Giving Tuesday Donation Page
Author: Companies That Care
Asher Miller
Asher Miller is the new AmeriCorps Public Allies AIM High Program Associate. Asher has always had a commitment to education, with a particular focus on under-served students. As a high school student Asher developed his love for the education field, beginning with serving as a mentor for lower-level math classes. This continued into his college years during which he served as a Teaching Assistant in Kenya and worked one-on-one with special needs students in the summers.
After graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2013, Asher worked full time as a Teaching Assistant for the Northern Suburban Special Education District in Northbrook, IL and most recently served as a Field Organizer for a governor’s race in Texas. Now he has found a way to do work he is truly passionate about in Chicago.
We are excited about you getting to know Asher!
Guest Mentor Registration
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Program Associate, Invisible Differences
Center for Companies That Care is hiring a full-time Program Associate for our Invisible Differences* program. This is the perfect job for someone who recently graduated from college, has some relevant work experience, and wants to work help others achieve that milestone, too. Start date is as soon as is practicable. We want to select the best candidate versus driving toward a particular date. More info about the position and Invisible Differences are below.
Want to do something that matters?
Position: Invisible Differences Program Associate
You will love this job if you:
- Yearn to make a real difference in the lives of young adults who have neurobehavioral diagnoses
- Enjoy high school and college students and care about their education
- Thrive on variety and juggling lots of balls
- Value interactions with many types of people
You may be hired for this job if you are passionate about our mission and:
- Have a college degree in a relevant field
- Have experience working with teens and young adults
- Have exceptional people and relationship-building skills
- Take pride in consistently producing high quality work
- Are resourceful and can figure things out on your own
- Communicate often and effectively in writing and verbally
- Work fast and adjust quickly to changing priorities and unexpected situations
- Are open to working beyond your written position description
- Pay attention to detail
- Are able to prioritize effectively and juggle many stakeholders
- Know Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint well. Knowledge of content management and database management a bonus.
The Invisible Differences Program Associate is fully responsible for implementing the Invisible Differences curriculum at Chicago Public Schools. The role includes:
Relationship-Building
- Building strong relationships with and among participating students, their family members/caregivers, and their schools
- Maintaining relationships long-term
- Caring deeply for the students and being their compassionate cheerleader
Program Development, Direct Service, Training and Communication
- Becoming and serving as subject matter expert in navigating college when one has a non-cognitive disability, sharing knowledge with staff and others as appropriate
- Facilitating PEERS
- Implementing Transition Services for schools as outlined in our agreements with them
- For program delivery, managing the logistics (calendar, materials, A/V, other people, marketing) associated with each
- Providing individualized college counseling, tracking college persistence for each student, and facilitating resolution of concerns about college expressed by students/parents
- Completing Summary of Performance documents for each graduating senior to take with him/her to college
- Planning and leading monthly Parent Inclusion Network and parent meetings at schools
- Developing and maintaining content for internal and external websites.
- Documenting and implementing changes to program based on feedback
Outreach/Development
- Gathering information about colleges, becoming knowledgeable about services offered at different colleges and their strengths/weaknesses to be able to recommend best options to individual students
- Assisting with recruiting new participants in Invisible Differences programs
- Promoting the annual March to College and College Simulation
- Partnering with selected coworkers for invoicing and any necessary follow-up
Evaluation and Tracking
- Maintaining database of students, parents, teachers for students; colleges; diagnoses; and services provided to each student to be able to track progress and report analytics
- Collecting feedback about each program/session from participants, identifying trends, and making suggestions about content enhancement
- Participating in goal-setting for program and tracking performance against those goals
Interested candidates should forward a resume with a letter describing experience and characteristics that would be assets in helping students who have Invisible Differences graduate from college. Please send resume and letter to: cynthiacobb@companies-that-care.org
*Invisible Differences, a Center for Companies That Care college success program, helps intellectually typical teens and young adults with neurobehavioral challenges, learning disabilities, and mental health disorders complete their education and enter fulfilling careers. Family members, caregivers, schools, and employers are also supported by the program.
2018 Summer Stretch & STEM Institute
Preparing Youth for College and Career Success
Companies That Care’s Summer Stretch & STEM Institute is a series of concurrent enrichment programs in July and August for underserved teens and college students. This program offers certificates in STEM topics, exposure to a multitude of career choices, and professional skill- and confidence-building opportunities. Overall, the program helps students stand out when they apply to college or for high-demand, well-paying jobs both during and after college.
These programs will enhance their transition to college and career life while strengthening their resume!
Summer 2018 Program Offerings & Registration
Stretch: CAREER
Career Awareness Internships (CAI)
These are 3- or 6-week programs exploring different industries, careers, and projects.
Upon satisfactorily meeting all program requirements, participants will be awarded a stipend.
For students participating for their second year, they have the chance to build upon their skills and to develop new ones as well as to explore career options for specific industries.
CAI Traditional (July 9 – July 27)
This is our traditional, 3-week internship program, which will introduce you to careers you might not know existed, and help you align your education, skills, and interests with a career. The program will culminate in participants choosing a company to shadow for a day in order to get the most out of the experience! Students participate in excursions to many different companies in various industries from pharmaceuticals to banking to media to grasp the variety of career paths available to them. We will meet Mon-Fri 10a-2p
CAI Chicagobility (July 2 – August 10)
This is a new, 6-week internship, overlapping with the Traditional program, designed specifically for 9th graders. This program will introduce 14 and 15 year olds to a variety of careers, and the education necessary to work in those fields. We will also help these students identify things about themselves as learners and workers, while teaching skills that will be helpful in the future. In Weeks 1, 5, 6, we will meet Mon-Thurs, 10a-3p. Weeks 2, 3, 4, we will meet Mon-Fri, 10a-2p.
