Peer Health Exchange is an organization that trains volunteers to teach health workshops in Chicago Public Schools that would not otherwise have a health curriculum. These workshops include drugs, alcohol, sex, mental health and other vital health topics and also have a strong emphasis on skills (decision-making, communication, advocacy, and more). Not only is the experience extremely rewarding but it is also a ton of fun and gives volunteers the opportunity to meet new people, gain leadership experience, develop public speaking skills, attend networking events city-wide and more!
Here are a few FAQ:
What is the time commitment?
-PHE has one meeting a week (Wednesday from 5 to 6:30) and you must teach one workshop a week on either Thursday or Friday (you can choose when you do this!) Altogether, this is about 3 total hours per week.
Teaching seems a little intimidating. How does it work?
The cool thing about PHE is that we COMPLETELY prepare you for every experience in the classroom. Also, we never send you into the classroom alone!
How hard is it to memorize the workshops?
Not very! This is because the workshops are discussion based; therefore, you do not have memorize anything word for word. Much of the time in the classroom is also spent leading activities, which reduces content that needs memorizing.
For any more information you can e-mail uic@peerhealthexchange.org or come to an info session! The info sessions are as follows:
- Friday, September 4th from 5-6 pm in the Fort Dearborn Room (Above the inner circle)
- Wednesday, September 9th from 5-6 pm in BH 121
- Friday, September 11th from 4-5 pm in Bh 114
The application is open now at peerhealthexchange.org/apply and the deadline is September 11th, 11:59 pm!
