What are you doing to lead others and to help the community, and what have been the results of your actions?

By the time I reached the age of 15 I had been kicked out of Detroit Public Schools and was made an “ward of state” by my moms, and by the age of 19 I was on my way to prison for a crime I did not commit. In prison, I met my father, who taught me the importance of redemption and how to transform myself. I served 9 years and have been home 10 years. Since I've been home; I have graduated from college, written two books, opened up a bookstore in my neighborhood and organized an annual school supply giveaway, where we have been able to give close to 500 backpacks to students in need and will give away close to 800 this year on August 6. My book: “The Window 2 My Soul”, is being used at every major university such as: Wayne State, Michigan U, Michigan St., Eastern and Central Michigan. In a nut shell I use my life as a testimony of change in reaching young men and women, who are walking in the shoes I once wore.

Choose the project category or categories:
Brief summary of the community issue or opportunity the project will address:

There are many issues that plague urban communities. The most prevalent ones are literacy, hopelessness, lack of computer skills, lack of social skills & unemployment. Through the work of the Urban Network Cyber Café we are able to address these issues through my personal transformation which is directly connected to my community and displayed in my work. This bridges the gap between hope and desperation. We have an open access computer lab for members of the community which promotes computer literacy within the community. We promote overall literacy through my book, which not only focuses on my life and transformation but it has become a tool in educating the people to what transformation is. We are looking towards launching additional social programs geared towards improving the quality of life for the people in the community by improving their social skills while assisting with further development of their employment skills through internships.

State how the project will work – the activities and timeline:

The activities will be but are not limited to, a series of social workshops centered around literacy using my experience as well as others in order to educate the people in the community who feel devalued on how to value themselves while further recognizing their potential and contributions as human beings. The timeline will be 6 months to 1 year to measure our impact. The annual back to school supply drive, community center and social workshops speak to my commitment to re-build & re-spirit my community by investing my time, money and energy in a neighborhood I once took pride in destroying as a former gang leader. It is my commitment through this project to further my efforts to restore the neighbor back to the hood.

State the results you wish to achieve:

The primary objective is to meet the needs of the community through youth and adult outreach by serving as a multipurpose community center.

Choose the project category or categories:

up to $50,000

Who is leading the project? State the name of the person or the project team:

The leading person of the project will be Yusef Shakur, who will be assisted by Tawana Petty and Joanna Jackson.

How will the project engage others in this issue or opportunity affecting the community?

The project will seek to engage the community on many different levels. It will assist with promoting a greater sense of community by supporting our annual school supply give away, wherein we contributed over 500 backpacks and school supplies to inner city and impoverished youth this year. It will also assist us with cultivating a stronger community bond through improving relationships in our neighborhoods, increasing the social skills of our youth and adults, improving literacy levels, promoting employability and encouraging computer literacy among the people in the most impoverished and neglected communities.