Calumet Summer Youth Employment Program youth share their experiences by collaborating on t-shirt designs

August 19, 2020

What does leadership mean to you? To the Youth Leadership cohort in our Calumet Center’s Summer Youth Employment Program, it means “your voice can change the world.”

The Peace Circles cohort shared phrases like “We are born to be real, not to be perfect” and “There is peace on my skin.”

Throughout the Summer Youth Employment Program, our youth participated in cohorts around topics meaningful to them. Each cohort, led by a different Calumet staff member, worked together to develop a t-shirt that represented their cohort and what they learned during the summer program.

“These shirts bring meaning and power to the experiences this summer,” shares Program Director Carrie Pullie. “It shows the investment of youth, and the youth’s time and passion.”

The cohort topics included:

Community Engagement
Beautification
Creativity
Food Literacy
Health & Wellness
Racial & Social Justice
Senior Connect
Youth Leadership

Peace Circles: During a partnership with the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation’s summer youth institute, 14 of our youth became certified circle keepers. They will come back to Metropolitan Calumet’s Altgeld Gardens site and help facilitate peace circles in the community.