Interview with Cheyenne Dyer, CYC Alumnus

Epstein Scholar Cheyenne Dyer, Dominican University class of '16, explains how CYC and a college education shaped his future

Home Center: CYC-Sidney Epstein Youth Center, North Lawndale

College: Dominican University

Major: Psychology

Minor: Women and Gender Studies

Post-Grad Plans: Applying to graduate school programs to pursue a career in social work

How did CYC prepare you for college?

CYC prepared me for college intellectually and financially. Through CYC workshops, I learned how to write my college essay, how to apply for financial aid, and how to understand which financial aid packages I received best fit my financial needs. The biggest thing though was the staff that fully invested in me and my future. Ms. Kim [College and Career Program Coordinator, Kimberly George] actually drove to my house on numerous occasions and picked me up on a Saturday mornings to visit different college campuses throughout the Chicago area. She went with me to Dominican University for the college tour and the accepted students' day. That is pivotal to me being where I am today.

What made you want to pursue social work as a career?

My time at CYC helped me figure out what I wanted to do. I want to go back to my community to assist at-risk youth and encourage them to make good choices. I want them to seek the opportunities that I had to expand their horizons beyond a five to ten block radius.

Since going to Dominican, I’ve become aware of the social institutions people are governed by and how these institutions marginalize disadvantaged communities. I’ve been able to study this phenomenon from the perspective of psychology as well as the perspective of sociology. So many of my peers are victims and they become victimizers because of their situations and the communities they live in. That’s why I want to go into social work and community development and work with youth like myself and help them break these structural barriers to success.

This knowledge and this desire was something that developed in me during my time at Dominican and it’s something that is developing every day as I continue to grow and learn both in and outside the classroom.

In what ways are you learning outside the classroom?

One of my favorite things about Dominican is the opportunity to learn outside the classroom. The school hosts many speakers and panels on everything from politics to the environment. They also encourage service learning and travel. Last year, I participated in a nine-day “Civil Rights Pilgrimage” that took me and a group of students throughout the American South to immerse ourselves in the places of the Civil Rights Movement. I had never traveled further South than Missouri, so that was a real eye-opener seeing a culture so different than the city life I’ve always known. We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Selma-Montgomery marches in Selma. We visited the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. The most moving experience for me was more of a modern human rights experience. We visited a convent in Atlanta that runs a school for refugee girls. These girls were from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, from communities where they had been persecuted, abandoned, and unable to receive an education. Seeing that school brought me to tears. It was so profound to see the things I had read about in books and in PowerPoint decks first hand—to see these girls who had been marginalized, now empowered.

Overall, how has your experience at college shaped who you are today?

College has given me the necessary critical tools I need in order to prosper in the work world. I know how to think critically, both objectively and subjectively, about concrete and abstract ideas. College has taught me things that elementary and high school could never teach me. This experience is uplifting and should be shared by all of my native peers if only they had the same opportunities and mindset that I had. With that said, I hope to expose my peers to the richness of the world and the experiences that they are missing out on and help them achieve their full potential.

Celebrating a Life of Passion & Purpose: Sidney Epstein, 1923-2016

On February 3, 2016, the children, families, communities, staff, and Board of Chicago Youth Centers (CYC) lost our co-founder and most passionate champion, Sidney Epstein. The passing of Sid is without a doubt a deep and profound loss, both for those who knew him closely and for everyone whose lives were enriched by his 60 years of service to CYC. Sid’s presence touched every part of our organization. Now there is, and always will be, a huge void in our Board room, our Centers, at our events, and in day-to-day life at CYC.

While his passing is a truly sad moment in our history, it is also a time to be grateful for this extraordinary man’s presence in the life of CYC, in our city, and in all the lives he touched. He made such a significant difference, in both large and small ways during his nearly 93 years on this earth. While we mourn his loss, our hearts remain joyful knowing what an impact he made. We should be so grateful to have made him proud: every time we achieved a milestone, made a child smile, changed a life, sent a kid to college or camp, we honored the mission of the organization he founded with Elliott Donnelley in 1956.

