A published author and educational consultant, whose work with R CITY extends back to its beginnings, Dr. Rivera conducted research through R CITY's very first programs and was integral during our founding. She continued her investment in 2020 as a board member and joined the staff of R CITY serving as the Director of Strategy, Research & Partnerships from 2021-2023.
Dr. Rivera exemplifies the absolute best of OUR CITY and we are honored to celebrate our 2024 recipient of the Distinguished Award for Foundational Contributions.
In January 2024, I will step out of the Executive Director role, remaining with R CITY as Finance Lead to continue managing R CITY's grants and finance. At that time, the Executive Director role will be filled by the magnificent Charnesha Collier. She will be supported by myself, our board of directors, and Michelle Johnson, Director of Administration. This role is the culmination of years of leadership development for Char, who began as a youth in the Harambee program. Having served as R CITY's Director of Programs for the last year, Char has shown herself to be an excellent leader for both staff and youth. It is my great honor to place the role I love so much in her hands.
At R CITY our mission is to bring the BEST of our city to build a path for families to walk from cradle to career to the glory of God. As we prepared for our very first Black History Showcase, we knew it would be a great evening to celebrate our beautiful children and youth but also, we didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to celebrate and honor some of the VERY best of R CITY whose contributions support our youth, our programs and our community, and this year we had the immense privilege of bestowing our first Distinguished Award for Foundational Contributions to Phaedra M. Leslie from ALL Construction.
Print Shop lead instructor, Songine’ Clarke has been spending time thinking about the phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, “On Earth as it is in Heaven.” The WHOLE earth is broad and hard to wrap our minds around, but what if we zoomed in, all the way to our own neighborhood? What if we could see wherever we live as it is in heaven?
This summer as they decided what a mural on the back of the River City building would contain, she lead her print shop teens through the same thought process: What would it be like if they could see their neighborhood as paradise?
The first quarter of 2022 has been deeply impacted by grant funding awarded from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA). The addition of this state funding allowed R CITY to double our staff in order to implement a small group model across our after school programs. In February we hired a junior high program coordinator and 5 new adult mentors, launched this expanded model of programming and services and we are already feeling the impact this team is making.
We enter our winter season with exciting news: R CITY is thrilled to have recently been awarded funding to expand our programming through the State of Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) to work with our students who have experienced (or at risk of experiencing) violence and will be hiring 6 new staff beginning in February. It is great news that we will be able to increase the support offered to the children and youth of our community.
This summer we took moments to collect feedback from our children, teens, young adults and parents asking all sorts of questions to hear from them about the strengths and challenges of R CITY. When asked why they come back for each new season, over and over our children, teens, young adults and parents all noted the significant RELATIONSHIPS that made R CITY so valuable to them.
For teens in our community to feel hopeful about their future as adults, they need a healthy sense of competency, a confidence that when they put their hands, minds and effort to something, they can achieve success. Building this confidence requires a deep investment of resources for the hours (and years) spent in job training.
In an interview with Dr. Y’Shanda Rivera, Dorothy details her thankfulness for Harambee crew leaders who made him feel needed, wanted and cared for. She described his reaction to hearing he got the job as a look on his face that was “on the verge of joy” and that throughout his summer experience, she watched him become more open and excited about his work and fellow crew members.
R CITY is thrilled to announce new support from the Chicago Community Trust! This year, the Trust's commitment to Addressing Critical Needs led them to release a funding opportunity entitled Addressing Critical Needs: Promoting Wellbeing.
Through many obstacles, R CITY has experienced a year providing a second home for remote learning, modifying programs for our youth in Print Shop and getting our Harambee teens back into the "grind" of work. As we are already preparing a summer full of fun for our kids, it's been a blessing to look back before we forget all the GOOD we've experienced!
R CITY is thrilled to welcome Dr. Y'Shanda Rivera as the newest member of our directional team, serving as Director of Strategy, Research, and Partnerships. In this role, Dr. Rivera will lead R CITY in setting goals and tracking achievements: important work that equips us to press forward for the good of our youth and tell our story more effectively to funders. She will also facilitate partnerships with churches, organizations, businesses and government entities, fulfilling the first phrase of our mission: "to bring together the best of our city to build a path..."
