Summer 2023
In 2023 we leaned heavily into bringing all three CHEETA neighborhood groups together on a weekly basis to try and build bonds between the youth of different communities. There were some hiccups in the process but overall the youth bonded and supported each other throughout the planning process. This also allowed mentors to provide workshops and invite speakers to cover different topics over the 8 weeks of summer.
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Riverton Park
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Sagamore Village
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Kennedy Park
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Summer 2022
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The Riverton Park Cheeta project consisted of two different projects- the environmentalist who focused on changing the way the RP environment looks, and the ballers who focused on the basketball court- Both projects were successful
Environmentalist: The primary goal of the environmentalist was to plant trees, flowers, and pick up trash, in an effort to make RP feel more welcoming. They noticed that people effortlessly throw their trash on the ground, which causes the community to not look good. This has been an ongoing issue, so the environmentalist decided to do a trash pick-up. During this trash pick up about 20 members of the community participated, and they saw success. The group also drafted a plan to beautify the neighborhood with flower beds and trees. As redevelopment of the neighborhood was in the planning stages, their input was shared with PHA to be incorporated in future plans. “Ballers”: The primary goal of the “ballers” was to make the basketball court in RP look better. Oftentimes, people break the nets and the paint on the ground fades. The ballers wanted to incorporate alternative nets like chain nets, but that wasn’t approved. They were able to successfully paint the ground and incorporate nets, making the basketball court look much better. After painting the court, they hosted a basketball tournament with prizes. |
The Kennedy Park CHEETA team had a hard time deciding on a project to serve their community. They knew they wanted to do something to bring people together and decided to provide a community meal. They decided on recipes, made shopping lists, and partnered with The Root Cellar to use their community kitchen.
They learned a lot about cooking, grocery shopping, budgeting, and marketing very quickly to pull off an event where they fed about 40 community members. |
Summer 2021
As the pandemic continued we offered hybrid remote/in-person CHEETA with groups meeting at different times to reduce the number of people in one space. Riverton Park had two groups serving the neighborhood and Kennedy Park had one group.
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The Riverton teams had a lot of different ideas and decided to spread out their activities instead of focusing on one cumulative event. They educated younger students on plants and the environment, picked up trash, and hosted read aloud groups for children. At the end of summer block party, they ran games, taught plant care and gave away succulents, and provided a pantry table with vegetables and bread for the community.
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The Kennedy Park team focused on mental health and wellness. They made bookmarks with positive messaging and phone resources which they distributed at the National Night Out community event where they also rans games that focused on happiness and self care. The also provided 50 bags of personal hygiene products to women in need around the neighborhood.
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Summer 2020
The pandemic made in-person CHEETA project mentorship very challenging. We shifted to remote gatherings via tablets provided by the Study Centers for youth. The young people adjusted well and made opportunities to meet safely and socially distanced outside in their communities. The young people demonstrated excellent problem solving skills to develop materials that addressed their identified community need while also maintaining safe distances.
The Kennedy Park CHEETA team wanted to focus on bringing people together at a time of social distance and decided that food not only represents the different cultures of the community but also brings people together at the end of the day. The team went door to door to ask neighbors about their favorite recipes and compiled them all into a book. CHEETA students added illustrations to the pages and found a local artist to work with on cover art. The final PDF of the cookbook can be found under publications.
The Kennedy Park CHEETA team wanted to focus on bringing people together at a time of social distance and decided that food not only represents the different cultures of the community but also brings people together at the end of the day. The team went door to door to ask neighbors about their favorite recipes and compiled them all into a book. CHEETA students added illustrations to the pages and found a local artist to work with on cover art. The final PDF of the cookbook can be found under publications.
From our Riverton Park Sustainability team:
Our goal as members of the 2020 CHEETA program is to educate members of the community on trash and sustainability. We as well as many other residents believe that trash is a major issue and has a large effect on the environment. Many people diminish the issue of trash but we are trying to change that. This summer we worked on many things to help fulfill our goal. To start off our project we did a survey day where we went around the neighborhood and asked questions. This was a way for us to see what the residents in the community needed. We then made flyers to help educate people which are below. We also held a trash pick up day and devoted time to making community posters and adding a resource list.
Our goal as members of the 2020 CHEETA program is to educate members of the community on trash and sustainability. We as well as many other residents believe that trash is a major issue and has a large effect on the environment. Many people diminish the issue of trash but we are trying to change that. This summer we worked on many things to help fulfill our goal. To start off our project we did a survey day where we went around the neighborhood and asked questions. This was a way for us to see what the residents in the community needed. We then made flyers to help educate people which are below. We also held a trash pick up day and devoted time to making community posters and adding a resource list.