CAI One Summer Chicago Plus (OSC+) (July 2 – August 10)
This is a new, 6-week paid internship for ages 16-24, focused on planning a final event, and learning about the topics such as finance, operations, marketing, sales, and project management in the process. This internship will meet Mon-Thurs, 12p-5p
Applicants must complete a two part application. The first step is to apply with One Summer Chicago, available here. Please select “City of Chicago-Department of Family and Support Services” from among the 6 choices when prompted. Second, please apply directly to Companies That Care, here. Applications are due May 21st.
Stretch: COLLEGE
College Onboarding Colloquium
A big name for an important summer: the summer before college. This four-session seminar is for first generation parents and students heading off to college in the fall. There will be speakers, discussion topics, interactive activities, check lists and dinner! By the end, students and their parents will be fully prepared to start college in the fall without experiencing the mishaps commonly occurring for first generation college students. We will cover such topics as budgeting, time management, forms completion, housing, loans, and so much more. Get prepared while having fun!
Fee: $100 for students and parents, dinner provided
Date/Time: July 12 – July 31, Tuesdays, 6pm-8pm
Location: 815 W. Van Buren St. Suite 415
Who: Students Entering College in Fall 2018
CPS STUDENTS — Click Here to Register for College Onboarding Colloquium
College-Credit Course
Take advantage of the opportunity to get a college course out of the way this summer at Companies That Care HQ with the help of a 5-star tutor. We’ll register for an online course, and work on it together each week in the office. When you start college, you’ll already have a collge course under your belt, and be able to jump right to the next level!
If you are interested in this course, please reach out to talicornblath@companies-that-care.org.
Fee:
Dates: June 29 – August 9
Location: 815 W. Van Buren St. Suite 415
Who: Rising Seniors and students entering college in fall of 2018
STEM: TECHNOLOGY
Computer Modeling and Robotics
Center for Connected Learning & Computer-Based Modeling at Northwestern University is partnering with Companies That Care to offer this course. From our instructors:
In this two-week Summer Institute, students will engage with computational thinking and computational modeling using single-board computers (SBCs) – powerful but accessible tools. Each student will work with his or her own pcDuino SBC, an open-source platform that not only supports creative computing projects in software but also encourages the construction of hardware-level interfaces.
On the software side, the course will provide an in-depth workshop on the NetLogo agent-based modeling language. Although there are no programming prerequisites, each student will create an extended NetLogo-based project of their own design by the end of the course, along with several smaller projects and assignments. NetLogo is used not only in schools but also in professional research in computational sciences and social sciences.
On the hardware side, students will assemble circuits to augment their software creations. No soldering will be required, but students will use solderless breadboards and electronics components to build a number of constructions, including sensor-driven feedback loops, digital coded communications, and simple robotics controls.
Fee: $100, lunch provided
Date/Time: July 12 – July 31, M – F 9a-2p
Location: 815 W. Van Buren St. Suite 415
Who: CPS High School Students
Click here to register for Computer Modeling and Robotics
Click Here to View the Full Summer Stretch & STEM Institute Flyer!
Summer Stretch & STEM Institute Homepage
Preparing Youth for College and Career Success
Companies That Care’s Summer Stretch & STEM Institute is a series of concurrent enrichment programs in July and August for underserved teens and college students. This program offers certificates in STEM topics, exposure to a multitude of career choices, and professional skill- and confidence-building opportunities. Overall, the program helps students stand out when they apply to college or for high-demand, well-paying jobs both during and after college.
These programs will enhance their transition to college and career life while strengthening their resume.
For more information about each track, please click on the links below.
Click Here to View the Full Summer Stretch & STEM Institute Flyer!
Donation and Registration Information Page
What Is It?
The 5th Annual March to College event is being held on Thursday, May 11, in Lincoln Park (new location), located in downtown Chicago. It includes the 5k March to College Fun Run, plus an All-Ages College Fair.
The March to College features:
- 5k March to College fun run
- Free tee shirt for each runner: “College Bound” tee shirt for students, and college-themed tee shirts for adults
- (Pre-race) K-12 college fair, where kids of all ages interact with college admissions reps and alumni – and are urged to start thinking of themselves as “College Bound”
- (Pre-race) Individual and team activities to build Essential Life Skills
The goal is to focus high-risk kids on getting a college education from their earliest school years
When and Where?
- Thursday, May 11, 2017 in Lincoln Park (new location)
- 1:00pm: Arrival, check-in, activities
- 2:30pm: College Fair (K-12), food, drinks, and more activities
- 4:30pm: 5k run/walk starts
Why Should We Come Out?
- It’s healthy! Great way to shake out the winter blues and get our bodies moving again.
- It’s beautiful! Route follows Lake Michigan.
- It’s inspirational! Help give kids the vision that they, too, can become a college graduate and enter a rewarding career
- Makes a difference to at-risk kids! All proceeds support Companies That Care’s programs to improve college graduation rates among Chicago’s at-risk youth. College graduates are far more likely to have good health, a stable family life, and a living wage, but low-income, minority and disabled children are much less likely to enter OR graduate from college. Help us change this statistic!