of programs to help achieve its mission: In-School, After-School, Saturday, Summer and Workshops. We provide a curriculum that integrates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through the use of project-based learning.

South Chicago Art Center
All ages
The mission of the South Chicago Art Center is to provide youth with an accessible, safe place to participate in quality visual arts programs. The Art Center's activities fall into two primary areas: out-of-school (Street SmARTs) and in-school (School SmARTs). Through these programs, the Art Center cultivates an enduring appreciation of the arts in the youth we serve. Our College SmARTs program aims to help students build their art portfolios, explore college options, research scholarship and financial aid opportunities, and provide aid in paying for college application fees.

Space Explorers – University of Chicago
Grades: 6-12
The Space Explorers Program offers inner-city youth from neighborhoods around the university a multi-year science enrichment opportunity. The program provides over one-hundred (100) contact hours each year including weekly laboratories taught on campus, three-day winter and week-long summer residential science institutes at Yerkes Observatory.

University of Chicago – Tutoring and Enrichment
All ages
Each year, thousands of area schoolchildren benefit from tutoring and enrichment programs staffed by University students, staff, and faculty. From one-on-one tutoring to summer classes and projects, these learning opportunities spark students’ interest in subjects as diverse as ancient civilizations and international relations.

Urban Health and Diversity Program – University of Illinois at Chicago
Grades: K-12
UIC School of Public Health's (SPH) Urban Health and Diversity Program (UHDP) implements various program objectives designed to increase the representation of Under Represented Minorities (URM's) within the field of public health. We provide academic enrichment and public health traineeships for K-12, college, graduate students and professionals.

Urban League of Chicago – National
Grades: 6-12
The Chicago Urban League Education Department offers comprehensive programs that give students at the middle through college levels the skills and confidence necessary to compete academically while exposing them to various careers, social and cultural opportunities. The National Urban League Incentives to Excel and Succeed (N.U.L.I.T.E.S.) program is an intense after school program for middle school students that teaches leadership skills, financial literacy and how to successfully transition to high school from both an academic and social standpoint. The Young Investor/Entrepreneurship Project (YIEP) educates high school students in entrepreneurship, capital markets, and business investment. We also run two college readiness programs for high school juniors, which provide academic, social and leadership skills and prepare them to participate in an on-site college admissions process.

Urban Solutions (US)
Ages: 11-18
The Urban Solutions (US) mission is to support the development of youth by providing training and empowerment resources designed to strengthen their academic, artistic, leadership and life skills. Through the opportunities provided by our after school programs, youth build upon the experiences of personal success and self-betterment, and establish a solid foundation for personal transformation, new perspectives and long–term systemic change.

Young Chicago Authors
Grades: 6-College
Young Chicago Authors transforms the lives of young people by cultivating their voices through writing, publication, and performance education. All programs are free, include bus passes and snacks for participants, and can be taken as drop-in classes or on an on-going basis. Workshops are taught by Young Chicago Authors Core Teaching Artists and are appropriate for youth grades 6 – College with varying skill levels—beginner to advanced.

Young Scholars Program (YSP)
Grades: 7-12
The aim of the Young Scholars Program (YSP) is to strengthen the participants' mathematical powers through a deep experience in mathematical thought and effort. Our intention is to broaden and enrich the students' understanding of mathematics rather than to accelerate them through the standard elementary or high school mathematics curriculum. The Young Scholars Program consists of two programs: the Saturday School-Year program, which consists of twelve sessions throughout the school-year; and the Summer Program, which is a four-week day-camp that requires an application and is significantly more selective. There is no charge for any of our programs.