The US Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs has awarded the MGR Foundation’s Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun with $376,705 over 3 years as part of their Latino Youth Mentoring Program grant. The DOJ OJJDP’s Latino Youth Mentoring program is aimed at preventing gang participation and violence by offering an alternative that fulfills developmental adolescent needs and reducing or preventing delinquency, violence, dropping out of school, and truancy. This grant will enhance the peer mentoring aspect of MGR Foundation’s Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun which trains at-risk students to successfully complete a half marathon in Chicago and/or the Bank of America Chicago Marathon with the assistance of both peer and adult mentors. By training together, the students, peer and adult mentors form a strong bond and a sense of community that helps to foster positive attitudes, personal discipline and self-esteem. Through mentoring and training, Team M3 engages youth in a positive and supportive environment and provides students with skills and tools to succeed well beyond the finish line.
Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun is currently in its third year and is training over 100 students and mentors in this 2008 season. The DOJ Latino Youth Mentoring Program grant focuses specifically on Foreman High School on Chicago’s Northwest side. The MGR Foundation will expand its current programming at Foreman in which incoming students and underclassmen will engage in weekly mentorship activities with peer mentors. Through the generous support of the DOJ, Team M3 will focus on additional peer mentorship at Foreman to develop and strengthen protective factors against gang involvement and activities. The Department of Justice reports, “Research confirms that youth must be connected to at least two of three significant social entities, family, school, and community to succeed. For those youth, who have substantial ties to these social engines, contact with the law enforcement community is reduced, educational outcomes improve, and pro-social conduct increases.” Through a combined effort of the school community, local service providers and the MGR Foundation, Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun serves as a significant social entity, engaging youth through our training, mentoring and the incredible achievement of completing a half marathon in Chicago and/or the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
The MGR Foundation is grateful for this opportunity to further develop the peer mentorship aspect of Team M3 and intends to utilize Foreman’s peer mentoring program as a replicable model for all of our Team M3 schools. The MGR Foundation seeks to expand Team M3 to 15 Chicago Public High Schools for the 2009 season.
The best part of being a member of Team M3 is the experience. It's something you
will never forget and not only that the mentors are caring and nice.—Daisy, student
TEAM M3 - September 2008 - Chicago Sun Times Article
Ready to Go the Distance
Students from 3 schools right on course as they prepare for the run of their lives
by Tina Akouris
Featured in the Chicago Sun-Times, 9/28/08, Sports 53A
Jose Hernandez didn't just learn how to train for a marathon when he joined Team M3 in his senior year at Foreman. He learned a lot more.
"They gave me the idea that a marathon is a lot like life," said Hernandez, 20, now a student at Northeastern Illinois University. "There are times when you want to give up, but once you get through it, you are so happy and overwhelmed. It could also relate to something that has to do with school or something small in your life. That gave me a huge boost of confidence."
Team M3 is an organization comprised of students from Foreman, Carver and North Grand that eventually will participate in either a half-marathon or full marathon. The Bank of American Chicago Marathon is scheduled for Oct. 12, and 68 Team M3 runners will participate.
Cathy Braund, program director for Team M3, said the MGR Foundation, a not-for-profit group, is the driving force behind Team M3. Braund said MGR wants to have a minimum of 15 schools involved in Team M3 next year. During the summer, Braund said, Nike donated shoes and running clothes and brought Team M3 in for a tour of its Chicago corporate offices.
From helpers to competitors
In 2005, MGR had Foreman students volunteer at the Chicago Marathon, passing out water to runners. But some students wanted to compete in a marathon instead of just handing out water, and the first Team M3 began training in 2006.
"We wanted to see if this is something that we could do, and we wanted to make sure that [teenagers running a marathon] was a healthy thing," Braund said.
The first year, there were 11 students who signed up. Braund said marathon runners have to be over 16, but students between the ages of 14 and 18 can join Team M3.
"A lot of our kids are not involved in organized sports," Braund said. "Our program is open to everybody. We have kids who are outside the sports bubble at their schools, who never thought they would be good enough in sports. With this training maybe they're not the fastest, but they do enjoy themselves."
