As #NationalFosterCareMonth comes to a close this May, we’re spreading awareness with inspiring stories on our foster parents, employees, and youth. Today, meet foster care alumna Kemisha Swan. Come June 1, you can go online to pick up Miss Swan’s Perfect BBQ Sauce to add to your summer cookout lineup – and thank UCAN alumna Kemisha Swan for tickling your taste… Read more »
ViewAs a foster parent for the past dozen years to a total of 10 young African-American males, Demarcus Collins dismantles any number of stereotypes about who a foster parent is and what they should look like. And he does it with purpose and passion driven by his desire to support those who look like him,… Read more »
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It’s been over two years since Anthony “Tony” Green returned from his trip to India with the Peace Exchange, a local Chicago nonprofit that UCAN partners with, which aims to “prepare young Chicagoans to be leaders, role models, mentors and peacemakers through education, transformational travel and outreach to youth.” After his trip, we caught up… Read more »
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Black History Month is always a busy time for UCAN and this year was no exception. Whether we were hosting an event or attending one, we made sure to learn, celebrate and educate during Black History Month! Between the Great Migration Growing Exodus: The Future of Black Chicago? We partnered with the University of… Read more »
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UCAN launched the Teen Parenting Services Network (TPSN) in 1998 in response to a growing need to support young parents in DCFS care. TPSN works exclusively with pregnant and parenting youth and their families statewide who are in DCFS care. The goal is to identify and treat the serious effects of trauma while enhancing the… Read more »
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“People think, ‘What’s my calling? What am I doing that’s important?’ There’s many calls to answer. Pick up the damn phone already.”
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UCAN youth, Taylor Kerr, sat down with Dr. Aaron Jackson of MedVet, to learn about his field.
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“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”
– Margaret Fuller, author and activist
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Every year we like to send our youth back to school prepared – mentally, emotionally, and with a backpack of essentials! For the sixth year in a row, volunteers from Winston and Strawn joined us and Back2School Illinois to build 300 back to school kits for our youth – doubling their amount of kits lasts… Read more »
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