UCCP
  1. Name of Organization: University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia (UCCP)
  2. Website: www.temple.edu/uccp

  3. Geographic Area : Philadelphia and its environs

  4. Description of Organization / mission:

    The University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia (UCCP) was formed in 1997 to leverage the University’s human capital resources to assist neighborhood-based organizations in their community building efforts.  We conduct action-oriented, community-driven research and provide training, technical assistance and direct services in the areas of community development and youth civic engagement.  Our approach in both areas is one of collaboration and intensive network development across communities, universities, age cohorts, and socioeconomic backgrounds.  The underlying objective is to increase the capacity of individuals and organizations to articulate their goals and to develop and strengthen community assets.

    The UCCP’s youth civic engagement initiatives are designed to empower youth to use their voice for positive social change.  Through collaborative research, project-based learning, and partnerships with community-based organizations, government agencies, and non-profit institutions, we help youth develop their individual and collective capacity to advocate for issues of concern to them and their communities. Our program is designed to help youth see the connection between their “individual” concerns and larger public debates and to develop strategies for inserting their voice into those debates.

  5. Description of Key Programs & Initiatives:

    Temple Youth VOICES
    The centerpiece of our youth civic engagement work is Temple Youth VOICES, a project-based, experiential learning program that helps young people develop the critical skills necessary to navigate their environments more effectively, develop their individual and collective voices in order to participate in larger societal conversations, build self esteem, and develop communication and critical thinking skills as well as technical proficiencies.  VOICES focuses on building community awareness, fostering connections to institutions, and developing civic competencies. The program is built on the premise of trusting mentorship relationships between college students, who are trained and supported by the UCCP to serve as instructors, and the youth in our program. The VOICES program is conducted in community-based settings and on Temple’s campus.

    Pathways for Youth Leadership and Development 
    As part of our continuing organizational and programmatic growth, we have consistently tried to “push the envelope” of youth leadership development by encouraging VOICES participants to assume more responsibilities, beyond what the typical VOICES class can provide, and by developing the opportunities to make this happen.  These “pathways” include:  Youth Driven Media; Food For Thought (sustainable agriculture, healthy eating, and youth entrepreneurship): The Temple Youth VOICES Leadership Corps; and Community-based internships. 

    Youth Driven Media
    Combining hands-on media training with media literacy, the development of critical thinking skills and a focused exposure to community and social justice issues, this pathway provides youth with structured opportunities to use media as a tool for social change.  Working as a team to identify, explore, and frame the issue, youth develop the requisite research and leadership skills to address key issues in their communities and beyond.  Additionally, they develop project management, teamwork, decision-making and other work-related skills.  Through public screenings of their work, youth develop communication and presentation skills while using media as a tool for youth voice and for stimulating community dialogue around key issues.  The issues that youth have addressed through this medium include:
    • Violence and Safety
    • Media stereotyping
    • Service disparities across communities
    • Nutrition
    • College Access
    • Impact of Rap Music on behavior
    • Stereotypes Around Homelessness

    Food For Thought (FFT)
    Urban and suburban youth are collectively exploring the interrelated issues of food access, sustainable agriculture, and socially responsible youth entrepreneurship. In partnership with other nonprofit organizations, FFT involves exposure to and work on community supported organic farms, cooking with macrobiotic and other health oriented chefs, and learning about recycling, composting and other environmentally sound practices.  Additionally, youth are exploring the barriers to and opportunities for healthy eating in their schools and communities.   Using food and the environment as the foci, the overall objective of FFT is to provide the appropriate encouragements, opportunities, skills, and awareness that enable young people to navigate and begin to shape the larger social, political and economic forces that impact their lives and their communities in just and humane ways.

    Temple Youth VOICES Leadership Corps
    Many youth face a wide range of barriers to higher education, including inadequate academic preparation, poor standardized test scores, and lack of information regarding college access and financial aid.  Formed in Summer 2005, the Temple Youth VOICES Leadership Corps is aimed at supporting high school juniors and seniors, and recent high school graduates, at an individual and collective level, to make the transition to higher education and employment.  Temple student mentors work with these youth to help build their skills and abilities so that they are better equipped to access higher education.  We are currently developing a curriculum that will cover issues such as accessing financial aid, completing college applications, and connecting to necessary resources such as the College Access Centers and scholarship funds.  The Leadership Corps is engaged in an advocacy effort aimed at raising awareness around the systemic barriers to higher education faced by students of color from low-income communities.  Members of the Temple Youth VOICES Leadership Corps have produced 2 short films highlighting these barriers and have been showing them to diverse audiences as tool to begin addressing the struggles that urban youth face in pursuit of higher education. 

    Community-Based Internships:
    Through our vast network of community based and nonprofit organizations, we have placed youth in internships that enable them to apply and further augment the skills and civic orientation that they developed in the VOICES program.  These internships have included: City Year, The Experiment in International Living, The National Constitution Center, and The Philadelphia Foundation among others.  As we move ahead with the internship program, we will develop structured training and reflection components to ensure that interns receive the support they need to take full advantage of the internship experience. 

  6. Number of Youth Involved: 600 since 2002; approximately 150 per year.

  7. Who to contact if you want to learn more or get involved:  Catie Cavanaugh;  catiec@temple.edu