Yessenia Marrufo is a Forem and senior who plays soccer. She joined Team M3 because she thought it would be a good experience and she never had run more than three miles. She also praised the team's social aspect.
"I also use it to prepare for my spring soccer season," Marrufo said. "I met new people and became more sociable. And now I feel great about myself. I didn't think I could run more than three miles, but now I can run 20 miles in a week."
Runners paired with adults
Mentoring is an integral part of Team M3. Every student is paired with an adult, and they run together at Montrose Harbor during the group's training season from May to the marathon.
During the offseason, November through April, students and mentors go swimming, play volleyball or go bowling. There were 20 mentors in the first year of the program and 43 this year.
"I still felt like a student, but I wanted to take responsibility for something," Hernandez said. "I wanted to make them feel like they could finish the marathon, and this made me feel like an adult."
Hernandez was one of the first Foreman students who handed out water during that 2005 marathon. He knew then that trying to run a marathon would be an "amazing experience." Even when Hernandez's mentor told him he couldn't finish the marathon, it made him try even harder.
"I wanted to prove him wrong," Hernandez said. "But I was also out of shape, and I wanted to run the marathon because I had an ego. I trained hard, too hard, and got hurt. But I ran it in 6 hours, 17 minutes. It wasn't such a great finish, but I cared about the completion."
Marrufo plans to run the marathon next month. "I'm planning on doing that because it's going to be fun," she said. "I would tell people that [Team M3] is the best thing you can do in life."
Hernandez likes seeing the reaction of people when he tells them that he ran a marathon.
"When I tell them, I get raised eyebrows," he said. "[Marathon running] shows that you have great qualities about yourself."
Students from 3 schools right on course as they prepare for the run of their lives
by Tina Akouris
Featured in the Chicago Sun-Times, 9/28/08, Sports 53A
Jose Hernandez didn't just learn how to train for a marathon when he joined Team M3 in his senior year at Foreman. He learned a lot more.
"They gave me the idea that a marathon is a lot like life," said Hernandez, 20, now a student at Northeastern Illinois University. "There are times when you want to give up, but once you get through it, you are so happy and overwhelmed. It could also relate to something that has to do with school or something small in your life. That gave me a huge boost of confidence."
Team M3 is an organization comprised of students from Foreman, Carver and North Grand that eventually will participate in either a half-marathon or full marathon. The Bank of American Chicago Marathon is scheduled for Oct. 12, and 68 Team M3 runners will participate.
Cathy Braund, program director for Team M3, said the MGR Foundation, a not-for-profit group, is the driving force behind Team M3. Braund said MGR wants to have a minimum of 15 schools involved in Team M3 next year. During the summer, Braund said, Nike donated shoes and running clothes and brought Team M3 in for a tour of its Chicago corporate offices.
From helpers to competitors
In 2005, MGR had Foreman students volunteer at the Chicago Marathon, passing out water to runners. But some students wanted to compete in a marathon instead of just handing out water, and the first Team M3 began training in 2006.
"We wanted to see if this is something that we could do, and we wanted to make sure that [teenagers running a marathon] was a healthy thing," Braund said.
The first year, there were 11 students who signed up. Braund said marathon runners have to be over 16, but students between the ages of 14 and 18 can join Team M3.
"A lot of our kids are not involved in organized sports," Braund said. "Our program is open to everybody. We have kids who are outside the sports bubble at their schools, who never thought they would be good enough in sports. With this training maybe they're not the fastest, but they do enjoy themselves."
Yessenia Marrufo is a Forem and senior who plays soccer. She joined Team M3 because she thought it would be a good experience and she never had run more than three miles. She also praised the team's social aspect.
"I also use it to prepare for my spring soccer season," Marrufo said. "I met new people and became more sociable. And now I feel great about myself. I didn't think I could run more than three miles, but now I can run 20 miles in a week."
Runners paired with adults
Mentoring is an integral part of Team M3. Every student is paired with an adult, and they run together at Montrose Harbor during the group's training season from May to the marathon.
