Civic Engagement is the foundation on which the Chicago Urban League exists today. We have made the commitment and are dedicated to bridging the divide that exists. Youth Services assists in closing the divide in two areas:
- iRegister, educates our youth on the importance of voting and why your VOTE matters. Electing individuals for offices that ultimately drive decisions that are either favorable or unfavorable is why WE MUST ENGAGE OUR YOUTH NOW. The iRegister campaign is a yearly event that kicks-off the first half of the school year. We will be working with our partnering high schools whose students meet the age requirement of 17 to assist them in registering to vote.
- Empower Youth Action, engages our youth with the local police in an effort to enhance relationships with our youth. Through the use of a schools’ existing council or assisting with the creation of a new one, the councils meet with their local police to develop relationships. The council is designed to educate their classmates on some of the following topics but are not limited to, Know Your Rights, The 1st Amendments, etc. Further, “the councils” will collaborate to identify service learning projects that they can complete together.
If you want to get involved with Civic Engagement, reach out to Nakia Samuels at Nsamuels@chiul.org.
