Youth For Change Summit

Youth Leaders Advocating for Social Justice!

Guns, Gangs, Drugs, Girls Empowerment, Gender Equity, Climate....EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE!

The Youth for Change Summit is the second annual youth summit by youth leaders at MY Project USA. Join us at the the Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center for an event filled with inspiration, empowerment, and fun. This event is all about bringing together our young change makers who are passionate about making a difference in their communities. Get ready for engaging workshops, inspiring speakers, and networking opportunities with like-minded individuals. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect, learn, and grow as a youth leader. See you there! Parents, community leaders and other interested adults are welcome!

This event is organized by this summer's cohort of MY Leaders Lab (MYLL). MYLL is an initiative of MY Project USA to empower underserved and marginalized youth with the leadership and advocacy skills so they can organize and represent their communities and address injustices within the society. This year's summer lab is funded by Ohio Department of Education, ADAMH of Franklin County and Women's Fund of Central Ohio. For more information, please contact Bashir Ahmed at youth@myprojectusa.org.

Hilltop Youth Soccer Summer League Award Ceremonies! 

The summer soccer league is coming to an end in a few short weeks! Join us on July 30 and July 31st for the final games followed by award ceremonies to celebrate our amazing teams and dedicated players! 

What Does It Mean To Be An American? 

Community members engaged in an open and honest discussion

On July 4th, our Founder, President and Executive Director Zerqa Abid facilitated the first in our new “MY Community Conversation Series”: What Does Being an American Mean to You? Our participants discussed what importance the Fourth of July holds for them, what being an American means to them and what it means for people of color and others who are underrepresented, whether they feel they belong, what their most and least favorite things are about being American, and also how they can make America better. We also discussed the Civil Rights Movement, the fundamentals of why America was founded, i.e. equal representation, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and life, liberty and justice for all. We ended with explaining why #MYProjectisUSA and why #MYCommunityisMyPriority.

This was the first of many necessary and honest conversations we hope to have through our MY Community Conversation Series. We believe open dialogue and communication is vital to understanding each other, especially in the current environment where our democracy is under attack and there are wars and genocides happening all around the world that America can and should help put an end to. Above all, we believe that being an American means working for the betterment of ALL, and we work hard to pass these values on to our youth everyday!

MY Summer Expedition Art/Leadership Camp! 

MY Summer Expedition successfully completed our first of two weeks of Art/Leadership ​Camp! In Art camp, students learned about Alexander Calder, the father of kinetic ​art. In Leadership camp, students learned about the characteristics of a good leader. Students also took part in an hour of physical activities and team building exercises. Read more in our MY Summer Expedition newsletters linked below. 

The Hilltop Free Clinic Has An Examination Room!

The Next Clinic Date is July 20th! 

The Hilltop Free Clinic now has its own private examination room! Thank you to our generous donor who pitched in $500 for the examination table! We are still in need of $1,000 to cover the remaining cost of the table. To donate towards the table, or to help support the clinic, click on the link below!

MY Deah's Warehouse:

12 Locations In Columbus To Drop Off Donations – Truck Pick-Up Available For Large Donations

We Are Looking For More Locations

You can now drop off your donations of new and gently used clothes, shoes, books, toys and other small non-breakable items in a donation box near you. These locations include: 

   • Ahlul Bayt Society – 2580 W. Dublin Granville Rd. Columbus, OH 43235
   • Bethel International United Methodist Church – 1220 Bethel Rd. Columbus, OH 43220
   • Covenant Baptist Church – 5100 Dierker Rd. Columbus, OH 43220
   • Heritage Christian Church – 7413 Maxtown Rd. Westerville, OH 43082
   • MAS Youth Center – 4615 Northtowne Blvd. Columbus, OH 43229
   • Masjid Nimrah – 4501 Refugee Rd. Columbus, OH 43232
   • MY Deah's Warehouse – 4004 Fondorf Dr. Columbus, OH 43228. (Business Hours Only)
   • Noor Islamic Cultural Center – 5001 Wilcox Rd. Dublin, OH 43016
   • Omar Ibn El-Khattab Masjid – 580 Riverview Dr. Columbus, OH 43202
   • The Destiny Center – 1561 Old Leonard Ave. Columbus, OH 43219
   • The First Congregational Church – 444 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215
   • Turkish American Society of Ohio (TASO) – 2885 W. Dublin Granville Rd. Columbus, OH 43235

MY Project USA is searching for more locations across central Ohio where people can leave their donations of new and gently used clothes, shoes, books, toys, and other small non-breakable items. We need your support!

We will collect the items from the bins weekly (or more frequently as needed) and sort them in our warehouse. Once organized, we offer the items for free to clients in the communities we serve. Some items are also sold at Global Gifts & Thrift, a retail location in Hilliard that is based on the Goodwill model. All proceeds of these sales go toward funding our programs.

Our organization will ensure that the area around the bins remains clean. Please contact Noorullah Shinwari at (614) 817-9159 with questions or if you are interested in partnering with us. Thank you!