CAPCA Connections Program

Connections Program

For the past two years, CAPCA has proudly supported the Connections program. In 2000, CAPCA received the National Peace Corps Assocation's prestigious Loret Miller Ruppe Award for Outstanding Community Service for our affiliation with and support of Connections. This year, Connections will once again benefit
from the success of our Founder's Day dinner. So, please plan to join us, or send a donation, in honor of President Kennedy and the Peace Corps' 40th anniversary.

Program Summary
Connections is an innovative leadership development training program for at-risk high school students. Started in 1992, Connections increases the students' likelihood of making positive life choices and becoming community leaders by instilling a positive sense of self worth.

The young men and women in Connections reside in West Englewood, a community rife with gangs, drugs, and poverty, and where violence is the leading cause of death. These young adults are overcoming tremendous odds to rise above these challenges and are committed to making a difference, not just in their lives, but within the community. Through leadership and service, these young men and women are part of the solution for improving the Englewood community.

The goals of Connections are:
1. To develop the students' potential to become leaders in their community.
2. To increase the graduation and college admissions rates of students participating in the program.
3. To prepare students to function in a global community.
4. To increase students' sense of self in order to increase their likelihood of making positive life choices.

Students participating in the Connections program are expected to maintain good academic standing, graduate from high school and pursue post secondary education/training. This is a major challenge as the 1994-95 graduation rate at Harper was 55.2%. In order to ensure that the students graduate, Youth Guidance staff collaborate with school faculty, counselors and outside organizations to provide access to tutors and mentors during each of their high school years; ACT preparation workshops for juniors and seniors; and career counseling.

The culmination of the program is a trip to a foreign country. Students have raised money to travel to Jamaica, Mexico, and Africa.

Program Structure
Connections has 4 components: Community Service, Economic Development Training, Leadership Development, and Cultural Awareness. These components, combined with creative gang and drug prevention activities, form an innovative, holistic program that serves to stem youth violence and provide youth development.

Community Service
In most inner-city communities, the "best and brightest" leave after attaining educational success. Connections helps to maintain future leaders by requiring that all participants stay connected to the community by serving as volunteers after they graduate from high school and from college or trade school.

The Team
Youth Guidance has provided services to the West Englewood community since 1989. The program is both comprehensive and holistic. The staff consciously serve as roll models and work collaboratively with faculty and staff to develop and administer programs that benefit the entire school community.

The Youth Guidance staff members have secured skills to enable them to address challenges faced by the youth they serve. The Connections coordinators are also Gang and Prevention Specialists and Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors. One staff member is also an AIDS Prevention Specialist.