Project Impact 180

Yesterday was Day 1 of our Community Safety & Empowerment Series, and we kicked things off with Power.💪🏾

What a powerful session.

The workshop focused on trauma-informed approaches and helping young people develop the skills needed to navigate conflict, make healthy decisions, and recognize the power they have in choosing their responses.

One of my favorite parts of the session was listening to the youth answer real-life scenarios. They didn't give the "right" answers. They didn't give the answers they thought adults wanted to hear. They gave authentic answers.

And that's exactly why creating safe spaces matters.

If young people don't feel safe enough to tell us what they're really thinking, feeling, or experiencing, we can't help them. Growth begins with honesty. Healing begins with honesty. Prevention begins with honesty.

Too often adults want polished responses, but real impact happens when youth can show up as themselves without fear of judgment.

Thankful for a room full of young people willing to be real, engage in meaningful conversations, and begin building the skills that help them navigate challenges in healthier ways.

This is only the beginning. 💙

Learn Skills That Save Lives 🚨

This June, we're bringing life-saving training directly to the community!

Join us for our Community Safety & Empowerment Training Series and gain practical skills that can make a difference in an emergency.

❤️ CPR & AED Training
🩸 Stop the Bleed® Training
🧠 Y.O.U.R. POWER™ Workshop

Whether you're a teen, young adult, parent, caregiver, or community member, these sessions will help you build confidence, strengthen decision-making skills, and learn how to respond when every second counts.

📍 1624 S. Pulaski Rd., Chicago, IL 60623
📅 Tuesdays & Thursdays
⏰ 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Prepared people build stronger communities. Don't wait until an emergency happens to learn what to do.

📲 Scan the QR code to register
📞 773-592-4512
📧 [email protected]

Project Impact 180 , we’re continuing to build off a previous Career Readiness session where our teens completed a “Reverse Bucket List” activity. 💙💛

Instead of focusing on what they HAVEN’T done yet, we challenged them to reflect on everything they HAVE already accomplished.

That conversation became the foundation for this week’s resume building session.

Many young people think they have “nothing” to put on a resume because they’ve never had a formal job. But our youth quickly realized they already have experience and transferable skills through everyday responsibilities and leadership opportunities.

✔️ Babysitting
✔️ Helping at church
✔️ Sports & extracurricular activities
✔️ Caring for siblings
✔️ Community service
✔️ Leadership programs
✔️ Supporting events and activities

The next step was teaching them how to professionally communicate those experiences.

We worked on “leveling up their language” and helping students understand how to make their resumes stand out using measurable impact and data.

Instead of:
❌ “I help at church.”

We taught them:
✅ “Supported community events serving 40+ attendees.”

Instead of:
❌ “I babysit.”

We taught them:
✅ “Provided childcare supervision and support during evenings and weekends.”

We also discussed how employers look for DETAILS:
📊 How many hours?
📊 How many years?
📊 How many people did you serve?
📊 What leadership roles did you hold?
📊 What impact did you make?

Today is normally our Life Skills Training session, but we’re continuing to build on their resumes. Students were given a take-home assignment, and during class we’ll walk through them together, use our rubric to provide peer feedback, and improve them in real time.

At Project Impact 180, we’re helping youth recognize that their experiences already matter. Resume building is more than paperwork — it’s confidence building, leadership development, and helping young people learn how to communicate their value.

Afterschool reality 😂💙

You know kids feel safe, comfortable, and at peace in your program when they kick their shoes off and make themselves at home. No pressure… just a space where they can relax, laugh, learn, and be kids after a long school day.

These little moments matter. 🫶🏾