Options for Youth

Welcome back to school! Yair and Edwin, two of our mentors at Little Village High School, settled in to their new office space as they prepare for a new school year. OFY's What's Up with Manhood program teaches young men growing up in Chicago’s most vulnerable neighborhoods how to think critically about “what it means to be a man” in their community.

Another great field trip for Options for Youth's One Summer Chicago "employees," thanks to Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) and our mentors/hosts Edwin and Lew.

Congratulations to the graduating seniors of 2024, World Language High School.

Huntington Bank visited the OFY One Summer Chicago program on 7/23/24 to discuss the importance of banking...to help participants learn about checking, savings, and starting credit. On 7/25/24 they came back to do "Reality Day." Students were given a variety of jobs, different salaries based on the job, some were married or single, and with 1 to 3 kids. Participants were also give a random credit score. They then had to navigate "life" with that information. It was a great way for participants to learn about money and money management. Thank you to the great folks at Huntington Bank (and especially for the ice cream truck!).

Congratulations to our participants at World Language High School for making the honor role! Great work from these guys in the What's Up with Manhood program.

Shown standing are Javier and Yasir (seniors). Sitting on the left is Leo (freshman), Edgar (freshman), and Christian. Sitting on the right is Jorge (senior), Andy (senior), and Miguel (sophomore).

Special shout-out to and for their support!

What's Up with Manhood Mentors in Action! Antonio working with "new arrival" (migrant) students, and Yair leading group sessions, both at Little Village High School campus. Thanks to Illinois Department of Human Services Office of Firearm Violence Prevention and to Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for making this possible!

Congratulations to What's Up with Manhood Honor Roll Students at Infinity High School in Little Village. We're very proud of your hard work!

There is just one day left and we are so close to completing our matching challenge!

No gift is too small to make a difference in young lives in the new year. Donate today at bit.ly/OFYdonate!

We've been sharing stories this month illustrating the important work that a donation to Options for Youth supports. We only have until the end of December to raise an additional $9,800 to complete our donor's matching challenge.

No gift is too small to help as Options for Youth continues to support teenagers like Maria, Alex, and Sylvia!

Donate today at bit.ly/OFYdonate

Happy Holidays from Options for Youth!

We are so thankful this holiday season for all our supporters who make this important work possible.

If you would like to help us ring in the new year, make a gift before the end of December and it will be doubled by our $15,000 matching challenge!

Donate today at bit.ly/OFYdonate

Read Alex's story below and then donate to our $15,000 December matching challenge (bit.ly/OFYdonate) to help us keep changing young lives!

Alex had joined Options for Youth's What's Up with Manhood program as a freshman in high school and formed deep bonds with his What's Up mentors. Together with their help, Alex graduated on time and received his diploma.

Now Alex needed to decide what was next, so he reached back out to his What's Up mentor, Edwin. Alex was looking at a job as a Target Fulfillment Specialist at a location nearby, and he knew Edwin had worked there before.

Edwin helped Alex understand the details of the job, what would be expected of him, and how to best present himself as a candidate. Equipped with Edwin's expertise, Alex got the job—a full-time job with benefits that include college tuition assistance.

This school year, What's Up with Manhood will serve 120 teenage boys just like Alex. Donate today to keep building better futures with Options for Youth!

Your gift at bit.ly/OFYdonate helps deliver vital support to:

- Teenage mothers learning to parent their babies and building futures that include post-secondary education and careers
- Teenage boys working to reduce violence by building healthier concepts of manhood
- Options for Youth's dedicated Home Visitors and Male Mentors working to ensure every teen in our program successfully graduates from high school with the tools needed to build a stable career and future

Donate today!

Donate today at options4youth.org/donate to help teenage mothers like Sylvia!

Sylvia found out she was pregnant just as she began her senior year at Bogan High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side. She enrolled in Options for Youth’s program and began working with her Home Visitor, who helped her prepare for her baby while keeping up with her schoolwork.

Sylvia’s daughter, Emilia, was born that spring—but doctors soon discovered Emilia had been born with a serious infection. Over the next month, Emilia was moved to several different hospitals for treatment, and Sylvia never left her side.

During all this time, Sylvia’s OFY Home Visitor worked diligently to support her needs, including receiving and completing her school work at the hospital.

After a long and arduous month, Sylvia finally got to bring Emilia home. Less than two months later, Sylvia not only graduated from high school—but was named valedictorian of her graduating class and received a scholarship to study at the University of Illinois, Chicago!

Invest In Our Students and Young Families – Options for Youth Donate online via the secure button below. To donate via mail, checks may be addressed to: Options for Youth 1525 E 53rd St, Suite 920 Chicago, IL 60615 Please reach out to our development office at [email protected] with any questions. Thank you for your generosity!

MEET MARIA

Maria's family immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was only 2 years old, finding a new home in Chicago.

Unfortunately, during her teenage years, Maria's home life became tumultuous and she moved in with her boyfriend. During her Junior year in high school, Maria became pregnant. Her school turned its back on her and she was pushed out. Without family support, high school graduation seemed out of reach.

That is—until Maria found an Options for Youth flyer at her Obstetrician's office. The message on that flyer was simple and spoke to her. She was not alone. She could graduate from high school. The Options for Youth Subsequent Pregnancy Program could help.

Together with the support of her SPP Home Visitor, Maria enrolled in a new school that better fit her needs, completed her coursework, and graduated from high school with her baby daughter by her side.

After graduating, Maria decided to give back to the program that had given her so much by volunteering with Options for Youth as a Peer Educator—helping young moms just like herself who were working to graduate. Maria's work was so dedicated that, when her Home Visitor decided to leave Options for Youth—she recommended Maria to take her place as a new Home Visitor!