Sid’s was a life of purpose and passion. The true blessing for CYC is that for 60 years he remained actively engaged in our work as a Board member, fundraiser, and our biggest fan and champion. For 60 years, Sid focused his energy, effort, and time on CYC and our kids.

Sid believed that there is no work more important than creating a pathway to success for our most vulnerable children. He proved his commitment to that belief in 1956, when he fought to save a youth club in North Lawndale that was on the brink of failure. Sid became determined to keep the club’s doors open and its children cared for, and along with Elliott, he founded Chicago Youth Centers and created a thriving, innovative space for children to experience their possibility and promise. Thousands of children have graduated from high school, attended college, found their passion, and launched successful careers because two men of bold and audacious vision and steadfast commitment said, “We can make a difference."

We all have a myriad of memories of Sid. Upon hearing of his passing, so many current and former Board members, staff, and community leaders shared their strong feelings of respect and admiration for him and the ways he inspired them and was an example for them. We also have warm, deeply personal and heartfelt memories of him. What we remember most is the pure joy he expressed when he shared or heard the stories of the thousands of children whose lives CYC transformed.

There are many things we know with certainty about Sid Epstein: that he deeply loved his family; that he loved and cherished his friends and held them close to his heart; and that he loved this city and dedicated so many parts of his life to making it a wonderful place and a place of opportunity and possibility for all its children. When it came to CYC, it was consistently about these children and families whose lives we touch. When thinking about Sid in this moment, Bob Dylan’s song Forever Young comes to mind. We believe those lyrics contain Sid’s heartfelt wish for any child transformed and nurtured by Chicago Youth Centers:

 May God bless and keep you always,

May your wishes all come true,

May you always do for others and let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars and climb on every rung

May you stay forever young…

 May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true,

May you always know the truth and see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong

And may you stay forever young

Thank you, Sid, for gracing this world with your presence. Your legacy will live on and on, and we won’t let you down.

We

Chicago Mourns the Loss of Vanessa Rich, Champion for Children

Chicago Youth Centers joins the city of Chicago, the Department of Family and Support Services, and the Head Start community in mourning the loss of Vanessa Rich, Deputy Commissioner of Children Services. Vanessa died on December 27, 2015 at the age of 64.

Vanessa was a true champion for Head Start and an advocate for Chicago’s children. She once said, “In Head Start, we don’t just stand on the porch; we come all the way into the house.”  That was how she lived: all in. After serving Head Start as a teenage intern in the summer of 1965, Vanessa embarked on a 40-year career of advocacy, leadership, and service. During her 11-year tenure with Chicago, the city’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs earned national recognition. Additionally, access to quality early learning expanded so thousands of the city’s most vulnerable children would experience this transformative programming.

To our city, she was a true champion for children and a formidable defender of early childhood education. To those of us at Chicago Youth Centers (CYC), Vanessa was a loyal partner, leader, and friend. “CYC could not have asked for a more supportive and caring partner,” says Wanda Doucet, CYC Director of Early Childhood Education . “Any time we needed support, Vanessa was there with a smile. Her passion, commitment, and kindness will be deeply missed, and the impact she had on our children and in our communities is deeply felt.”

“Vanessa impressed me in so many ways—as a leader and a person,” says CYC CEO Barbara Mosacchio. “She literally embraced me as I stepped into a new role in a new city. Perhaps most impressive was her true respect, admiration, and understanding for the agencies on the ground running the program. In one of our first meetings she said ‘you [CYC] are the real hero in this story.’  I will never forget those words, nor will I ever forget this larger-than-life woman with the most beautiful singular focus: Chicago’s children.”

It was Vanessa’s ability to welcome, encourage, and embrace that made her stand out as a leader. “I will always remember Vanessa’s warm smile and the joy she brought into every room she entered,” says Talina Carter-Bowie, Early Childhood Director of Programs & Operations at CYC.  “She truly believed in each individual and helped my team and I believe that we could truly make a difference.  Now when we go to work each day, we hope to honor Vanessa and keep fighting for early access to education and our children’s futures. We need to make sure we carry that torch.”

Indeed, Vanessa’s legacy will live on through the lives of thousands of children who experience Head Start, thanks to her tireless conviction. We know Vanessa’s life will be an inspiration to us as we work to serve our children, communities, and city.