My CHI My Future

My CHI. My Future. is a citywide initiative that encompasses all youth programming, youth jobs, and youth opportunities in the City of Chicago. My CHI. My Future’s goal is to connect every young person in the City to an out-of-school program, whether it’s through programs from city departments and sister agencies (Parks, Libraries, etc.), hiring programs (One Summer, Chicago Youth Service Corps), or external partner programs – over 220 organizations citywide are part of the My CHI. network, including Project Exploration and by proxy, the Chicago STEM Pathways Cooperative. 

 

MCMF includes a website and mobile app to help youth connect to programming. 

PE’s History with My CHI. My Future.

 In 2018, PE was awarded a grant with the National Science Foundation to help us further understand the barriers that impede or limit participation in STEM. The two-year project focused on the Austin neighborhood and modeled how community members and local stakeholders can be engaged to think about the STEM learning environment in their own neighborhood. Ultimately, the project developed 20 digitized systems maps of the STEM learning ecosystem in the Austin neighborhood, each one reflecting the perspectives and voices of the individual stakeholder group.

This work led to the PE’s selection as a lead organization by Mayor Lori Lightfoot for her city-wide My Chi. My Future. (MCMF) efforts in Austin, which included PE ensuring that 90% of all students from Austin created student profiles which helped us understand their interests. For this work, PE’s Executive Director was awarded the Mayoral Medal of Honor. Additional impacts in 2021-22 include:

  • 134 individuals representing 71 organizations at PE-led My CHI. My Future. meetings
  • 12 events hosted to provide Austin teens with safe outlets for fun

See the latest updates from My CHI. My Future. Austin:

Westside Youth Empowerment Conference

This summer, Project Exploration, in conjunction with the Chicago Westside Branch NAACP,R3 Westside Collaborative Project and Bright Leadership Institute, is hosting its first annualWestside Youth Empowerment Conference (WYEC), a youth

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Summer Kickbacks are back!

Summer Kickbacks are the latest offering of My CHI.My Future, the City’s effort to connect Chicago’s youth with safe and engaging spaces throughout 15 communities across the south and west

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