| July 2nd, 2013 16th Edition | Greetings! Happy 3rd Quarter of the Year! As we share some of the exciting news we have to offer you, we hope that you have been able to have a successful first half on the year. You only have 6 more months to recommit yourself to your goals and plans for this year. Take some time to also recommit to Project Hood and help us achieve our goal to build a community center on the Southside of Chicago, so that our youth will have a safe place to go and grow. We are working diligently to help stop violence, to give young people a better chance at life. We are thrilled to share with you all the wonderful things we have going on. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Please read and share these articles with your family and friends. Spread the word about Project Hood. Sincerely, Project Hood Team
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TOGETHER. SHAPING THE FUTURE. Often, high-risk youth wind up being shuffled through our court systems because they feel they have no alternative to a life of crime. Many have unfortunately developed the mindset of obtaining what is needed for survival "by any < /span>means necessary". Media and technology potentiate the propensity for our youth (already exposed to the unfortunate reality of being born and raised in a crime--infested community) to choose this method of meeting their needs -- both felt and actual. We teach our youth at Project Choices this: The way your life turns out is a direct result of the choices you make - at the height of triumph, and in the face of adversity. We understand you can get dealt a bad hand, but you choose how to play it, Project Choices' Mission: ...We seek to provide juvenile court involved youth with intentional mentoring and space to discover the power of "the choice", and the possibilityof change. |
Only 11 more days until the Raffle Drawing Click photo to purchase a ticket
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Quinn signs bill requiring schools to h old shooting safety drills By: Monique Garcia, Clout Street July 1, 2013 Local school districts will now be required to conduct safety drills to prepare for a possible shooting under legislation Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Monday.
The measure, which took effect immediately, will require schools to partner with local law enforcement agencies to develop and conduct a shooting drill at least once a school year. It's up to each school whether students must be present for the exercise and parents can choose to have their children sit out.
The law was developed to better prepare school and law enforcement officials following the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 children and six staff members. Illinois schools already are required to hold several school and bus evacuation drills and severe weather exercises.
"We must prepared not only for acts of nature, but acts of violence," said sponsoring Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago.
Colleges and universities would not be required to conduct the drills, though sponsors of the legislation say that may be the next step. Five students were killed at Northern Illinois University on Valentine's Day in 2008 when a shooter opened fire in a classroom before turning the gun on himself.
Meanwhile, Quinn said his action on a measure that would allow citizens to carry guns in public is "imminent." Several lawmakers and public officials have said they expect the governor to rewrite the concealed carry bill to make it tougher in an effort to appeal to voters as he prepares to launch a re-election bid. Quinn is a strong supporter of stricter gun control laws.
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Young black grads told they still have much work to do BY BECKY SCHLIKERMAN June 29, 2013 | From left) Malcolm Williams, his brother Marvin Williams, and Nnaji Iwunze (CQ), all of Chicago, adjust their caps prior to marching in the 2013 Mass Black Male Graduation and Transition to Manhood Ceremony held at Chicago State University in Chicago, Ill., Saturday, June 29, 2013. The event, sponsored by the Black Star Project, recognized African-American males from around the city and suburbs for the achievement of graduating high school. | Dozens of young, black men who recently graduated from area high schools gathered Saturday to be honored for their achievement, but they also got a dose of reality from rapper Lupe Fiasco. The local rapper began by saying, "Congratulations, you have graduated from one of the most terrible, substandard school systems in the entire world. You have just spent the last . . . 12 years receiving one of the worst educations on earth. You are at least four, five steps behind people in other countries that are younger than you." Organizers labeled the event a Mass Black Male Graduation and Transition to Manhood ceremony. Distinguished "elders" joined in the ceremony - among them doctors, lawyers, businessmen and politicians. The rapper also pledged $100 for each of the 150 area graduates who attended the event, organizers said.
In delivering the keynote speech, which was peppered with cheering and applause from the crowd, the rapper captivated recent grads and told them their achievement wasn't as impressive as it was made out to be. He told the teens to focus on their future, instead.
| | Project HOOD (773) 326-4200 "Stop ganging up on each other, but gang up on the problem!"
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