During the offseason, November through April, students and mentors go swimming, play volleyball or go bowling. There were 20 mentors in the first year of the program and 43 this year.
"I still felt like a student, but I wanted to take responsibility for something," Hernandez said. "I wanted to make them feel like they could finish the marathon, and this made me feel like an adult."
Hernandez was one of the first Foreman students who handed out water during that 2005 marathon. He knew then that trying to run a marathon would be an "amazing experience." Even when Hernandez's mentor told him he couldn't finish the marathon, it made him try even harder.
"I wanted to prove him wrong," Hernandez said. "But I was also out of shape, and I wanted to run the marathon because I had an ego. I trained hard, too hard, and got hurt. But I ran it in 6 hours, 17 minutes. It wasn't such a great finish, but I cared about the completion."
Marrufo plans to run the marathon next month. "I'm planning on doing that because it's going to be fun," she said. "I would tell people that [Team M3] is the best thing you can do in life."
Hernandez likes seeing the reaction of people when he tells them that he ran a marathon.
"When I tell them, I get raised eyebrows," he said. "[Marathon running] shows that you have great qualities about yourself."
TEAM M3 - September 2008 - Chicago Athlete's Active Kids Feature
Chicago Athlete's Active Kids - Team M3, MGR Foundation's Mentoring Marathon.
Click here for full story.
Click here for full story.
TEAM M3 - June 2008 - Nike Pledges Long-term Support
Nike, Inc. pledges long-term support for the MGR Foundation’s youth running and mentoring program, Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun
Click here for full story.
Click here for full story.
MURALS Silence the Violence Peace Rally in Pittsburgh's Market Square - PRESS
Video Coverage of Peace Rally by
The Pittsburgh Channel
KDKA
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Print Coverage of Peace Rally by
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WDUQ (Pittsburgh NPR)
Pittsburgh's City Paper
Pittsburgh Trib Review
New Pittsburgh Courier
The Pittsburgh Channel
KDKA
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Print Coverage of Peace Rally by
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WDUQ (Pittsburgh NPR)
Pittsburgh's City Paper
Pittsburgh Trib Review
New Pittsburgh Courier
DuSABLE - Polk Bros. Foundation awards the MGR Foundation a $150,000 grant in support of community schools.
March 2007
Polk Bros. Foundation awards the MGR Foundation with a three-year, $150,000 grant in support of community schools.
The MGR Foundation, in partnership with the Daniel Hale Williams Preparatory School of Medicine and Bronzeville Scholastic Institute at the DuSable Campus, have been awarded a major, three-year grant by the Polk Bros. Foundation, in order to establish, and maintain, a long-term community school.
The MGR Foundation has been working at the DuSable Campus for over 5 years. It was this dedication to the Bronzeville community that led to the MGR Foundation’s official selection as lead community partner by the schools’ principals. Together, the newly formed partnership showed the willingness and commitment required to embark on this great journey to creating a true community school.
The spirit of the community school initiative is multi-fold, but fundamentally draws on the idea that it takes a well-supported village to raise a child. Community schools bring together the academic and social supports needed to ensure that all students succeed by offering programs before, during, and after the regular school day for students and their families. More importantly, community schools involve families and communities in the planning, implementation and evaluation of school programs.
Thus, the task that befalls this new partnership is to draw upon available resources in the community in order to provide quality programming for DuSable Campus students, family members and the general community. The primary goal of the community school is to improve the physical and psychological well-being of students in Chicago Public Schools in order to make a positive impact on their school-related behavior and academic achievement. Chicago is the first city to undertake this work on such a grand scale and a part of our efforts are providing a national model for other cities seeking to do so.
With the combined talents of the MGR Foundation, DHW Preparatory School of Medicine and Bronzeville Scholastic Institute and with the generous support from the Polk Bros. Foundation, success for this partnership, and the greater community, is assured.
###
Polk Bros. Foundation awards the MGR Foundation with a three-year, $150,000 grant in support of community schools.
