The Violence Project

Some Chicago-area radio stations are working together to help send less fortunate children back to school with all the proper supplies they’ll need for a successful school year.  The effort is led by the Feed The Children organization, whose infomercials might be familiar to some of you.  The Violence Project donated $18, enough to give one child a backpack filled with paper, pencils, notebooks and other supplies.

To donate, simply click here.

Chicago, IL, July 29, 2008 — The first annual film festival dedicated to peace and non-violence premiers Labor Day Weekend at the new Victory Garden’s Biograph Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Friday August 29 - Sunday, August 31, 2008.

PEACE ON EARTH FILM FESTIVAL (POEFF), is presented by a non-denominational conscious awareness group, New Thought Chicago, and is not intended as an anti-war forum; its focus is to present realistic alternatives, setting the tone for a culture of peace through possibilities for change. “Our thoughts set in motion actions; thoughts can change when alternatives are entertained; we choose to foster a new imagination through the art of filmmaking, to entertain a culture of peace for all humanity,” states Executive Director and retired film actor and television star, Nick Angotti.

The art of filmmaking can promote peace and non-violence to citizens around the world. POEFF encourages filmmakers, videographers and animators to build peace by telling the stories of people who have opened themselves up to new ideas, made a change, and have positively impacted society. Documentaries on environemtal issues, Chicago students addressing guns and gang violence, films on women’s rights in Iraq, a new direction for post civil war Rwanda and a broad sweeping inter-denominational cooperative to supply drinking water to remote villages in Indonesia are some examples of the films in the festival.

For up-to-date and detailed festival information, visit:

www.peaceonearthfilmfestival.org

Here is a recent e-mail from a local group called the Southwest Youth Collaborative, detailing their events that young people can take part in this summer.

Summer Happenings at the Southwest Youth Collaborative

Peace & Blessings Everyone!

All 40 SWYC adult and youth staff are currently on a 2-day intensive retreat where we are revisiting our 16 year history & core values, building relationships, and visioning and re-energizing for the upcoming summer and future.

A lot will be happening at the SWYC this summer and more info will be posted soon, but we want to let you know about a few programs that are currently open for registration. Keep an eye on our website for program & event updates.

Summer Youth Liberation Institute (SYLI) Freedom School

Based on the Mississippi Freeom Schools of the Civil Rights Movement, the SWYC is offering it’s twelfth annual SYLI Freedom School, an intensive 7-week internship focused on developing intergenerational, multi-racial, and gender balanced leadership for social justice and institutional change around issues affecting youth and families. For the first time, SYLI Freedom School will be partnering with Youth Struggling for Survival (YSS) in Little Village and taking place at Little Village Social Justice High School!

June 30- August 15, ages 14-19
Monday - Friday,
9am - 2pm
@ Little Village Social Justice High School
Registration Contact: Laura Ramirez, 773.476.3534, laura@swyc.org

Vocalo Youth Radio

In Partnership with Chicago Public Radio, the Vocalo Youth Radio program will give teens the opportunity to produce original multi-media work — including audio documentaries, interviews, and personal stories — for broadcast on Vocalo.org (89.5 FM), a new Chicago radio station.

June 30- August 15, ages 14-19
Monday - Friday,
12pm - 4pm
@ SWYC Amandla Center
Registration Contact: Grant Buhr, 773.476.3534 x231, grant@swyc.org
Deadline: June 23rd

Chicago Lawn Writing Workshops

In partnership with the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, publishers of the Journal of Ordinary Thought, adults in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood are invited to join us at the SWYC Amandla center for weekly writing workshops. Classes are free & open to all adults. No experience is necessary.

June 30- August 15,
Mondays
6:30-8pm
@ SWYC Amandla Center
Registration Contact: Nanette, 773.684.2742

Audy Home Event Flyer:

Summer Orientation, Press Conference, & Staff-Youth Basketball Game Orientation for youth participants of all SWYC summer programs will take place on Thursday, June 26th from Noon-2pm at 6400. S. Kedzie Ave. At 2pm, Generation Y Youth Activists will be holding a press conference in front of the Amandla Center to recognize the escalating violence & unrest in Chicago’s neighborhoods and promote the initiatives that SWYC and community allies are taking to offer healthy alternatives. Following the press conference, all are welcome to march together with us to historic Marquette Park where we’ll be having a community BBQ and the much anticipated basketball match-up of the SWYC staff vs. the Coaching Club All-Stars!

On July 12, a special anti-violence event will be held in at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, a suburb of Chicago. Entitled “A Night of Inspiration: Hope, Healing & Peace,” organizers look to reach out to youth and communities through motivational speaking, poetry and music. While the event is not free, proceeds will go to the 100 Men Association of University Park and the Beacon Hill Community Improvement Association.

Hot off the CPS press release:

CPS students will take center stage to talk about school funding and safety on Tuesday, June 10 at Soldier Field. The “Shout-Out for Schools” rally will give our city’s young people the opportunity to have their voices heard on the issues that affect their everyday lives and future opportunities. The event will be from 10 a.m. to noon, and about 35,000 students from all across the city have signed up for school-organized field trips to the “Shout-Out” rally.

“This is the time for our students to be heard on the critical issues of school funding and safer communities,” said Chicago Board of Education President Rufus Williams. “Every year, we fight in Springfield for a better funding system for our schools—one that is fair and that provides an increased and sustained investment in our students. Our legislators now need to hear from the people who are most affected by their failure to reform school funding.”

The state budget approved over the weekend and now under review by Gov. Rod Blagojevich is estimated to provide about $98 million in new revenue to the CPS. About $17 million of that funding is targeted for new programs. That means about $81 million of the revenue boost could be used by the CPS to reduce its $180 million budget gap, leaving a $99 million hole and forcing the school district to look for deeper cuts and additional revenue sources. Because of the uncertainty in Springfield, the CPS is expected to push approval of its Fiscal Year 2009 budget back to August.

The June 10 “Shout-Out for Schools” rally will feature speeches from many CPS students, as well as from education leaders from Chicago and across the state, and a call to action organized by students leaders involved in the Mikva Challenge program. The event will also include an entertainment lineup that features Kid Sista, Rich Kiddz, Kuumba Lynx, Uni, Ben One, and CPS student finalists from the “Louder Than A Bomb” poetry-slam competition.

ABC 7 Chicago will host a special program entitled Stop the Violence: Conflicts & Resolution. The program is the third effort put together by the station that focuses on the violence plaguing too many young people in Chicago. I’m crossing my fingers that channel 7 does a better a job than the CBS2/WBBM violence special that left out the youth voice in its debate.

Stop the Violence will air tomorrow, May 22, at 6:30 p.m., with an encore presentation on Saturday, May 24, at 2:00 p.m.

Courtesy of MySpace

I wanted to share with readers the spoken word poetry of Tap Roots, Inc. They are a West Side group who performs for students, offering an uplifting, positive message that they hope will spark the minds of at least one child in the audience. Recently, they performed for public school students at the 10th annual Citywide Health Careers Fair. The following piece was dedicated to the parents of young victims of violence and the victims themselves.

Tap Roots

Saturday, WBBM Radio and CBS 2 Chicago will host a town hall on violence at Kennedy King College. The meeting, “Speaking Truth: A Town Hall Meeting On Violence,” will be at 10 pm and broadcast on both WBBM and CBS 2.