Mission Statement

The UCCP prepares and supports youth and young adults to become confident, effective leaders and collaborates with organizations to create cultures that value and integrate the contributions of youth, thereby building stronger communities.

Activities

We carry out our mission through programming, capacity building and applied research activities. Our programming is designed to develop the critical thinking and leadership skills of youth so that they can become agents of social change in their communities and beyond. Our capacity building is focused on helping other organizations to incorporate youth into their decision-making processes. Our research is aimed at informing practice in the areas of youth leadership development, university-community collaboration, and civic engagement.

Leaders Corps

In our efforts to create leadership opportunities for older youth and to promote youth voice within our own organization, we developed the Leaders Corps in 2006. Comprised of college students and older youth who have been through our VOICES programming and our Leadership Development Institute, the Leaders Corps implements both the VOICES and the P.O.W.E.R Internship curricula, recruits program participants, develops and conducts community-based workshops and participates in UCCP staff meetings and planning and hiring decisions.

Constituency