The MGR Foundation, in partnership with the Daniel Hale Williams Preparatory School of Medicine and Bronzeville Scholastic Institute at the DuSable Campus, have been awarded a major, three-year grant by the Polk Bros. Foundation, in order to establish, and maintain, a long-term community school.
The MGR Foundation has been working at the DuSable Campus for over 5 years. It was this dedication to the Bronzeville community that led to the MGR Foundation’s official selection as lead community partner by the schools’ principals. Together, the newly formed partnership showed the willingness and commitment required to embark on this great journey to creating a true community school.
The spirit of the community school initiative is multi-fold, but fundamentally draws on the idea that it takes a well-supported village to raise a child. Community schools bring together the academic and social supports needed to ensure that all students succeed by offering programs before, during, and after the regular school day for students and their families. More importantly, community schools involve families and communities in the planning, implementation and evaluation of school programs.
Thus, the task that befalls this new partnership is to draw upon available resources in the community in order to provide quality programming for DuSable Campus students, family members and the general community. The primary goal of the community school is to improve the physical and psychological well-being of students in Chicago Public Schools in order to make a positive impact on their school-related behavior and academic achievement. Chicago is the first city to undertake this work on such a grand scale and a part of our efforts are providing a national model for other cities seeking to do so.
With the combined talents of the MGR Foundation, DHW Preparatory School of Medicine and Bronzeville Scholastic Institute and with the generous support from the Polk Bros. Foundation, success for this partnership, and the greater community, is assured.
###
MURALS Silence the Violence Peace Rally in Pittsburgh's Market Square
200 youngsters rally in Market Square to silence the violence
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Fourteen-year-old Gabrielle Stolich's contribution to the peace movement was a poem titled "A Shut Mouth Won't Get Fed."
Some of her peers spoke through banners, dance and song yesterday during a Market Square rally that invited students to decry violence with art.
"There are many ways your voice can be heard," Gabrielle, a Homewood resident, told the crowd. Residents should speak out if they witness violence, she said, but also volunteer their time to make the community a better place.
The "youth peace rally" drew more than 200 people, many of them students bused to Market Square from summer programs across the city.
"Up with art. Down with violence," said Sala Udin, president and chief executive officer of the Coro Center for Civic Leadership on the South Side.
"Art can be more than beautiful. It can be transforming ... Use your art for growth and human development," he said.
The rally was sponsored by the MGR Foundation, of Lawrenceville and Chicago, which runs an arts program through a network of community groups. Philip Koch, foundation director for Pittsburgh, said the Murals program enables students to express their feelings through art and to talk about violence with peers and adults.
Not all students who attended the rally were part of the Murals program. Some came as representatives of mentorship or youth development programs.
"I think violence is a waste of time," 15-year-old Lauren Brimage of Homestead said.
Lauren said her time with a mentor, provided through Youth Enrichment Services Inc. of East Liberty, "made me change my perception of people."
The rally occurred hours after a spate of violence in and around the city, including the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old man near a North Side intersection Monday night.
But the rally had been planned since the end of the school year, and it targeted more than homicide and gang violence, Mr. Koch said, noting "kids are getting into fights daily and bullies are in school daily."
Joe Smydo can be reached at jsmydo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1548.
First published on July 23, 2008 at 12:00 am
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Fourteen-year-old Gabrielle Stolich's contribution to the peace movement was a poem titled "A Shut Mouth Won't Get Fed."
Some of her peers spoke through banners, dance and song yesterday during a Market Square rally that invited students to decry violence with art.
"There are many ways your voice can be heard," Gabrielle, a Homewood resident, told the crowd. Residents should speak out if they witness violence, she said, but also volunteer their time to make the community a better place.
The "youth peace rally" drew more than 200 people, many of them students bused to Market Square from summer programs across the city.
"Up with art. Down with violence," said Sala Udin, president and chief executive officer of the Coro Center for Civic Leadership on the South Side.
"Art can be more than beautiful. It can be transforming ... Use your art for growth and human development," he said.
The rally was sponsored by the MGR Foundation, of Lawrenceville and Chicago, which runs an arts program through a network of community groups. Philip Koch, foundation director for Pittsburgh, said the Murals program enables students to express their feelings through art and to talk about violence with peers and adults.
