Welcome back to Jones Prep High School and Youth Guidance!
We started working with Youth Guidance again this year, with their students at Jones Prep High School. Our programming is part of the Community Schools Initiative, specifically the Freshmen Connection Program.

We started navigating with the 30 incoming Freshmen on July 6th – and discovered they have great senses of direction! We’ll be doing one more navigation program with them on July 7th; and then climbing with them the week of July 12 and cycling with them the week of July 19.

Many thanks to Andy Brake at Youth Guidance – he’s a pleasure to work with. Many thank also to Lincoln Park Athletic Club, Lakeview Athletic Club](http://www.chicagoathleticclubs.com/club/scripts/section/section.asp?NS=LV5), and Bike Chicago for making this program possible!

Leadership Group Camping Trip at Devil’s Lake
We’ve been meeting with a small group of youth who participated in summer programming last year. We’ve been talking with them about leadership skills – grop management, group dynamics, more in-depth technical skills. The program ended the weekend of June 25-27 at Devil’s Lake for a weekend camping trip.

The youth decided that these are the things needed in a good outdoor leader:

• respect for the group and the leaders
• a good, updated weather forecast
• stay organized
• always have a Plan B…
• learn the necessary skills
• good and constant communication
• humor We think they summed it up pretty well!

For pictures of some pretty skilled paddling and some rapelling that took quite a lot of courage, check out the Facebook album.

The Night Ministry
We have been blown away by the two days we’ve spent with youth from the Youth Outreach Program at The Night Ministry. We started by climbing with them on June 4. At the end of the program, eating oreos and sitting at the foot of the wall, the youth started by talking about the wall, moved on to talking about the challenges of being homeless and how they get through it day by day – and then stunned us all by talking about how privileged they were. They said that many people, homeless or not, don’t get to climb and have the opportunity to push themselves the way they did with us that day. Then they talked about the privilege they have because of the support they derive from each other. We were all wishing we could attain that type of perspective on our own struggles.

Then we navigated with them at the North Park Village Nature Center. It’s right in the cit, but we got to watch deer and butterflies in wetlands and oak savannah. In the process, they surprised us again, by starting out talking about the activity – we did a navigation activity that used my favorite definition of navigation: “Where are you? Where are you going? How are you going to get there?” We also looked at personality types in a group, and resources available to them. They did all of this – and then addressed some racial tension that came up in the group. We had an honest and respectful conversation about race – something we think is both important and difficult.

For some great pictures, check out the Facebook albums here and here.

Here’s a little more info about their program.

We’re looking forward to paddling with the group on July 23. We figure they’ll surprise us again!

Thanks for joining us!
If you were with us Thursday evening for our 3rd Annual Night of Improv, then you’ll know who speaks for Leprechauns and the danger of picking up toxic rocks. It’s valuable knowledge! ;)

Thank you for joining us. You all generously contributed $3,662.38 towards helping Chicago youth stretch just a little bit farther to reach their goals, knowing that there’s a community around them who will catch them if they fall. Thank you for being part of that community.

3rd Annual Night of Improv!
Join us at Stanley’s Kitchen and Tap for our 3rd Annual Night of Improv. Stanley’s will be providing some fun food and drink specials (tater tots on the menu again, which will bring smiles to our staff’s faces!). Thanks so much to Stanley’s for your generosity! We’re also excited to welcome back Virgin Daiquiri, the all-women Improv Troupe that had us roaring last year. Many thanks to Virgin Daiquiri for donating their time and talent!

We hope you’ll mark your calendars now and bring friends for the show.

Stanley’s Kitchen and Tap
Thursday, May 20, 7pm - 10pm
1970 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60614

You can RSVP by emailing Andrea at andrea@chicagoadventuretherapy.org or by checking out the Event on our Facebook Page. We hope to see you there!

Can’t make it? Join us for the virtual event! Check it out on our Facebook Cause.

Cycling with 78 7th graders
We have our biggest program to date coming up next week, on April 30. We’re spending the day cycling with the 7th grade class at The Latin School. Our staff is hard at work figuring out the logistics and plans for the day. (The logistics? – we’ll have 100 people on bikes, but no more than 10 riding together.) We’re looking forward to the program and hoping for good weather! Thanks to Bike Chicago for a third season of collaboration.

Thanks for buying your Lord & Taylor tickets!
You all bought 54 tickets, which made us eligible for a portion of the proceeds from the day. We’ll let you know when we know how much you raised for CAT with your generosity. Thanks for making $5 stretch so that our youth can have transforming experiences in Chicago! We so appreciate your support.

Shopping for CAT at Lord & Taylor
You can make a $5 donation go a very long way. Buy a ticket for some great discounts at Lord & Taylor for a shopping extravaganza on April 13. CAT receives the full $5 for each ticket sold. If we sell 50 tickets, CAT will also receive a portion of the proceeds from the register that day. It’s a big day at L&T – they expect to have as much business as they do the day after Thanksgiving. Which means your $5 just went a VERY LONG WAY! CAT will receive all of these benefits for every ticket sold, whether or not the ticket is used. If you’re not a shopper, consider giving a ticket to a friend or donating a ticket to a CAT staff or volunteer.
Thanks for your help!

Recital was great!
Thanks to University Park United Methodist Church for the use of your space; to the Johnson Creek Brass Quintet for joining us in the recital; and to all who attended. We appreciate your generosity. The money we raised will provide many hours of services this summer.

Recital in Portland, OR
For all of you fans in Oregon, Andrea will be giving a flute recital in Portland as a fundraiser for CAT. She’ll be joined by the Johnson Creek Brass Quintet. Here’s the info:

CAT recital
University Park United Methodist Church
4775 N Lombard Street
Portland, OR 97236
Saturday, March 20th, 2:00PM

Thank you to University Park and Johnson Creek for you generous donation of space and talent!

CAT’s running the Marathon!

CAT is excited and proud to be selected as a contributing charity with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon!

register for the marathon here

Let us know you registered. We’ll send you tips for getting started. Check back later for training plans and a training schedule once spring gets here.

Start your personal fundraising page right here.

Thanks to everyone who joined us at Black Rock Pub for our Winter Party!
It was a cold February night, but the fire at Black Rock was warm – as were the tater tots!* We raised $569. Thanks for your generosity.

*Don’t understand CAT’s obsession with tater tots? Ask about it on our Facebook page – we’d be happy to explain our obsession!

CAT Winter Party
CAT is returning to Black Rock Pub, the site of our Trivia Night last November, for a Winter Party. Please join us! The address for Black Rock is:

Black Rock Pub
3614 N Damen
Chicago, IL 60618

For a map, click here