YPP @ SNCC 50th Anniversary

Join us in honoring and celebrating The Young People's Project (YPP) and our network of history makers during these historic times.  YPP has begun the first quarter of 2010 with national awards, fundraising, and strategic development, Leading and Organizing and preparing young people for the future.

In February 2010, NBC News and theGrio.com chose Omo Moses as one of the "History Makers In The Making," honoring Omo's leadership in the fields of Education and Activism, trumpeting YPP's national math literacy work  and Quality Education as a Constitutional Right initiative (hyperlink to op-ed).  This national recognition is shared throughout YPP, a network of history makers.

We're highlighting recent fundraising and organizing to support YPP participation at the upcoming SNCC 50th Anniversary Conference.  YPP youth and adults will join veterans and leaders from the venerable collective of civil rights organizers to commemorate the founding of SNCC.

YPP is a family of leaders.  Check out profiles of young people in Miami, where YPP faced the challenges and led support initiatives for families effected by the Earthquake in Haiti.  As well, meet a new YPP leader, Kessen Green, regional director at the Greater Boston site and learn about the business planning process underway at YPP.

We appreciate all those who participated in our fund development, learn more about the success of these initiatives.  Thanks to your help, YPP is capitalizing on its growth opportunities.   

Year-End Campaign Recap

YPP's Year End Campaign was a huge success, raising $62,500. Congratulations to all of the students from Greater Boston, Mississippi, Chicago, Michigan, Hamilton College and Los Angeles, who raised over $15,000 to attend the SNCC 50th conference. YPP warmly thanks all contributers and organizers for their tremendous efforts.   We not only raised capital support for the organization, but also increased awareness around our ongoing work in communities across the country, gifts continue to arrive well into 2010! Some of the giving trends included a jump in alumni giving, up 50% as well as targeted giving, with donations earmarked for particular sites and initiatives.  The year-end support has bolstered resource for our latest initiative called mYPP Stories, providing YPP youth with digital storytelling training and technology to capture how they learn, teach, lead and organize in their communities.

Please consider supporting YPP today.

YPP @ SNCC 50th

This week, YPP is participating in an historic gathering with veteran civil rights leaders to celebrate the founding of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). Fifty years ago Ella Baker organized the meeting that led to the birth of SNCC.  We'd like to use this historic occasion to bring YPP students and staff together from around the country to introduce ourselves to the community whose work and legacy we've inherited.

In the 1980's Bob Moses founded the Algebra Project to work with teachers, students and communities to improve the quality of math education for all students, and to work for a constitutional amendment to grant all children the right to a quality education. YPP grew out of the work of the Algebra Project in MS and Cambridge, MA. Since our inception in 1996 The Young People’s Project has been empowering young people to impact their communities by teaching other young people math. In 2010 we have continued expanding our organization across the nation with new sites in Michigan, Florida and Ohio through the AP, YPP has inherited SNCC's ideals of participatory democracy and youth empowerment, and is dedicated to using education, and math literacy specifically, as an organizing tool to involve young people in working to improve the quality of life for all children.  

Learn a bit more about our history

YPP Miami- Answering the Call

YPP Miami gathered and organized in the wake of Haiti's disastrous earthquake in January 2010.  YPP Miami is physically based in a community known as "Little Haiti" and many of the YPP youth leaders are Haitian, the decision to "take action as a family," as described by site director Sharayna Rolle, was immediate and personal.  Well before the news reported the extent of devastation and loss of life, Sharayna called an emergency meeting with YPP Miami members, and focused on one question, "What can we do?"  

The youth discussed and decided to take action the very next week.  In small teams, the youth visited a neighboring community, canvassing door-to-door with flyers and collecting clothes and cash.  While these efforts were successful, the students wanted to address longer term support for youth and families effected by the earthquake.  They discussed using their community outreach and skills as YPP leaders to connect with displaced youth.  They are currently ramping up for their first outreach campaign for Summer 2010 and plan to partner with local relief organizers to reach their goals.

YPP Miami also looked inward and realized that YPP leaders who recently immigrated from Haiti was unable to complete college applications and apply for financial support because of their residency status.  YPP Miami put out a call to the network to raise support for the youth leader- within 2 days of overwhelmingly generous responses, the goal was reached and the student will be able to file appropriate documentation.  It is the process of receiving, sharing and supporting that has re-focused the YPP mission for the young leaders of Miami.  Support YPP Miami's Efforts (YPP Miami contact- Sharayna Rolle)

QECR- Shaping the Demand for Quality Education

Quality Education as a Constitutional Right is a national organizing effort that works with students, parents, teachers, school administrators, public officials, legal experts, and community members to transform American public education into an international model of excellence for all of America’s students. Through local organizing strategies that are school and community based, QECR seeks to initiate a national dialogue about high quality education as a fundamental right, protected by the Constitution. 

Sign up to get more info about the upcoming, "We The People Tour," that is being launched with the publication of the book, Quality Education as a Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement to Transform Public Schools.

Business Planning for Future Expansion

Over the past 8 months, the entire YPP community has contributed to the development of a business plan, led by Root Cause and the Interaction Institute for Social Change.  The planning process has included review of YPP's mission and the social problem we work to solve.  The process has also engaged committed partners like William Traynor at Lawrence Community Works who describes the experience as "a tremendous opportunity for people to explore with each other about the essence of YPP."  Once completed, the business plan will serve as a roadmap for growth and sustainability, support the acquisition of resources, provide a method to monitor and measure performance, help establish partnerships and act as ongoing communication tool.