OUR MISSION
Project: VISION’s mission is to help youth in Chicago’s Greater Chinatown community reach their full potential by providing them with tools for educational, personal, and civic development.
Our overall goals include:
Helping youth overcome barriers to success and gain equal access to education and ultimately career opportunities.
Equipping youth with skills, confidence, and sense of social responsibility that empowers them to give back to the community and become future leaders.
Providing a safe space where community youth can come together to support each other and share in common identities and experiences.
Advocating for access to resources and opportunities our youth need to succeed.
Our Challenge
Our community is all too often overlooked as among the most underserved neighborhoods in Chicago due in part to the “model minority” stereotype. In reality, many of our youths, like those in many other Chicago neighborhoods, face barriers to succeeding in school and beyond:
%
are from lower-income families
%
are from first-generation immigrant families
%
would be first-generation college students
We know under-resourced youths face many challenges and are more vulnerable, often less likely to graduate high school and college. They are less college and workplace ready and therefore have limited career prospects. Project: VISION‘s programs aim to help level the playing field for all youth aspiring to reach their goals.
Our Approach
Project: VISION takes a holistic approach to youth development. Our programs help youth achieve academic success, develop personal strengths and 21st-century skills, and build positive attitudes and confidence, preparing them to become well-rounded, socially responsible community leaders. Three core program areas aim to help our youth LEARN, encourage them to SERVE, and finally LEAD.
LEARN
Support academic success by helping youth develop effective study skills and a love for learning through tutoring, enrichment, and college readiness activities.
SERVE
Foster a sense of community and social responsibility by encouraging community engagement and providing opportunities for meaningful service learning.
LEAD
Build character, confidence, positive attitudes, and leadership skills that empower youth to be positive examples for their peers, an asset to the community, and ready for the workplace.
THRIVE
Focus on mental and emotional well-being, self-care, and positive and healthy relationships with family and peers.
Our Impact
EMPOWERING YOUTH ONE AT A TIME
In 2003, a group of young professionals, students, and community volunteers saw a need for community youth to have a space to call their own. Project: VISION was brought to life by the group’s collective goals to provide youth with positive role models and positive activities that build a foundation for youth to reach their full potentials. Since then, Project: VISION has reached over 1,500 youth with its free after school programs. Last year, we served over 430 youth, providing over 74,000 hours of service and helping them succeed:
Learn more about our impact from the stories of current and past students.
%
- Are accepted into college
- Graduate high school on time
Students are highly engaged in their community through service and leadership projects
hours working on skills to be
the types of leaders they aspire to be
News
2024 We Run Chinatown Fitness Challenge
Project: VISION’s We Run Chinatown event is returning for its third year in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month . . .
January 2024 Newsletter
❄️ As we kick off the new year, we are excited to share the latest updates and events happening at Project: VISION. . .
PV 2023 Holiday Open House
We celebrated the holiday season with new and familiar faces at our Holiday Open House . . .
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