We Run Chinatown 2024

We Run Chinatown is back for its third year! A virtual fitness challenge to complete either a 5K or a 20K from May 10th to May 27th 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 and the Greater Chinatown community. Join us as we continue to empower and support our youth. Read on to learn more!

Read our latest Annual Report

Project: VISION continues to grow and serve more students year after year, while continuing to provide all programs free to youth. Read about our yearly progress and accomplishments in our latest annual reports!

JOIN THE TEAM

Project: VISION’s staff and volunteers are the core of the organization. Their hard work and dedication make it possible to serve our community. We strive to help community youth achieve their full potential.

Thank You, Invest for Kids

Project: VISION selected as a 2023 Invest For Kids Grantee!

Invest For Kids (IFK) is dedicated to supporting highly effective not-for-profit organizations that serve Chicago area youth from disadvantaged communities. IFK hosts an annual investment conference where industry professionals share their best ideas. All proceeds from the event are donated to carefully selected nonprofit organizations.

Since 2009, Invest For Kids has donated more than $20 million to over 85 high-performing organizations.

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 360 youth, providing over 36,000 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

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Thank you Invest For Kids!

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