You're Invited!

To recognize the efforts of fellows and alumni who have made significant strides during their fellowship time at The Gem Project, across justice pillars in education, health, and youth justice – while raising funds for the next fellowship cohort for 2024-2025.

• Hear directly from youth working on projects of impact and those being honored due to their significant contributions across our justice pillars: health, education, and youth justice.
• Fireside Chat: Youth involved in the passage of the ordinance to lower the voting age to 16 and 17 in Newark, New Jersey.
• Plans for the 2024-2025 cohort. 
• Learn of new ways to give back to support future programming, through volunteerism.

Youth Power lives here and it is more prominent than ever before.

As we kick off another year of Engage Now -- a youth driven benefit luncheon, we have a lot to discuss when it comes to civic engagement, youth power, agency, and leadership at The Gem Project.

A few highlights, of our work:

• From having our fellows Breanna and Nate support the passage of a historic ordinance to lower the voting age to 16 and 17, for Newark youth to vote in school board elections.
• Numerous policy briefs and policy brief youth authored presentations across education, criminal justice, and health.
• Our fellows reached 475  Newark families through canvassing and assisting in the redetermination efforts of NJ FamilyCare in partnership with the Greater Newark Health Care Coalition in summer and fall 2023.
• Facilitate in partnership with Victoria Foundation a youth-led and designed grant making process, distributing $50,000 among 3 Newark-based organizations.
• Fellows served as consulting fellows with a local nonprofit, establishing an 80 page tool-kit on developing youth advisory councils working at two Newark Public High Schools.
• Fellows have created and sold artwork in through virtual reality art museums --- which focused on highlighting issues of both oppression and liberation across our justice pillars education, criminal justice, and health.
• Fellows advocated in 2021 to the Newark CCRB for youth presentation.
• Through the help of Victoria Hoegah,  a Gem Project college facilitator who started as a high school fellow, wrote grants, and in partnership with The Gem Project, we engaged over 275 students by providing a day of action program to foster healthy mental health practices through connection by a series of art activations funded by MTV entertainment group.
• Through an opportunity provided through Community Catalyst for The Gem Project, Jennymarie Idrobo, a college facilitator who started as a high school fellow spoke at the Community Catalyst's annual event, "Building Power for Health Justice," with a $2,500 honorarium by Community Catalyst, highlighting the health equity work she had done through The Gem Project, Inc.