The Urban League of Portland is proud to announce that we are gearing up for another summer of youth programming.
We have had a long history of serving the youth of Portland through our Youth Academy. This year Youth Academies will take place between June 21 – and August 10, 2022. The programming days will be Tuesdays through Thursdays. We have reserved Fridays for weekly outings. After having a successful year last year, we have decided to make the program even better with a diverse programming lineup. The program will have three tracks, for students between the ages of 8- and 18 (elementary, middle, and high school students) and our signature Feed the Folks market.
Feed the Folks is a youth-led farmers' market that takes place every Thursday in the parking lot of the Urban League of Portland’s North Portland headquarters. The youth are responsible for the entire operation of the market. They have weekly meetings to discuss what products and produce will be sold at the market. They also will attend financial empowerment workshops to learn the basics of business and personal financial management. This initiative will give our youth, hands-on experience on how to run a successful business. The Urban League of Portland will hire for the Feed the Folks program through the Summerworks program so if you’d like to be matched with us, apply today.
We know what a toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on our youth for the past two years, so we are looking forward to doing all we can to relieve some of that burden. We know self-care and celebration of our culture and community will provide some much-needed restoration. We have created several partnerships focused on healing our bodied and our minds from the isolation for the summer. On Fridays, we are partnering with Portland Parks and Recreation’s TeenForce at Matt Dishman Community Center. The TeenForce Pass provides FREE access to scheduled drop-in activities and designated open swims at five Portland Parks & Recreation community centers.
And while we will be focused on healing from the past two years, we will also work to plan for the future, including career and educational exploration, with a wide variety of Black professionals sharing their career and education journeys so the youth have opportunities to learn about their work opportunities and benefit from their mentorship.
Additionally, we will be offering:
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Trip to the Portland Zoo
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Trip to the Coast
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Golfing lessons
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Tennis in the park
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High ropes course
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Visit a Black-owned farm
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Camping trip
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Swimming lessons
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Yoga in the park
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Financial empowerment
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Health & Wellness education
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Beauty and personal hygiene workshops
All youth programming will be in-person following Oregon Health Authority’s guidelines for gathering safely. By enrolling in Urban League Youth Academy, students will have a safe place to spend their summer. During this time, they will gain life skills, and build lifetime relationships with their peers, and build cultural pride.
If you have any questions about our Urban League Youth Academy, please send your email to YouthPrograms@ulpdx.org
