All the thanks have been given, potatoes put in their place (my belly), the naps have been taken, the travels completed. Inboxes are (nearly) clean and it seems as though a rhythm returns.
For this, I am grateful.
Between launching the Zealous Good Holiday Challenge (stay tuned for more on that from Brittany this week!), some exciting internal developments (coming soon!), sprinting through the remainder of 2011, and figuring out exactly how many ways there are to repurpose turkey (answer: millions), it’s been a monster of a November. A monster made of dreams. And turkey. Mercifully no snow quite yet. But we’re nearing the finish line on the eleventh month, and we’re alive, thriving, and thankful.
We are thankful not only for our families and friends or our survival skills and leftovers, but for the continued demonstration that organizations exist that need people like us – by which I mean not only we at Zealous Good working to make this platform as efficient and effective as possible, but also you, our supporters and donors. We form a community, and from that belong to something greater: a network of various causes, passions, and people find purpose in sustaining this network.
In the last few months, we’ve introduced you to charities and community organizations that offer creative youth programming, family support services, skills training, and cultural preservation, among a host of other services. I am consistently impressed with the breadth and diversity of the programs offered by our partner organizations and today’s new member spotlight, the Community TV Network, is no exception!
About CTVN:
Community TV Network (CTVN), a leader incommunity access to media, empowers low-income young adults and children in Chicago by engaging them in the creative and collaborative process of digital video production.
Harnessing this dynamic process and the resulting media content, CTVN promotes positive youth and community development with the overall goal of raising the educational success and economic viability of the neighborhoods in which youth participants live and work. CTVN programs instill in youth the awareness, motivation, and tools they need to create positive futures for themselves and their neighborhoods.
Core Values
- Promote positive self-images among underrepresented youth by providing a platform for self-representation and means for dissemination to large audiences, encouraging them to overcome the realities of poverty, inequality, and injustice.
- Stimulate youth development, cultivating critical thinking, interpersonal and leadership skills, strengthening literacy, and fostering the development of strong work habits and real world skills.
- Empower youth to articulate their own truths, to seek and develop independent perspectives, and to involve their communities in solving the issues that matter to them most.
- Engage underserved youth in quality, sequential technology and arts training, and teaches them to apply this training to explore positive values and attitudes through creative expression.
Take a look at some of their recent videos and projects. Youth are given the guidance and resources to produce some truly inspiring and sharp work that calls upon their creativity, critical thinking, and ambition. It is, in a word or two, totally awesome.
Want to help CTVN provide Chicago youth with the materials they need to continue fueling their personal and artistic growth?! Probably! Gather your video equipment, old instruments, and electronics and tell us about it, we’ll arrange the rest. Interested in giving them something else? Check out their full wish list here, and be sure to follow CTVN on Facebook and Twitter for more news and ways to help.
I am thankful for you. Yes I am.
Thanks for recognizing our work! We are thankful there are people in the world like you that know how important it is.
Of course, Lucia! We are thrilled to be a part of your cause, and to have CTVN a part of ours. If there’s any news, stories, or events you’d like to share with the Zealous Good community, be sure to let me know about them!