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Summer 2018
We received grants from the Edward H. Daveis Benevolent Fund as well as the Giovanella Family Fund to support an intensive summer youth leadership program.
20 internships were available this summer for Portland Housing Authority youth between 13-18 years old. Resumes were accepted through the PHA Study Centers for these internships.
Interns, AmeriCorps Volunteers, and staff worked together to create a structured summer full of trainings, opportunities, and structured learnings!
20 internships were available this summer for Portland Housing Authority youth between 13-18 years old. Resumes were accepted through the PHA Study Centers for these internships.
Interns, AmeriCorps Volunteers, and staff worked together to create a structured summer full of trainings, opportunities, and structured learnings!
In summer of 2010, The CHEETA project began as a series of workshops In Riverton Park. The acronym at the time stood for Cultural Heritage Education and Empowerment Through the Arts.
The workshops focused on social identity, language & power, education, self expression, & conflict resolution. At the end of the workshop series, the students came together to design a summer program for neighborhood teens to be implemented in 2011.
They also redefined the acronym to what we have today: Community Hope through Education, Empowerment, Training, & Action.
The workshops focused on social identity, language & power, education, self expression, & conflict resolution. At the end of the workshop series, the students came together to design a summer program for neighborhood teens to be implemented in 2011.
They also redefined the acronym to what we have today: Community Hope through Education, Empowerment, Training, & Action.
In summer of 2011, CHEETA took on it's first big project: a teen center located in Riverton Park.
Designed and led by youth in the community, the summer teen center offered daily workshops, led service learning projects, and provided a safe, positive space for neighborhood teens to converge.
Designed and led by youth in the community, the summer teen center offered daily workshops, led service learning projects, and provided a safe, positive space for neighborhood teens to converge.
RENOVATING the program space
Staff Trainings
fundraisers
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We planned a fundraiser event on June 16 at the Local Buzz in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The fundraiser went as expected, and we want to thank the Local Buzz for letting us use the space. At the event we had live music performed by Lyle Divinsky, as well as door prizes and raffle items from Whole Foods Market and dinner for two people at the Lobster Shack. Thanks to those who contributed to this event! This event was made possible by our contributors and we appreciate your support.
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What we learned from Parkour
Everybody loved the first day of Parkour. The kids were all over the place jumping of the playground objects and showing of what they had learned. The instructor first gave introduction to Parkour and taught the basics. When the instructor demonstrated the basic moves he made it look easy and everyone underestimated the moves. It took a while to get it but some of the moves were harder than the others. The instructor mainly focused on jumping over obstacles that get in your way. The moves that he showed were essential to Parkour. After accomplishing all of the moves, we had a little concern get in our way. A lot of kids showed up that were not CHEETA members to watch. The kids were doing the moves on their own and we were afraid that could have brought problem in the future to CHEETA. We ended the Parkour training to prevent any problems from happening. We decided that we will have our Parkour training on Saturday and Wednesday. On Wednesday we will have our training in Riverton School playground because there will be no kids there. Although a lot of kids showed up to watch Parkour, it bought concerns and we shifted our meeting times. A lot of kids showed up and that good for CHEETA. It bring kids to our program, when they see what we offer, especially like Parkour.
CHEETA Carnival
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On Saturday July 30th we held a carnival event in Riverton Park which ran from 11-5. With the help cheetah members, every staff member helped run a game. There were many games that we ran but the games that were most amusing were: Can Toss, Flour Bombs, and Water Balloon. We also had Sombuus, a Somali dish and many other home made food. Copoeira Mestre Beck had come that day. The copoeira class went well and we had many non CHEETA members attend. The non CHEETA members paid to take part of the class. Everyone enjoyed the class and a lot of people want to join CHEETA because of what we offer like Copoeira. CHEETA cannot Copoeira class anymore becase the instructor had left for trip t Spain. At the end of the day everyone helped clean up and those who helped clean up got prizes. Although the prizes were too little CHEETA had made 150 that day. $100 covered up the expenses and the $50 was what we earned. In the future if CHEETA holds any event to raise money, the pries are expected to be higher.
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Mediation Certification Course
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13 youth successfully completed a mediation certification course offered by Opportunity Alliance and paid for by the Edward H. Davies Benevolent Fund.
This opportunity empowered youth to be community leaders addressing everyday conflicts in their communities. The Mediators brought their newly learned skills back to their neighborhoods where they shared what they learned with their peers. |
