The past 10 years of UrbanPromise Charlotte have been filled with special moments. Milestone events like Senior Signing Days. Fun Friday field trips during the summer. Countless small mentoring moments between StreetLeaders and campers, moments which, when added up, make UrbanPromise a community of belonging and compassion.
As I look ahead to where we are going, I’m excited about what’s next for our UrbanPromise Charlotte community. We have hopes and plans to deepen and strengthen our continuum of programs that support over 600 children, youth, and young adults through their 20-year leadership journey.
I’m excited about these plans and look forward to sharing more about them in the coming months. I also know that our future will bring challenges we don’t yet foresee – yet I’m confident in our ability to navigate these challenges because of the incredible people who make up the UrbanPromise Charlotte community.
One of these people is Ayana.
Ayana is a senior StreetLeader at our site in northeast Charlotte, Camp Love. When Ayana talks about the growth she’s experienced at UrbanPromise, she always shares a powerful refrain:
“I’m able to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.”
“Coming to UrbanPromise, I was shy. You wouldn’t get a full sentence from me,” Ayana elaborates. “Now, I put myself out there without feeling embarrassed.”
There is beauty in becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. As any good athlete, musician, or leader will tell you – discomfort is where the growth happens.
And at UrbanPromise, Ayana did not have to face this discomfort alone. Alongside UrbanPromise staff members and fellow StreetLeaders, Ayana strengthened her voice, grew her confidence, and discovered a peace that carries her through tough times.
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“[UrbanPromise] is a support system. It’s like a little family.”
That family sparks dreams and aspirations that help our StreetLeaders discover their purpose and meaning for their future.
“I want to go to college and major in special education and psychology. Working with our E.G.R. [or ‘Extra Grace Required’] kids and with many of our kids [having experienced trauma], UrbanPromise made me want to major in that.”
We can’t wait to see the adult leader Ayana becomes in the future. We are encouraged to know that her experience as a StreetLeader today will only strengthen her ability to support young people down the road.
As she prepares to graduate in the spring, she shared her hopes for UrbanPromise Charlotte and specifically for the young StreetLeaders at Camp Love. “My hope is for them to see the bigger picture of UrbanPromise, not just looking at it as a job. I want them to see the importance of reaching a child in the community.”
Ayana continues by sharing her hopes for her campers. “I want my campers to become StreetLeaders and hope they are able to look back when they get older and think, ‘UrbanPromise did shape me and made me into the little human being I am now.’”
This is how the UrbanPromise model works. StreetLeaders like Ayana courageously become “comfortable with the uncomfortable” and grow into inspiring role models for younger students. Those younger students become the next generation of StreetLeaders. The cycle of leadership continues.
But this cycle begins – and has always begun – with your generosity. Through your generosity, you are not just investing in the present. You are shaping the future leaders and change-makers that will impact Charlotte (and beyond). Your support ensures that UrbanPromise Charlotte remains a constant support system, a family to those who need it most.
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We know today that Charlotte is a city where opportunity is not equality distributed. Your support ensures our students have access to the educational, mental, and spiritual support needed to thrive in Charlotte not only today, but in the future.
I do not know what the opportunity gap or the issues of tomorrow will look like for Charlotte. However, I trust in the ability of our StreetLeaders – leaders, like Ayana, who are comfortable with the uncomfortable, to change this city and make it stronger for all.
We need your help to make this happen. Your contribution, no matter the size, has the power to transform the lives of young leaders and transform Charlotte!
Your support matters and we are grateful for your commitment to the UrbanPromise community.
We are wishing you a wonderful new year filled with joy, freedom, hope, and love.
Watch this short video to hear from our StreetLeaders and StreetLeader Alumni on their hopes for the future of UrbanPromise Charlotte!
Watch Ayana’s Promise Breakfast speech from the 2022 Promise Breakfast! She speaks on what peace means to her and how she’s found peace at UrbanPromise.