what we do.
We Support THE minority and disadvantaged to Reach Their Full Potential
What We Do
01.
—UCC Equitable Housing
Program providing access to safe, high-quality and affordable homes to minority and disadvantage at risk community members.
Educating disadvantaged community members on real estate topics, the importance of ownership, historic obstacles of racial disparities and financial coaching opportunities to encourage home ownership and increase access to loans to build future wealth.
Initiative to reshape and clean up disadvantage neighborhoods. Promote cleanliness and healthy curb appeal and maintenance of property in order to destroy the perception that low income families do not take care of and or destroy properties causing blockage to entry into housing and unfair advantages to others who are not profiled based on circumstance or incomes.
Collaboration and Partnership with Dynasty Lawn Care to hire disadvantaged community members and especially felons and those with bad history to gain work experience and generate income to support families and work towards a down payment for home ownership.
Teach skills through the program as a work intern that will allow participants to be inspired to own and learn how to maintain owned property. Develop accountability to neighborhood maintance responsibilities to benefit the entire community.
Work employment program established by Hamra enterprises to assist employees to gain ownership to housing to increase consistent stable disadvantaged families.
02.
Civic engagement & Involvement
Teach Democracy Class to train the history and importance of staying involved in voting and the outcomes connected to participation. Encourage and promote active diverse non partisan community member participation in city hall events and local knowledge of things taking place within the community to maintain equality, equity, and inclusive community solutions or outcomes.
A healthy democracy requires active participation and prepares its people to self-govern by providing a practical understanding of how the government works, how power is leveraged and the skills to exercise their rights and represent their interests.
Engage the community into city hall agendas. Get disadvantaged community members aware of issues that will affect them and encourage them to share their own voice in these meetings to create diverse equitable and inclusive city outcomes and solutions for issues.
Get disadvantaged members aware of local leadership meetings and voting opportunities. Increase the perception of power disadvantaged community members have for changes that are direct and more meningful to them on a local level.
Ensure community members have library cards in order to gain knowledge and maintain access to their freedoms. Share the history of how African Americans at one time were not allowed to read and even after having the ability to read they were refused access to the library and had decreased access to relevant and educational resources. Library drive should inspire disadvantaged community members to stay educated and stay connect to literature.
Year round initiative to keep the community members registered to vote locally and nationally. Keeping members prepared, educated and aware of as much they need to know to make honest valuable decisions and choices as a contributor to how we shape the future of our community. Empower each member to realize and utilize their freedom to make a choice that impacts us as a entire community.
03.
Diversity Equity and Inclusion
Collaborate with local partners and the entire community to increase diversity, equity and inclusion knowledge and practice in the community . Act as the community liaison to increase corporate diversity in talent pipelines.
Host events , empowered conversations, cohorts, projects, and specialized programs to further our mission across diverse populations; Take empowered members out of repeated cycles to create new community leaders that become necessary ASSETS to continued inclusive community social success.
The United Community Change Freedom Celebration Walk is diverse in culture, educational and progressive. An opportunity for you to be apart of the change that promotes community unity and diverse and inclusive civic participation, increase non partisan community knowledge and the amount of diverse people to act on their legal right to vote locally and nationally in upcoming elections; All while celebrating the history and holiday that laid the foundation of those rights.
Our version of Panel discussion and Podcasting show that allows for ongoing communication between community members to break barriers of perspective, experience and thoughts. Our goal is to take sensitive topics and reveal those unspoken words so people can gain real insight to the reasons behind certain actions, and decisions in various communities and work on increasing their own Diversity Equity and Inclusion awareness efforts on a personal corporate and community contributory level.
Scheduled Meetups for African American , BiPoc , Minority and disadvantaged community member groups and their supporters to mingle and get to know one another.
Inspire community members from various backgrounds to engage with each other and embrace others not like them.
This is a way for the majority can find and access these groups and create positive meaningful relationships through entertainment and fun.
Under represented and minority communities are plagued with single parenthood and the responsibilities being placed on one individual. This program is meant to mentor , inspire and fundraise resources for single parents and give them the pat on the back they deserve that usually is not shown. We host a Single parents rock 5k run that allows participants to gather resources while on the trail. Its fun for the entire family and promotes health and wellness.
This Program is a program to assist non traditionally educated minorities more education to advance their positions to senior level positions as well increase community recruitment for minorities in secondary education to senior level position . Mentor and inspire college students with a coach to not be fearful of applying for leadership roles within organizations and teaching negotiation to ensure employment opportunity equality.
04.
Healthier Food Access For All
Provide Mental Health and Well being mentorship to individuals to increase knowledge and access to information to increase the positive healthy lifestyles.
Support and Create programs that increase individuals ability to cope with life stages, gain “Access to healthier food and encourage active lifestyles amongst disadvantaged and at risk community members.
Introduce marginalized communities to the benefits of home gardening and pursuing Farming careers to increase food access to these populations.
Work with local nurses and doctors to raise awareness of the various gaps and struggles faced in the disadvantaged communities and assist to find solutions or temporary support and assistance.
Grass roots program to bring BiPoc communities back to their roots and connected to the earth where their journeys began. We teach , mentor and inpire members and families to grow fresh produce from their own back yard gardens to decrease expenses and promote health awareness.
