OUR Mission
UrbanPromise takes youth on a 20-year leadership journey from ages 5 to 25 using the model of reach a child, raise a leader, restore community. Today, over 600 children, youth, and young adults between the age of 5-25 participate in UrbanPromise Charlotte’s continuum of Out-of-School-Time, StreetLeader, and Alumni Support Programs at 4 neighborhood sites across Charlotte.
When kids walk through UrbanPromise’s doors, it isn’t just for a single summer or school year. We invest in students for the long term - so that they may one day become leaders who invest back into their own community.
REACH A CHILD
Students aged 5-13 attend afterschool and summer camp programs receiving academic support, targeted literacy instruction, recreation, and community.
UrbanPromise currently serves around 360 students in four Charlotte neighborhoods.
RAISE A LEADER
Students ages 14-18 are employed as “StreetLeaders,” serving as mentors, role models, and counselors for the younger campers. StreetLeaders live in the same neighborhood as the campers they serve and each receive post-secondary pathway guidance and access to mental health services.
UrbanPromise currently employs around 130 StreetLeaders in four Charlotte neighborhoods.
restore community
Alumni ages 18-25 receive support so they persist through and graduate college, enter into their pathway of choice, and find meaningful post-grad employment. We are developing a network of partnerships with businesses in Charlotte to encourage alumni to return to their city and infuse it with their valuable leadership.
OUR HISTORY
UrbanPromise Charlotte’s founder, Jimmy McQuilkin, arrived in Charlotte in 2009 as a Teach For America corps member. He spent four years teaching high school Spanish and coaching basketball at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology. During his time at Berry, Jimmy experienced tremendous joys and formed deep relationships with his students. However, he also found himself longing to develop a program where students could discover hope and purpose, experience character development, and come alive through leadership opportunities.
In the summer of 2011, Jimmy worked as a summer camp director with UrbanPromise Honduras. As he worked with the youth in Copan Ruinas and witnessed God’s impact on the community through UrbanPromise, he realized that the UrbanPromise model would be a perfect fit for Charlotte.
After sharing his vision with UrbanPromise founder Bruce Main, Jimmy launched UrbanPromise Charlotte in the fall of 2013 in the South Boulevard Corridor. In the fall of 2016, UrbanPromise Charlotte launched a second site off of Freedom Drive, and UrbanPromise started its third site off of Idlewild Road in the fall of 2017. Our fourth site launches in summer 2021 in the Hidden Valley neighborhood of Charlotte!
“UrbanPromise reaches younger children through After School and Summer Camp programs and raises high school leaders who are employed as mentors in these programs. Our ultimate goal is to restore community as a new generation of young leaders affects social, economic, and spiritual revitalization in their neighborhoods and the city of Charlotte.”