Saying No
Can we do an 6pm game day?
Nope. But you can come to a workshop or if you're looking for something outside of work hours you can come to the Multicultural Cup, or Work to Play Cup. Or other amazing Saturday event.
I can't make a decision about this right now.
That's okay, can I circle back around in (MONTH)?
How many employees do you have?
~200 total
How do you evaluate your programs?
Teacher, participant, coach and parent surveys.
Height and weight.
Sometimes through focus groups.
About 1000!
Can you do a game day on July 5th?
NO! We don't have programming and it's the day after the 4th!
Would you like to come out to our summer camp programming with a group of volunteers?
What to say when someone says "We really only support STEM"
We support our students academics and encourage our participants to take pathways in a variety of industries. Would you like to host an offsite huddle where you can show middle school participants how you use STEM in your work?
How do you pick schools to serve?
We look for schools who need our programming most! Most of our schools have at least 85% of the population on the free and reduced lunch program.
How do you get your academic and attendance data?
We have a data sharing agreement with CPS that allows us to view our participants report cards and attendance.
Can I recruit non-employees to our CCC team?
Sure thing- ideally the team is primarily employees but you can recruit from elsewhere if you need more players.
Can I sponsor the Soccer Ball for $1000?
NO!
You can buy tickets or support us with an in-kind donation!
That's awesome! We would love to have you out to volunteer with our participants!
OR
We appreciate the dedication of your time, but in order to cover the costs of this volunteering opportunity we ask for a small $300 donation.
What racial demographics do you serve?
36% Black/African American
53% Hispanic/Latinx
5% white
6% Asian and other
What outcomes are you most proud of?
Pick an answer, have a good reason!
I'm vegan. Can I still come to Soccer Ball?
Of course! We have a variety of food stations that include several vegan, vegetarian and GF options.
Can you host a Work to Play Cup in November on Navy Pier?
NO!
We have a great event that is similar to the WTPC called the Multicultural Cup! Let's chat about that.
That's alright! We have an array of programmatic support opportunities that may be a better fit. Can I walk you through them?
What D&I practices do you have in place?
We have a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee that advises our organization on a number of fronts including curriculum, stakeholder engagement, marketing and executive leadership. They also spearhead trainings and regular check ins with our entire staff team.
Do you engage in outside research projects
We conducted an RCT with the University of Chicago Urban Labs to determine the efficacy of our elementary program. We will have the results of that study this year!
Can I pick which team I volunteer with at WTPC?
You can certainly provide the name of a team that you prefer, but some teams may already be sponsored. We will try to honor all requests, but cannot promise that you will be placed with your first choice team. All our teams are great and will appreciate your participation in the day's activities.
We are really interested in starting a gardening initiative at a school? Can UI help facilitate it?
Wow! Thanks for thinking of us. That sounds really fun, but I don't know if our programming team will have the capacity to take that on. Could I maybe recommend some people to reach out to that may be good resources for you?
We don't have a budget for community engagement
We would love to have you volunteer.
Sometimes we work with HR departments to determine how our employee engagement opportunities fit into team building and company culture budgets.
UI's cost per child
$1000
Whats your curriculum based on?
Can I have extra soccer ball tickets with my sponsorship?
Measure the value of the relationship, consider the sponsorship value, talk to becca about how we are looking on space, be tactful if the answer is no, if the answer is yes, be enthusiastic.