On September 25, 2008 The UCCP received the Red Cross’ Community Partners Award. The award was handed out at the Red Cross annual meeting and celebration of volunteers held at Drexel Hill. Catalina Gonzalez, the Assistant Director, along with the UCCP's Leaders Corp Bo, Malikka, Joi, Gary and Dominic worked with the Red Cross staff and their Youth Council on planning and implementing a Summer Camp on Disaster Preparedness.
On Thursday, September 25th, the UCCP welcomed over 150 people to a screening and discussion of FIRST PERSON, the award winning film directed by Ben Herold that documents the lives of six Philadelphia public high school students who aspire to attend college. Following the film, several members of the Leaders Corps joined Malikka Saeed, one of the six students featured in FIRST PERSON, and State Representative Curtis Thomas for a lively panel discussion of the factors that work against Philadelphia youth striving to realize their dreams of higher education. For more information on the film, please visit http://www.firstpersondocumentary.org.
On September 17th, the UCCP staff and Leaders Corps proudly hosted its first Advisory Board meeting. 
Taking a seat at the table are Kisha Bird, Director of Pennsylvania State Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN); Sharese Bullock, Strategic Partnerships & Marketing Manager at the Listen Up! Youth Media Network; Sonja Peterson-Lewis, Professor of African American Studies at Temple University; Tony Alvarez, Director of School and Community Relations at Marianna Bracetti Academy Charter School; Edurne Irizarry, Assistant Director at Youth United for Change; Sherri Culver, Associate Director of the Media Education Lab at Temple University; and Dominic Eason, UCCP Leaders Corps member and former participant. UCCP is thrilled and honored to have support from this dynamic group of members who bring fresh new perspectives, years of professional expertise and commitment to youth development. The board was developed and facilitated with the consulting help of Laura Otten from the Non Profit Center at LaSalle University.
For the last three months, the UCCP has been working with youth from Students Run Philly Style, Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Center, Teens 4 Good (Greater Philadelphia Federation of Settlements) and the Temple Youth VOICES Project to create and develop a youth initiative to promote health among youth and their communities. The youth are interested in developing a Youth Health Café, which they hope can become a place where youth from around the city can come to learn, share knowledge and participate in activities and workshops, all in the context of a healthy and safe environment. The project has also involved several Temple professors form the departments of Kinesiology and the Business school, graduate students in Public Health and medicine, undergraduate students and alumni.
There are some familiar faces back at VOICES this year. The UCCP has expanded its staff with the additions of Ieshia Nelson, Program Coordinator; Alie Huxta, Internship Coordinator (VISTA); and Natalia Smirnov, Media Coordinator. These three ladies are all recent Temple University Alumni and were also members of the Leaders Corps during their undergraduate careers. They have quickly taken to their new positions and gotten to work. The VOICES 2008-2009 project and internship are set to start after significant recruiting efforts. Also check out the revamped ins and outs of the website: http://www.temple.edu/uccp.
The Temple Youth VOICES Project believes that “You have the P.O.W.E.R."! Which is why we are excited about our VOICES P.O.W.E.R. internship, started last fall, where high school Juniors and Seniors learn how to Prepare, Organize, Write, Educate, and Reform (hence P.O.W.E.R) in the context of social change. Currently, with the terrific work of the new Internship Coordinator - Alie Huxta - we are able to offer the opportunity to more youth and schools in Philadelphia. So far we’ve done info sessions with YouthBuild Charter, New Media Technology Charter, and Science Leadership Academy, and had great interactions with youth excited about working with VOICES. Beginning on Oct 22, the youth will start by participating and organizing a Social Justice Leaders Panel, choosing an issue to focus on, doing a scavenger hunt at City Hall, and learning what individual and collective power they have as youth. Additionally, the P.O.W.E.R Internship will urge youth to be socially conscious of what is happening around them, politically, socially, and economically. With these leadership skills, a heightened social consciousness and new experiences with in the political/institutional landscape of Philadelphia, the VOICES P.O.W.E.R interns will begin their paths to re-shape their communities and use their voice to educate others about the injustice they see in their lives. For more information, contact Alie Huxta at alisonhuxta@yahoo.com.
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