United Community Change hopes to gain interest in minority, bipoc and under represented members or families to become local farmers in order to encourage furthering their education with our partner Springfield Community Gardens to engage in farming incubators that will increase their success rate. This will meet our goal to increase food access and also develop a opportunity to decrease the gap of minorities in agriculture.
Soul Fresh Farms Project is the For profit arm of Back yard gardens that will teach families how to turn their extra produce into a profit by partnering with Farmers market and or setting up small business platforms where members can franchise to Soul fresh farms have access to resources as a extension of the main business. Each Soul Fresh Farm will focus on one crop or a few and use the exchange method to promote sharing and community collaboration. Each Farmer will need to go through a farming education with our partner Springfield community gardens or other resource they choose to access education for successful outcomes.
Various running events to keep minorities and disadvantage family groups active and in nature. Due to the high obesity rates of African Americans and Minorities we feel it best to do our part to keep them active and supportive as a family with family events.
To increase our support for hunger and cover anywhere we cant provide we support Food Harvest mission by putting on a fundraiser to contribute to their cause. . We will have food drives that will collect can goods from our programs and or donations that we will provide directly to their organization to distribute.
05.
Youth Empower Us Program
Taking Bipoc and Disadvantaged communities and teaching diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles. Provide opportunities for diverse youth interaction with community members via fun education yearly programs and summer activities.
Introduce Stem- Projects , Basic life skills and skill up opportunities to fight income and opportunity inequality.
This year we are focusing on a coding program to fight future employment opportunity disparity gaps. Our challenge is to get as many diverse disadvantaged youth learning coding as possible and break statistical career opportunities barriers in computer science and senior level positions. We will take students right now as young as PK- 12th grade who have a desire to learn. We are seeking willing Undergrad or graduates who would like to oversee, volunteer and lead this program with us.
Popcorn and movie nights for marginalized neighborhoods to give a positive activity in which to engage and assist families to keep them on track.
A healthy democracy requires active participation and prepares its people to self-govern by providing a practical understanding of how the government works, how power is leveraged and the skills to exercise their rights and represent their interests.
We strive to take the students to State buildings and Washington DC where it all happens to expose new experiences and inspire students to continue engaging in these spaces.
A night full of fun for youth age 16 and younger to come into a safe space to dance play games, competitions and hang out with friends. DEI Lit is a way for UCC to engage with youth and share with them the benefits of diversity how to see equity and inclusion within themselves and be accepting of other cultures whom they come into contact within the DEI lit night. We give out prizes to those who show or whom we recognize have high DEI lit morals and character on a consistent basis .
Program assisting those marginalized community members who don’t foresee themselves in a University pathway. This Program is meant to help give them other options to prevent dropping out of high school and create value in education and getting their diploma.
We show them trades and other skills that is worth graduating and help develop those natural skills that might be business worthy and useful that can be accessed with family small amount of further education beyond high school. Students will value the ability to generate income while also doing something they love without the stress of going to a 4 year college and delayed employment opportunity.
empowered JUSTICE &
re-entry Program
We advocate for Justice for underepresented communities. Advocacy through marching and drives, fundraisers. Assist and support individuals in prison pay for representation and or guidance. Help life time sentenced not guilty verdicts who may be innocent with essentials and communication with loved ones.
The mission of the UCC Re- Entry Program is to assist with emergency funds for adults who have been released from State or Federal corrections facilities within the last twelve months. Working with the support of various community agencies and service organizations and whenever resources are available, A UCC Re-Entry Case worker will meet or assist with the needs of those beginning new lives after incarceration, and who have exhausted or are not eligible for other sources of assistance (be it with housing, utilities, medical, pharmaceutical, or food). Each referral or request for help will be individually assessed to clarify the viability of the award and the needs of the applicant. We hope that through this, we will reduce the occurrence of recidivism.
Visit high schools and put on events to engage the youth on how to interact with police and the rights they have as a citizen. Work with local law enforcement to decrease police brutality and or community racial disparities with law enforcement.
Membership Cycle
To promote growth and accomplishment and encourage a solution driven mentality that continuously seeks to pour back into the community .
Corporate and Non-Profit Networks
Bringing in Collaborative efforts throughout the community to cause change.
Youth Program
Engaging youth from the start of issues to keep consistent affective solutions apart of our mission and use preventative method to decrease impact on future generations.
Empowered Member Profiles
Black American Families
Families affected by Criminal Histories
Elderly and Disabled
Low income as specified by US Government thresholds
UCC CORE 5 VALUES
1. Stay loyal to the mission
Be flexible with our thoughts, time finances and ideas ensure the founders purpose is always being met with fresh influences and current tactics that match the environment and needs of the community within the mission
2. Keep our communities' best interests
As an Organization where it pertains to ensuring justice and economic equality and do what we feel is best to allocate assistance to areas in order to balance injustice.
3. Give our youth platform and voice
To ensure progressive changes that are continuous and effective as is always current to the needs of the community
4. Never turn a blind eye
Committed to bringing awareness to injustices and intervene when possible
5. Treat others as you yourself would want to be treated
As individual members by setting aside personal preferences and instead deciding to be flexible, open and contributory to an entire community involved platform that works to do what is best for everyone represented in the community we create change. We put character first.
things we do
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arts & Crafts
