Starting Defensive End Israel Idonije and Bears rookies Levi Horn, Greg Mathews, Joshua Moore, Averell Spicer, Barry Turner, Harvey Unga, J’Marcus Webb, Corey Wootton and Major Wright will be on hand to christen the a new Chicago Bears Fitness Zone Playground and inspire the youth to complete a 60-minute fitness challenge that takes them through five checkpoints starting with “Warming up like a Chicago Bear,” endurance, muscle building, agility and cardiovascular fitness.  

Each checkpoint includes an activity and a lesson about eating healthy and staying fit based on CLOCCs 5-4-3-2-1 message.  Each child will wear a pedometer to track their steps during the challenges, which will enforce the importance of achieving the recommended 10,000 steps per day. Participants will also receive a LIVE HEALTHY LIVE UNITED Challenge Guide that Bears players will sign after completing each checkpoint. These guides serve as keepsakes that will continue to enforce healthy eating and exercise habits long after the event ends.

“United Way’s goal is to increase access to health care and reduce the incidence of chronic disease for 425,000 Chicagoans by 2016,” says United Way of Metropolitan Chicago’s president and CEO, Laura Thrall. “While this seems like an ambitious goal aimed at our city’s adults, United Way understands that health and wellness starts with educating our youth and giving them the resources and support they need to live healthy lives.”

Building on a 37-year relationship with the NFL, the Chicago Bears, NFL Charities and Bears Care, the charitable beneficiary of the Chicago Bears, granted United Way $40,000 this year to reconstruct Elliot Donnelley’s playground with brand new equipment, secure a space for a future garden and display a co-branded sign as part of the Play 60 Initiative. The Play 60 Initiative is a program that inspires kids to get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day in school and at home. It also helps schools become places that encourage physically active lifestyles year-round. Together, the Play 60 Initiative and United Way’s Health and Wellness Initiative have provided more than 300 children with access to physical activity and the resources to needed to understand how to live a health life.    

“The Chicago Bears are very proud to partner with United Way and be a part of such a significant change in our community,” says Caroline Schrenker, director of community relations, Chicago Bears. “It is so important to give back to our youth so they can grow up to be strong, healthy adults and maybe become one of our future Bears!”

Prior to the Challenge, a special ribbon-cutting ceremony will kickoff the Hometown Huddle event with special guests: Dave Anderson, president, Bears Care Board of Directors; Deborah DeHaas, 2010 chairperson of United Way’s Board of Directors; Wendy DuBoe, chief operating officer, United Way; Israel Idonije, Chicago Bears defensive tackle; George H. McCaskey, Vice Chairman, Chicago Bears; Laura Thrall, president and CEO, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago; Harry Wells, president and CEO, Chicago Youth Centers; Ed Wharton, president-elect of Elliot Donnelley Youth Center’s Board of Directors; and 10 additional Chicago Bears players.  Local public officials Senator Mattie Hunter, Alderwoman Pat Dowell, and State Representative Ken Dunkin will also be on hand.

First, the site coordinators indulged us in a tour of the center, which boasts a host of activity hubs (e.g. swimming pool, basketball court, library, teen lounge, computer lab, cafeteria, etc.) all situated off of a narrow maze of hallways in a building more than 100 years old that, from the street, looks too small to contain more than a convenient store selection of magazine racks and snacks.

The Director of the facility took time to educate volunteers on the breadth of services and activities they provide at CYC. She then instilled the fear of (insert religious deity here) in us – or at least in me – by elaborating on our role for the evening.

We were going to be broken up with groups of teenagers and would have to walk them through the CYC scholarship application – complete with providing guidance on essay responses and the do’s and don’ts of completing this and similar applications. That wasn’t all… We would also have to engage participants in mock interviews and provide feedback on their strengths and weaknesses at the conclusion.

Though a daunting task within a 2 hour window, it was one of the most incredible volunteer experiences of my life.

My group consisted of 7 girls ranging from grades 8 to 12. They also ranged vastly in their exposure to a process such as this as well in their writing skills and experiences from which they could draw for essay responses.

…and so it began…Initially, some group members could not have been less interested in the task at hand while others were fully engaged in every word that I uttered. I pushed on, nudging and encouraging along the way, highlighting the importance of “getting it right”, “taking it seriously” and differentiating themselves because in the real world, that application is the first step towards funding for their continued education, but could also be the last step if it lands them in the “No” pile. I drew from my own experiences, and little-by-little got everyone on board.

As fearful as I initially was about their receptiveness of my constructive criticisms and “red pen” approach, it seemed that the more I guided them, corrected them, and praised what they did well, the more they craved. Those who wouldn’t be bothered with putting pen to paper at the outset soon had page-long responses and were anxious to get my input on their latest edits.

The most rewarding parts…

My group was so immersed in their work that when 2 new teens entered the room and 1 was being distracting, everyone discouraged it stating that they were trying to focus. The young man apologized and kept to himself from then forward. At that point, I knew I had them hooked.

When it was time to pack-up for the evening, the group verbalized their disappointment that we couldn’t continue. One young woman asked if it would be okay to take my email address and connect with me for guidance as she continued to prepare her application(s). From there, the ripple effect resulted in me offering to return to CYC to meet with the group and continue to work with them through the application and interview process – an offer that was gladly accepted by the CYC coordinator. I plan to return next week. I can’t say enough about how rewarding it was to see a slight transformation even in only 2 hours with the group, and I’m anxious to see what can be achieved over more time.

A mentor changed my path in life when I was a teen by putting in extra time with me after she had already put in a full day’s work. I would not be who I am now if not for her. This experience, even as a small dose of what she did for me, has taught me that my growth as a result of her guidance probably means as much to her as it does to me, and for a debt that I thought I could never repay, it now feels like I can.

I encourage other participants to share their experiences by posting comments here. Likewise, if you’ve had a mentoring/volunteer experience that you would like to share, please post your comments