By Christy Silness
I am excited to tell you about Youth Uprising, a not-for-profit located in East Oakland, seeded and supported by Alameda County and the City of Oakland. Jonah and I were fortunate to be given a thorough site tour and we were both impressed and inspired by what they have created.
Youth Uprising is an organization that emerged from the needs articulated by Oakland youth in 1997 after mounting tension erupted in violence at Castlemont Highschool. In response, a group of students surveyed 1200 students and identified lack of employment opportunities, poor educational resources, and lack of community and personal safety as the root causes of problems facing youth. They envisioned a safe space combined with community support and resources where basic needs are met, skills are taught, dreams are encouraged, and potential is actualized. They took their request to the Board of Supervisors.
In response, Alameda County provided a building and staffing to make the students vision a reality. Opening their doors in May of 2005, Youth Uprising is housed in a beautiful and well managed building. It is a community center comprised of a youth led cafe (Corner’s Cafe), Moroccan Soul living room area, indoor/outdoor amphitheater for youth performances/talent shows, classrooms, media rooms, dance hall, and holistic community clinic offering both integrative and traditional medicine. Membership to the Youth Uprising center is offered to Alameda County residents between the ages of 13-24.
Youth Uprising carries out their mission to develop youth leadership by providing a state of the art environment to offer classes that focus on Consciousness Raising, Personal Transformation, and Hard Skill/Leadership Development. Support is given to youth ranging from training for the GED to actualizing a dream of a career in the music business. The list of programs (each with it’s own curriculum) include Youth Leadership and Community Building, Media Arts, Physical Arts, Performance Arts, Material Art, Health and Wellness, Career and Education, and Social Enterprise.
I believe that Youth Uprising is worth our consideration for our 2009 Kindling Grant. It is a solid organization offering a beautiful and nurturing environment to protect, educate and inspire the youth of Alameda County and the City of Oakland. The young women who gave Jonah and I the site tour were obviously inspired, motivated, and completely dedicated to their work at Youth Uprising. If we wish, there would be opportunity for us to get involved on a volunteer level, and they expressed to me that they are interested in an ongoing relationship with their donors. I imagine that Youth Uprising will become a leader (if not already) in the development of community and youth leadership around the United States.
It’s a pleasure to make this organization known to you and if you are interested, you can find out more at: http://www.youthuprising.org/
