UrbanLife
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Mission Statement
UrbanLife exists to see transformed people transform their neighborhoods in City Heights and Southeastern San Diego. We focus on urban youth leadership development through urban farming, culinary training, running and athletics, tutoring and community service.
About This Cause
UrbanLife’s mission is to see transformed people transform our neighborhoods through Christian Community Development initiatives and vibrant missional communities that love God, neighbor, and 'hood. UrbanLife serves youth in the San Diego, CA communities of City Heights and Southeast. City Heights is a haven for recently resettled refugees with more than 30 languages and 80 different dialects spoken by residents. Southeast San Diego is one of the city's most diverse areas, inhabited by Latinos, African Americans, and Filipinos. We achieve our mission through incarnational ministry, authentic friendship, family on mission, neighborhood impact, leadership development, and empowering & multiplicative Christ-focused work in targeted San Diego inner city neighborhoods. Here are a description of some of our programs: City Heights Runners : The purpose of City Heights Runners is to create resiliency through positive friendships with peers, adult coaches and mentors; provide safe and productive after-school activities to steer youth clear of non-productive and unsafe activities; provide exercise opportunities for all fitness levels and regularly discuss healthy eating habits, and to instill character development (self-discipline, focus, and mental toughness). The local schools have small or no sports programs; thus, City Heights Runners was created to provide an after-school running club to the community to address problems such as obesity and vagrancy among youth. City Heights is a low-income San Diego neighborhood (76% and higher poverty rates per school service area) made up of immigrants and refugees from all over the world. In the high schools targeted, the dropout rate ranges from 16% to 25%. The program’s goals are to: 1) Develop resiliency factors in 90 targeted middle and high school student athletes. 2) Create a safe and productive after-school activity that combats obesity and medical conditions due to poor diet and lack of exercise. 3) Emphasize character qualities such as self-discipline, focus, and mental toughness in targeted middle and high school student athletes. UrbanLife College Achievement Network (UCAN): The purpose of UCAN is to encourage City Heights and Southeastern San Diego youth to strive for a better tomorrow through academic excellence. We have a dire need to continue and expand our weekly tutoring to all runners; most importantly, to high school runners. They need English remediation to help them achieve grade level proficiency. Many of our high school students have tested at a 6th grade reading level, even as they head to college, because of a failing educational system in our targeted neighborhoods. Our current tutoring staff needs to be increased from part-time to full-time and we need to launch middle school academic support for our runners as well. The program’s goals are to: 1) Motivate students to maintain athletic eligibility. 2) Engage students at all levels (academic and through sportsmanship) to stay connected with our supportive community. 3) Encourage students to stay in school through graduation. 4) Provide student leader role models that treat students in a Christ-like manner and lead by example. UrbanLife Farms: The purpose of UrbanLife Farms is to turn vacant lots of land into thriving urban gardens while providing first time job experience for neighborhood youth. Our goals for the Farms are 1) offer urban youth employment opportunities and job-skills development by hiring high school students as farm interns, 2) fight food insecurity by providing fresh produce to low-income families 3) beautify our neighborhoods through cultivation of our urban farms.