Newark students protest, United Community Corporation on newarkstories.com & SoFreshFest...

Winter Reporting Fellow Bikier Hayes captured these photographs of North Star Academy students who walked on Friday, 3/18/2022, to stand up against Anti-Black racism in school.

Winter Reporting Fellow Bikier Hayes captured these photographs of North Star Academy students who walked on Friday, 3/18/2022, to stand up against Anti-Black racism in school.

Winter Reporting Fellow Bikier Hayes captured these photographs of North Star Academy students who walked on Friday, 3/18/2022, to stand up against Anti-Black racism in school.

Video of student organizer, Kwadjo addressing his peers and the impact losing Black teachers has had on them.

Click here to visit our Instagram to view more photos & videos. We've reached over 13,000+ folks sharing our documentation of Friday's student walkout.

Chalkbeat Newark covered the walkout and rally. Click below for their coverage by Patrick Wall.

Photography by Bikier Hayes

Photography by Bikier Hayes

Photography by Bikier Hayes

***If you would like to share these photographs, please request written permission. Contact aheebaqair@gmail.com

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Maria Lopez finds absolute joy in her work. She runs United Community Corporation's Champion House food pantry. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Lopez was diagnosed with Lupus. However, Lopez and her team decided to keep the doors open with families in need. Lopez forged partnerships with local churches and organizations to provide food to more families.

The team motto at UCC is "if we cannot assist you, we will find someone that will." At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Essex County ranked second with over 60,000 cases. United Community Corporation sprung into immediate action. Their food bank went from serving 1,200 meals per month pre-COVID to over 10,000 per month. The organization also provided 14-day food delivery services for Newark residents required to self-quarantine and be affected by COVID-19. The homeless shelter transitioned into 24 hours. The organization's food pantry is the only one in the City of Newark that offered contactless 14-day food delivery to families that have been forced to quarantine due to COVID-19 contraction or exposure.

For over 50 years, United Community Corporation is still working diligently to fulfill its mission. Guided by service, compassion, and fairness, United Community Corporation's mission is to assist low-income, disadvantaged, and at-risk individuals and families, including seniors and youth, to become self-sufficient and self-supporting; while enhancing their quality of life and living standards.

Click here to learn more about UCC and its community services.

Check out the organization page we added under "Resources & Information."

Screengrab of newarkstories.com Navigation bar - hover over Resources & Info to find resources and what UCC offers Essex County residents.

If your organization or community project would like to be added as a community resource in our "Resources & Info" section on our website, email our project coordinator, Lenise@newarkstories.com.

SoFresh Fest is on the way!

SoFreshFest image from Instagram

A 2-day experience, So Fresh Fest is an outdoor wellness festival set in Essex County Branch Brook Park - home of a world-renowned collection of Japanese Flowering Cherry Blossom trees.

You can find out more information and RSVP here.

Our mailing address:
625 Broad Street, Suite 240
Newark, New Jersey 07102

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