Stories like Maria's are made possible every day by donations to Options for Youth.

THANK YOU!

Leave it to Lew for a Halloween surprise! Is that Toothless and Hiccup making an unexpected landing at World Language High School? Or a trick-or-treat for the What's Up with Manhood students?

Happy Halloween! Our young moms and kids had a great time looking for pumpkins (and ice cream) on a Pumpkin Patch excursion last weekend!

Good report cards bring good treats! Sophomores from World Language HS who are in the OFY What's Up with Manhood program celebrate great grades at 6 Flags!

OFY Mentor Yair took the World Language Junior participants in What's Up with Manhood to a college day event, featuring Roosevelt, UIC, UTI, Dominican University, CIty Colleges of Chicago, DePaul and more. At first, several students were not interested in the trip, but after Yair talked about keeping an open mind and the advantages provided by college/trade programs, several students were impressed with the engineering and STEM schools and also expressed interest in the Trade Schools that were represented.

Maryville Crisis Nursery hosted Options for Youth for a tour of their facility on August 2, 2023. Staff from our Prevention Initiative program learned about services offered, discussed parenting topics, and then parents took a tour of the garden area. Everyone left with fresh vegetables to take home along with healthy recipes. Thank you Maryville!

Our Summer Youth Employment Program participants take a fascinating fieldtrip to North Eastern Illinois University to learn more about the college experience (including the dorm rooms!) Thank you, DFSS, for this life-changing program.

We’ve just earned our 2023 Gold Seal with ! We are excited to share the work our nonprofit does through our . Learn how you can support us and make a difference.

cdn.candid.org

What's Up with Manhood senior participants just completed their first Capstone Project, reflecting on what they had learned after 3 to 4 years in the program. The topics focused on Healthy Masculinity (Words to Live By) and Conflict Resolution (The Power of Words). Note the QR codes, which allow other students to listen to presentations by the participants. Great lessons being taught by our seniors at Little Village High School! Special thanks to Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) and Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) for their support.

SO PROUD OF OUR 2023 GRADUATES! World Language High School, Little Village, Chicago, June 2023. Our senior participants in the What's Up with Manhood Program have been with Options for Youth since they were Freshmen. It's exciting seeing them take the next steps in their lives.

Options for Youth has been supporting young fathers for over 20 years as they develop the skills needed to build a stable future for their family.

We need your support to keep building up the next generations of young fathers on Chicago's South and West Sides!

Today is the LAST DAY of our push to raise $15,000 to support this vital work.

DONATE TODAY at options4youth.org/donate

Thank you and Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day from Options for Youth Donate today to support young fathers   Investing in teens. Building better futures.     Happy Father's Day!     Options for Youth has been working with young fathers for over 20 years, supporting the

Only TWO DAYS left to help our Spring Appeal!

Options for Youth invests in our city's future by working with the most vulnerable populations of adolescents on Chicago's South and West Sides.

We have $6,000 left to go to hit our goal of raising $15,000 by Father's Day to support this important work.

Make your gift today at options4youth.org/donate!

Invest In Our Students and Young Families | Options for Youth Donate online via the secure form below. To donate via mail, checks may be addressed to: Options for Youth, 1525 E 53rd St, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60615 Please reach out to our development office at [email protected] with any questions. Thank you for your generosity! Donate Online via Paypal...

Meet Edwin!

Edwin joined Options for Youth in 2022 as a Male Mentor in the What's Up with Manhood program.

"I lived my whole life in Little Village, so I know the challenges our participants are facing and how it can be hard to see a path to the future.

"A program like What's Up could have taught me so much growing up—so I'm very proud to be able to give our participants the mentorship I wish I had back then."

Help Edwin and all our staff and invest in the future of Chicago through our young people. Donate today at options4youth.org/donate

Invest In Our Students and Young Families | Options for Youth Donate online via the secure form below. To donate via mail, checks may be addressed to: Options for Youth, 1525 E 53rd St, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60615 Please reach out to our development office at [email protected] with any questions. Thank you for your generosity! Donate Online via Paypal...

OFY's What's Up with Manhood program is an innovative approach to reducing violence in the lives of teenage boys. What's Up helps young men think critically about how "being a man" is defined in their community and how social expectations and stereotypes of manhood impact their daily lives.

We are raising $15,000 by Father's Day to continue programs like What's Up with Manhood.

Help Options for Youth continue to change lives—DONATE today at options4youth.org/donate!

https://conta.cc/3IVBjkK

Options for Youth Is Meeting Needs—And NEEDS Your Help! Listening to participants has changed our program for the better   Investing in teens. Building better futures.     Listening to Participant Needs   Options for Youth's first mission was helping teen

Options for Youth was born from need. Demographer and OFY founder Dr. Pat Mosena was studying the demographics of teen mothers—and decided to do something to help!

SPP (the Subsequent Pregnancy Program) was born—a data-driven and time-tested curriculum providing teen moms with a dedicated home visitor who helps ensure she finishes school with the skills necessary to succeed for her and her family.

For 20 years, SPP has been helping young moms build better futures. Please join us—smash that DONATE button today!

Help Us Build Better Futures for Teen Moms Your support is essential!   Helping teen mothers build better futures     Options for Youth Was Born Out of Need   Did you know Options for Youth founder Dr. Pat Mosena is a demographer? She was work

What's Up with Manhood participants from World Language HS celebrate Prom Night with Principal Loranger at the Palmer House.

A wonderful night at the Opera House, enjoying "The Little Mermaid" ballet, courtesy of the Joffrey Ballet, which was VERY generous to provide 50 tickets, so our participants could have an eye-opening experience with an evening of dance.