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mokenamessenger.com news
the Mokena Messenger | February 21, 2019 | 5
Ivy League Kids more than day care for children
Rochelle McAuliffe
Freelance Reporter
They’ve got vans that drive
around town. They’ve got trailers
at local schools. They even have a
sign glowing in the night on 191st
Avenue. They’re Ivy League Kids,
and they’re here to help the community.
Over 20 years ago, while working
with the Lincoln-Way Area
Youth Commission, Jackie Evans
asked herself why children from
strong backgrounds can still go
down the wrong path. After observation
and research, she realized
that the biggest common denominator
was no positive peer group
after school. After understanding
the problem, she decided to come
up with a solution, and in 2003,
the Ivy League Before and After
School Program was born at 8500
W. 191st St. in Mokena.
Established 16 years ago in the
same location, Ivy League Kids has
provided quality programming that
focuses on fitness recreation and
academic enrichment in a healthy,
safe environment to all students in
kindergarten through eighth grade.
In addition to their Mokena location,
Ivy League operates in nine
local school districts to provide
after-school programming.
Its main mission is simple: to
serve families. Ivy League Kids
doesn’t just serve its students, but
the entire family, as well.
“If they had the choice, everybody
would be home with their
kids, but the truth is that we have
to work. We want to provide programs
that the parents are happy
about and the kids are excited
about, and that the parents know
they can depend on,” said Joe Evans,
CEO of Ivy League Kids.
As Chief Operating Officer Dan
Evans explained, Ivy League Kids
helps parents to balance the challenge
of working and ensuring
their children are safe and cared
for.
“Between getting on a train,
commuting to the city and sometimes
having a 12-hour day, we’re
here to help those parents by making
sure we’re enriching their lives
around school hours,” Dan Evans
said.
Not only does Ivy League provide
after-school programming,
but they also offer recreational
basketball leagues, a Montessori
preschool, day-off programming
and school break camps and summer
camp, making it a home away
from home for many.
With sports, art, homework help
and a positive social environment,
the after-school program is a place
that many Ivy League students
look forward to spending their afternoons.
However, come time for
summer camp, Ivy League is one
of the hottest places in town for
children.
“We’re so excited for summer.
After school, we’re trying to fit so
much in before their parent picks
them up, but during the summer,
the world is our oyster,” Dan Evans
said. “We’re here to help them
create a summer of choices. It’s
their summer, not ours, and we’re
just here to help you have a good
time.”
Summer activities include such
clubs as baking, drama or writing
club, field trips and trips to the
pool that the students can choose
from.
While it’s easy to dream of the
upcoming summer, the memory
of the polar vortex still lingers in
the mind of many. Not even the
brutal cold could stop Ivy League,
as they stayed open and operating
even with a wind chill of 50 below
zero at some points.
“Home Depot was open, Target
was open, the grocery store was
open — that meant people still
had to go to go to work. Those
parents still needed a safe and
positive place for their kids to go,”
Dan Evans said. “We’re here to
serve those families when we can,
and sometimes that means serving
them on the coldest day in 20
years.”
A parent information night for
District 159 parents is scheduled
to be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb.
25, at the Ivy League Rec Center,
Kris O’Connor (middle), senior director of business development at Ivy League Kids in Mokena, checks in
with (left to right) Sophia Medena, 12, Kaitlyn Bonovich, 10, and Olivia Suva, 8, while they complete a craft in
the day-off program Friday, Feb. 15. Photos by Rochelle McAuliffe/22nd Century Media
During the day-off program, Chris Greene, 10, sends a kickball soaring for his team.
located at 8500 W. 191st St. Information
about before and after
school programming for the 2019-
2020 school year and upcoming
summer camps will be discussed.
Families are invited to attend, and
staff will be on-site to host activities
for children. For more information,
call (815) 464-1265.