Friends,

In 2008 CBT continued to deliver on its mission. We have now delivered over 1,250 hours of free tutoring in five distinct communities in Chicago. Along with increased programming, 2008 was a year of many firsts. We produced and screened our first community building video. This video was the culmination of a twelve week project at the Chase Park site that engaged the tutors and students to think about their community and the best way to share their community with others. The video was screened at The Raven, Ravenswood’s summer community festival.

The first Raven festival occurred on August 16th and 17th and was a huge success. The festival offered an expansive area for kid’s activities and community food vendors, market vendors, and not-for-profits. There were also two stages of music on Saturday and Sunday and a cornhole tournament. Roughly 5,000 people attended building relationships and strengthening our community. The festival built off of the success of the Family Fun Fest in 2007. CBT played a major role in the execution of the Raven and worked with the Chase Park Advisory Council, Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, Ravenswood Community Council, Alderman Gene Schulter of the 47th Ward, and the Chicago Park District (CPD). It truly was a community driven festival and it will be back in 2009! The event is set for June 5th-7th and if you are interested in volunteering please click here.

One other major accomplishment of 2008 was the creation of our first Annual Report. Joe Ptasinski, former site coordinator and current board member, spearheaded this initiative. The end result is a beautifully formatted and very informative 8-page booklet that details our successes. The report even caught the eye of Park CEO Tim Mitchell who granted us his audience in a meeting in the Fall. This was a great opportunity for us to share our past successes and future goals. In 2009 we will be starting two new programs in different parks: Willye White (1610 N. Howard) and Fosco Park (1312 S. Racine). We are excited to continue developing our relationship with the CPD!

The last first of 2008 that I would like to share with you concerns our internal development. Our board of dedicated working professionals has grown to 14 and we continue to have two capable part-time site coordinators. One board member, Kristin Ficker, received special recognition for her contributions in 2008 and was awarded the first Board Member of the Year award. She was an invaluable resource and is now the Chair of our Fundraising and Special Events Committee. I would like to thank all of our board members for their time and energy as we would not be where we are today without everybody’s earnest dedication and support.

Of course, with the successes we experienced in 2008 our expectations for 2009 only grows!

All the Best,

Bart Phillips
President of the Board
Phillips@cbtutors.org