Partner Spotlight: St. Joseph Services

January 17, 2024

by Francesca Sigmond

This school year, the CYC Foundation started working with a new partner for our after-school STEAM programs, St. Joseph Services. St. Joseph Services is a Chicago nonprofit organization “dedicated to addressing the root causes of violence and poverty in some of Chicago’s most underserved neighborhoods” through after-school, mentorship, and summer camp programs in the Austin and Humboldt Park neighborhoods. This past fall, we launched a STEAM after-school program in partnership with St. Joseph Services that serves kids in first through eighth grade at St. Angela’s School in Austin. Since August, students have been learning about buoyancy, weather, on-the-water signals, and stars through exploratory science and art activities. They build anemometers, and learned the meanings of signal flags. To date, 55 youth have participated in this new program.
Arnestina Jackson, program assistant at St. Joseph Services, notes that the new after-school program allows “the students to experience something that they wouldn’t normally learn about in their environment. The students are learning about boats and the different tools used to navigate boats.” 

Landen, 8,a repeat participant in the new St. Joseph after-school program says, “After-school program is fun because I learn about boats, and today it was telescopes. It is fun because I never learned about it and now I know!”

We look forward to having some of our scholars at St. Joseph’s Services join us on the water for sailing camp this summer!