Address

205 W. Dodge Ave

Rantoul, IL 61866

History of Organization

Lincoln’s Challenge was started in 1993 as a pilot project for at-risk youth. The initiative was funded by Congress and is overseen by the National Gaurd. The Illinois division is located on the decommissioned Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, IL. Currently, the youth challenge program is in effect in 29 states; and to date, Illinois has the largest enrollment rate.

Summary of Organization’s Vision, Mission, and Goals

Lincoln’s Challenge (LC) is an organization dedicated to providing life and coping skills, as well as academic and G.E.D preparation to at risk youth. Every year, 1600 students (800 per semester) from throughout Illinois voluntarily participate in the five-month intensive program. Many of the program’s staff is comprised of active and retired military personnel.

There are eight core objectives in “meeting the challenge”:
academic excellence
job skills
physical fitness
leadership/followership
health, sex, education, and nutrition
life coping skills
responsible citizenship
community service

A key element of the program is the continued interaction between cadets and their mentor for one year after graduation, during which cadets are encouraged to maintain program goals.

Our Role in helping the Cadets ‘Meet the Challenge’

Our group was asked to configure and set up 60 newly donated computers. Lincoln’s Challenge was in great need of our assistance because the availability of the computer lab was essential to the cadets December 2007 graduation. The lab had to be completed by Novemeber 7th in order to give the students enough time to complete various computer-based tasks. The time constraint, paired with limited staff, made the project impossible to complete without additional help.

Three key programs needed to be installed on the computers for student use. They were: ‘Meeting the Challenge,’ ‘Read-On’ and ‘G.E.D. 21st Century.’

‘Meeting the Challenge’ is a program designed to help with the LC objectives outlined above. Cadets are required completed the program in order to graduate.

‘Read-On’ enables the students to develop and sustain reading, comprehension, and vocabulary skills. LC staff informed us that “Some cadets have jumped 3 and 4 grade levels in reading test scores after using this software.”

‘G.E.D. 21st Century’ works to develop the cadets’ testing skills and increase their overall knowledge. The success of this skill-building program enables most of the cadets to pass critical sections of the G.E.D. test.

Description of Physical Space

The computer lab we configured is located in Grissom Hall. A number of educational classrooms for Lincoln’s Challenge are also located in the building. In addition to LC’s use of the facility, two museums, a library, and a theatre also call Grissom Hall home (the Rantoul Theater Group, the National Korean War Veterans Museum & Library, and the Octave Chanute Aviation Museum). For images of the actual space, please visit our Photo Gallery.