Not all students who attended the rally were part of the Murals program. Some came as representatives of mentorship or youth development programs.
"I think violence is a waste of time," 15-year-old Lauren Brimage of Homestead said.
Lauren said her time with a mentor, provided through Youth Enrichment Services Inc. of East Liberty, "made me change my perception of people."
The rally occurred hours after a spate of violence in and around the city, including the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old man near a North Side intersection Monday night.
But the rally had been planned since the end of the school year, and it targeted more than homicide and gang violence, Mr. Koch said, noting "kids are getting into fights daily and bullies are in school daily."
Joe Smydo can be reached at jsmydo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1548.
First published on July 23, 2008 at 12:00 am
PRESS ARCHIVE - Summer 2007 - Art Imitating Life
Art Imitating Life
A new art project at Hill House-based Mission Discovery helps kids see the alternatives to anger and violence.
Carnegie Magazine - Summer 2007
Click Here for the Full Story
A new art project at Hill House-based Mission Discovery helps kids see the alternatives to anger and violence.
Carnegie Magazine - Summer 2007
Click Here for the Full Story
PRESS ARCHIVE - 05/31/07 - MGR Foundation to Broadcast Stories of the Homeless
MGR Foundation to Broadcast Stories of the Homeless
Lawndale News - May 31st 2007
Click here for full story
Lawndale News - May 31st 2007
Click here for full story
PRESS ARCHIVE - 03/19/2007 - Polk Bros. Foundation awards the MGR Foundation with a three-year, $300,000 grant in support of community schools.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2007
Contact for the MGR Foundation:
Martin Aramburu, Director of Programs
773/313-0075
info@mgrf.org
mgrf.org
Contact for the MGR Foundation:
Martin Aramburu, Director of Programs
773/313-0075
info@mgrf.org
mgrf.org
Polk Bros. Foundation awards the MGR Foundation with a three-year, $300,000 grant in support of community schools.
The MGR Foundation, in partnership with the Daniel Hale Williams Preparatory School of Medicine and Bronzeville Scholastic Institute at the DuSable Campus, have been awarded a major, three-year grant by the Polk Bros. Foundation, in order to establish, and maintain, a long-term community school.
The MGR Foundation has been working at the DuSable Campus for over 5 years. It was this dedication to the Bronzeville community that led to the MGR Foundation’s official selection as lead community partner by the schools’ principals. Together, the newly formed partnership showed the willingness and commitment required to embark on this great journey to creating a true community school.
The spirit of the community school initiative is multi-fold, but fundamentally draws on the idea that it takes a well-supported village to raise a child. Community schools bring together the academic and social supports needed to ensure that all students succeed by offering programs before, during, and after the regular school day for students and their families. More importantly, community schools involve families and communities in the planning, implementation and evaluation of school programs.
Thus, the task that befalls this new partnership is to draw upon available resources in the community in order to provide quality programming for DuSable Campus students, family members and the general community. The primary goal of the community school is to improve the physical and psychological well-being of students in Chicago Public Schools in order to make a positive impact on their school-related behavior and academic achievement. Chicago is the first city to undertake this work on such a grand scale and a part of our efforts are providing a national model for other cities seeking to do so.
With the combined talents of the MGR Foundation, DHW Preparatory School of Medicine and Bronzeville Scholastic Institute and with the generous support from the Polk Bros. Foundation, success for this partnership, and the greater community, is assured.
The MGR Foundation is a publicly supported 501(c)3 organization whose mission is one of commitment to overcoming social and economic barriers and creating innovative programs that positively impact all communities. The MGR Foundation is dedicated to expanding and refining educational and health programs, setting new standards for success and well-being.
###
For more information about the MGR Foundation visit mgrf.org
PRESS ARCHIVE - October 2006 - We Did It! Team M3 – beyond the finish line Completes the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon
We Did It! Team M3 – beyond the finish line Completes the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon
Click here for full story.
Click here for full story.
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