Bright Promises 2023 Awards

Jessica Yavitz

2023 Champion for Children Award‍

The Champion for Children Award recognizes a civic or community leader who has shown exceptional dedication to helping at-risk children and youth in Metropolitan Chicago.

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Jessica Yavitz is passionate about effecting change. Under her leadership, the Chicago Fire Foundation (CFF), the charitable arm of the Chicago Fire Football Club, has made significant contributions to at-risk youth in underserved areas in Chicago. Her ability to adjust to the needs of the community and find practical solutions to complex problems of Chicago inspires others.    

In 2013, Jessica established the Foundation’s internationally recognized proprietary P.L.A.Y.S. (Participate, Learn, Achieve, Youth, Soccer) Program, tying soccer and Social and Emotional learning (SEL) to help improve academics. Since then, more than 250,000 hours of soccer has been played by more than 4,000 youth across 50 Chicago Public Schools in the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.  

To Yavitz, it is imperative for the Chicago Fire Foundation to be at the forefront of impactful initiatives, helping to bring safer communities and programming to so many across the city. Yavitz’s professional commitment to make permanent improvements and contributions to the welfare of low-income and at-risk youth throughout Chicago is second to none. Giving back is part of her DNA and Chicago is a better place because of her commitment to making a difference.  

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Maria Woltjen

2023 Lifetime Achievement Award‍

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes 15+ years of outstanding contributions in a child-welfare profession.

Maria Woltjen founded the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights in 2004 to advocate for the rights and best interests of unaccompanied and separated immigrant children facing deportation. At the time, there was no Child Advocate for children in immigration proceedings. Without guaranteed access to counsel to represent their wishes and no one to fight for their best interests, children often faced the byzantine immigration system all by themselves.  

From the start, her work wasn’t limited to individual cases but to changing federal policy. She worked with Congress to enact a provision in an anti-trafficking law that allows for the official appointment of Child Advocates to the most vulnerable immigrant children. That 2008 law helped change the way our immigration system treats children seeking safety. In 2013, Congress recognized the transformative role of Child Advocates and expanded the program to serve far more unaccompanied and separated children thrown into government custody and into adversarial court proceedings.  

Today the Young Center is a national organization with nearly 80 staff members in 8 offices across the country. Her organization has protected the rights and best interests of thousands of unaccompanied and separated children from more than 80 countries across the world.

Denzel Burke and Destine Phillips

2023 Elevating Youth Voices Award‍

The Elevating Youth Voices Award recognizes an early to mid-career professional who is dedicated to empowering and amplifying the voices of Chicago youth leaders. The Elevating Youth Voices Award is accompanied by an honorarium of $5,000.

Denzel Burke is a community builder, facilitator, and organizer. Destine Phillips is a Chicago native, activist and entrepreneur. Together, they are the Founders and Directors of REAL Youth Initiative, a program which develops revolutionary consciousness and community among currently and formerly incarcerated youth to work towards the abolition of prisons and the conditions that (re)produce them.  

The duo founded R.E.A.L Youth Initiative in August of 2021. With the R.E.A.L Youth Initiative, they hope to take their lived experiences and create positive change among incarcerated youth. When they were serving their time, they needed genuine acceptance of their true selves. In addition, they needed attainable role models to inspire hope for their future, connections to people and ideas, and outlets outside of their detention walls to help create a safe space to envision their future and goals. They feel fortunate to now have access to these resources. With their commitment to R.E.A.L, they recognize that imprisoned youth are in dire need of similar opportunities. And with this reversal of roles, they hope to change the course of the future for other youth, as it has for them.

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