Our mission

Our mission is to bring the UU youth of NYC together in a safe space to cultivate friendship, faith and leadership. Through positive reinforcement and team building exercises we intend to make a close knit group of youth that will be a force of social justice in the city we live in. We will incorporate social, community service and leadership training events into one package, building towards an award ceremony and scholarship program at the end of the season. 

How we work

We will officially be kicking off the program in the fall of 2018 but will start introducing it in March. Once ASPYRE is off the ground, our intention is to hold at least one social event and one community service event each month. Each event will have space for youth to practice leadership skills, connect with their peers, and gain merit for exemplary performance. Every event that a youth attends will give them a merit point towards earning rewards at the end of the year. In addition to the merit that youth will gain by just showing up, they will earn more merits based on their performance in several categories: leadership, teamwork, creativity, etc. The merits will not only provide awards for hard work, but also scholarships for seniors heading off to college. Throughout the season we will hold fundraising events to support different causes (chosen by the youth); we will put a percentage of the earnings into a scholarship fund to be awarded for the senior(s) who have accumulated the most merits throughout the year. Each year a youth participates in the program will grant additional merits to acknowledge dedication. We hope this system will provide incentive for youth to attend frequently and award their hard work. Disclaimer: This system will continue to be refined during the course of the program, addressing conflicts as they arise.