BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
They are gathering to send urban youth a message: There is a path away from a life of poverty and crime.
Carl Upchurch of Columbus, an advocate for young people, will join Cincinnati leaders this week to assure that escape route is open. He is the featured speaker at a Wednesday fund-raiser for Impact Over-the-Rhine, an urban group designed to prepare youths to penetrate the work force.
"They are unique in this particular day and time," Mr. Upchurch said of Impact. "It is important to help out the children."
Mr. Upchurch, who helped organize a national gang summit a few years back, is the founder of the National Council for Urban Peace and Justice. He uses his own past -- growing up in South Philadelphia in a life of crime and deciding to turn his life around after being jailed -- to send a message of hope to inner-city youth.
"They are our children, and they are being lost in the shuffle," he said. He is happy to see programs like Impact that work to teach children the values of hard work, preparation and an education. Impact was created in 1991 and employs and trains urban youth. They are paid to work in various jobs, from cleaning up litter to working with residents and businesses to improve the community, said Jim Moll, an Impact board member.
Impact teaches its participants -- ages 8-17 -- _ how to fill out job applications, write resumes and perform on the job, Mr. Moll said. Participants must be in school with a C average.
"We are not teaching these kids how to clean streets, we are teaching them how to work," Mr. Moll said.
Wednesday's gathering is Impact's major fund-raiser. The money collected helps cover the costs of the program, Mr. Moll said. The success of the Impact program can be seen in the improvements in the neighborhood, Mr. Moll said. And more important, he adds, in the children who move on to college and careers.
The Impact fund-raiser will be Wednesday at Music and Memorial halls in Over-the-Rhine, beginning at 6 p.m. To make a reservation, call 241-8934. Costs for the various programs range between $10 and $50 a person.
