Winnetka Youth Organization

620 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, IL 60093
Categories: Youth Share:
Offers Opportunities Good For: Adults, Families, People with Disabilities, Seniors

About Winnetka Youth Organization

OUR MISSION

The Winnetka Youth Organization’s mission is to foster individual development in adolescents by providing adult-to-youth mentoring with opportunities for leadership, citizenship and education within a positive, encouraging environment.

OUR VISION

Through our diverse positive youth development initiatives, we empower adolescents to become more active community members and leaders, while also giving them opportunities to develop confidence in their own talents and skills.

We are a service to complement and support teens outside of their daily lives and we partner with parents, as well as other community agencies to support a holistic approach to wellness. That means nurturing each youth’s individuality, assessing their strengths and weaknesses and building a base of support that they can lean on in times of crisis by:

 

WE STRIVE TO HELP TEENS BE THEIR AUTHENTIC SELVES.

Photo Captions:

(1) Photo from the WYO Teen Drop-In Center Lounge

(2) Photo from Art & Performance nights at the WYO

(3) Photo from Battle of the Bands at the WYO

Current Opportunities at Winnetka Youth Organization

Youth Leadership Initiative – Writing Letters to Congress

Throughout this service event our youth will write letters to congress based on various topics that they feel need to be addressed, such as tending to different endangered species, updating legal policies, etc.  This will be our second time doing this event, the first time was fantastic!  The event will take place on April 25th from 12pm-2pm, come join the fun!

  • Winnetka Youth Organization
Type: One Day Service Event

Social Service: The Equestrian Connection

This is going to be an amazing experience!  The Equestrian Connection is a therapeutic horse farm in Lake Forest where we will be assisting with all kinds of interesting activities over a two hour period.  This event will take place on April 18th from 11am-1pm, click the following link to learn more about The Equestrian Connection: https://equestrianconnection.org/

  • The Equestrian Connection - 600 North Bradley Road, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Type: One Day Service Event

Cardboard Fort Building – Alliance for Early Childhood

On April 4th, from 10am-1pm, we will be working with young kids to help them build cardboard forts at The Northfield Community Center!  This is going to be a really great event, come enjoy the fun!

  • Northfield Community Center
Type: One Day Service Event

Social Service – Making School Kits for Lutheran World Relief

Come volunteer with us on March 22nd, from 12pm-2pm at The Winnetka Youth Organization!

Click here for more information: https://lwr.org/schoolkits

620 Lincoln Avenue

Winnetka, IL. 60093

  • Winnetka Youth Organizationi
Type: One Day Service Event

Social Service Saturday: Glencoe Community Gardens Pumpkin Smash

Don’t trash it, smash it! Bring your pumpkins to the Garden, smash ‘em, and compost them!

Pumpkins are over 90% water, so they are great for our soil

(and composting is better than landfills!).

Please wear closed-toe shoes, appropriate clothes, and gloves.

There will be a dumpster for pumpkins

outside the Garden’s south gate on November 1 & 2

if you are unable to make it to our Pumpkin Smash

  • 380 OLD GREEN BAY ROAD, GLENCOE
Type: One Day Service Event

Join the WYO Board of Directors

JOIN THE BOARD

Professional adults are needed that hold one or more of these backgrounds:

– Legal

– Financial / Fundraising 

– LCSW, with a specialization in adolescents 

– Parent of Teen(s) in the New Trier Township 

WHAT MAKES A BOARD DIRECTOR?

  1. Regularly attends board meetings and important related meetings.
  2. Makes serious commitment to participate actively in committee work.
  3. Volunteers for and willingly accepts assignments and completes them thoroughly and on time.
  4. Stays informed about committee matters, prepares themselves well for meetings, and reviews and comments on minutes and reports.
  5. Gets to know other committee members and builds a collegial working relationship that contributes to consensus.
  6. Is an active participant in the committee’s annual evaluation and planning efforts.
  7. Participates in fundraising for the organization.

 

When we meet:

Every first Monday of the month, from 7:30 pm – 9pm in Winnetka.

Interested?

E-mail our Board Chair, Lynne Levenier at lynne@winnetkayo.org

  • Winnetka
Type: Ongoing Opportunity
Good For: People Over 16, Seniors
Categories: Advocacy, Education, Health & Wellness, Mental Health, Youth
Days: Monday
Times: Evenings

Ongoing Opportunities for Teens

SOCIAL SERVICE SATURDAYS

The Winnetka Youth Organization (WYO) offers social service opportunities every Saturday that help cultivate interests, increase hands-on involvement in the community, and allow teens to gain a new perspective on life. We recognize that teens are busy and you can RSVP for Social Service Saturdays as often or as little as your schedule allows. 

A few examples of Social Service Saturdays include:

  • Participation in the Kids Against Hunger event to package meals for hungry children
  • Book sorting at Bernie’s Book Bank which donates books to children without access to them
  • Maintain our local forest preserves by removing invasive species and planting
  • Serving meals at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston’s soup kitchen
  • Collecting and packaging basic needs care packages to the Chicago area homeless with the Night Ministry 
  • Managing the Family Stage booth of activities at the Winnetka Music Festival
  • & many more!

 

Check out the WYO program calendar for our upcoming Social Service Saturday events!

To RSVP for Social Service Saturdays, please email info@winnetkayo.org or call 847.446.0443.

 

COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS

The Winnetka Youth Organization partners with local courthouses and Peer Jury’s to offer teens in need of mandatory service hours a space to complete them. Teens who need hours have to schedule a time to meet with the Executive Director, along with a parent/guardian to determine scheduling, complete paperwork, and review expectations. The schedule determined is based off the organization’s need and can be done throughout the week.

To complete your community service hours with the Winnetka Youth Organization, please email info@winnetkayo.org or call 847.446.0443.

    Type: Ongoing Opportunity
    Good For: Children Under 16, Groups, People Over 16
    Categories: Advocacy, Animals, Crisis & Disaster Relief, Education, Poverty & Homelessness, Professional Development & Training, Youth
    Days: Saturday
    Times: Afternoons, Mornings
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