Mission
Reducing the barriers for justice involved individuals and at-risk youth, helping them find pathways to long-term success.
Vision
A world in which all people have paths to meaningful opportunities allowing them to reach their full potential.
Job Postings
Here you will be able to see if Uplift is hiring! To apply, email apply@upliftsolutions.org.
Community Outreach Specialist
The Community Outreach Specialist works directly with Uplift Solutions Violence Reduction Program and is responsible for creating successful outcomes for justice-involved individuals. This is accomplished through outreach, engagement, workforce training, and case management services. The Community Outreach Specialist will support program participants as they complete life skills training, receive trauma-informed behavioral health services and case management supports. The Community Outreach Specialist ensures participants develop improved conflict resolution skills, increase their capacity to, avoiding harmful influences and risky environments, and develop improved coping skills so they are better able to avoid detrimental activities like group/gun violence as they pursue a successful future.
In addition, the Community Outreach Specialist will create high impact recruitment strategies, execute strategies for strengthening relationships with existing partners, developing relationships with new partners, representing Uplift at community events, and increasing awareness of Uplift’s services. The Community Outreach Specialist will also develop and train a corps of volunteers who can assist with recruiting and organize/manage street teams of stipend-based workers and volunteers to recruit participants in their communities.
The Community Outreach Specialist focuses on Philadelphia neighborhoods with high rates of street violence. The Community Outreach Specialist will prioritize the following neighborhoods due to the high rates of violent crime in these neighborhoods, as well as the high numbers of returning citizens living in these neighborhoods:
- Nicetown-Tioga
- Hunting Park
- Strawberry Mansion
- Fairhill/Kensington
- Allegany West
- Frankford
The Community Outreach Specialist will collaborate with Uplift’s Workforce Development Staff. Specifically, they will coordinate with Case Managers to ensure regular and complete data collection throughout program participation and Instructors to ensure success in life skills and technical training.
Duties
Recruitment
- Recruit participants at high-risk for gun or group violence from targeted neighborhoods
- Develop messaging for written and verbal communications, including state focused action alerts and online engagement opportunities
- Disseminate communication materials that raise awareness about Uplift’s programs through multiple channels
- Plan and execute meetings, town halls, forums, round tables, and recruitment and resource events, including but not limited to preparing agendas, recruitment, materials, identifying and coordinating speakers/panelist, and other communications
- Develop and conduct advocacy workshops to increase awareness of Uplift’s programming
- Craft engaging social media posts, cultivate community within Facebook groups, and explore how new social media platforms and features (FB messenger, Instagram, etc.) can be used for recruitment
- Create monthly community calendar and newsletters
Outreach Teams
- Build and manage grassroots volunteer teams, and provide personalized training
- Provide advocacy training and leadership development that will engagement of “Street Crews” in discussions at coalition meetings, events and with community leaders
- Take direction from directly impacted people and to contribute expertise in support of community-based initiatives
Partners and Referral Network Development
- Create referral and support networks to ensure participants avoid rearrest/recidivism over the 3 years of follow up
- Develop relationships with partners in targeted high-violence neighborhoods in Philadelphia
- Build and develop relationships with community-based organizations who provide direct services, developing a ladder of engagement for them to play an active role in our coalitions and advocacy campaigns
- Design community-centered advocacy efforts and campaigns to accomplish Uplift’s strategic priorities and systemic change goals
- Supervise, train, and support community advocates (Street Teams) to develop and execute projects, including but not limited to: outreach, direct engagement with impacted community members, community education, developing relationships with grassroots partners, coalition building, campaigns, and referral networks
- Work with community leaders to support events in targeted communities to meet the needs of returning citizens at risk for exposure to violence
- Represent Uplift at community and government events; facilitate workshops, trainings and other special events
Direct Service to Participants
- Plan, manage and execute community events to raise awareness about Uplift’s programming, engage potential applicants and collect their contact information
- Support the intake function of Case Managers and the use of Uplift’s Intake Form and Uplift Assessment of Needs Form during the intake and assessment interview.
- Regular administration of non-standardized academic and psycho-social assessments
- Develop new and strengthen existing relationships to increase participation and engagement
- Provide trauma-informed life skills and job readiness training
- Provide 3 years of follow-up support
Service Coordination
- Support engagement in technical training and behavioral health support
- Support engagement in case management and connection to services
- Support placement of participants in employment
- Collaborate the communications team to develop relevant messages and narratives that promote awareness and recognition of the VIP program
- Assist in development activities such as grant proposals, reporting, funder meetings, and fundraising events
- Support the data gathering, entry, analysis, and reporting needs for program activities, including entering data into databases, developing data collection tools, and producing reports that inform program design and service delivery
Other
- Adhere to professional standards as outlined by protocols, rules and regulations
- Participate in staff meetings and other events as needed
- Attend and participate in regularly scheduled supervisions sessions
- Promote within the agency and with the general public the philosophy and practice of social rehabilitation
- Perform other related duties, responsibilities and special projects as assigned
Success Criteria
- Number of recruitment events, total number of recruitments
- Presence/visibility in neighborhoods with high rates of street violence
- Number and quality of strategic partnerships and strength/quality of referral network
Qualifications
- Community engagement
- Public Speaking
- Lived experience (preferred or a plus)
- Event planning
- Strong Communications Background (written and oral)
- Education – HS Diploma; advanced degree preferred
- Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Power Point, Excel)
- Community organizing
- Volunteer management
- Project management
Email apply@upliftsolutions.org to apply today.
History of Uplift Solutions
Our work
Uplift Solutions is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2009 to address Social Determinants of Health within underserved communities and was born from the work of Jeff and Sandy Brown in conjunction with the state of Pennsylvania. Below is a timeline of Uplifts’ growth:
2009 – Jeff and Sandy Brown launched Uplift’s first program: Sustainable Food Solutions. Through Sustainable Food Solutions, Uplift worked closely with local governments, supermarket operators and developers across the country to bring new food assets online and eradicate food deserts across the Greater Philadelphia area.
2013 – Uplift introduced Health Solutions, a health and benefits access program. This brought Federally Qualified Health Centers, dietitians, and Community Health Navigators into underserved communities. Uplift worked with developers, supermarket operators, and health care professionals to leverage new developments that would make this possible.
2014 – Uplift created Finance Solutions, a program built to address the financing gaps of our partners that were developing food access and health care access projects in underserved communities. Uplift provided financial services that helped partners receive public incentives such as New Market Tax Credits and Tax Increment Financing. Within this program, Uplift’s Community Development Financial Institution and Smart Public Incentives Program were born.
2017 – Uplift implemented Workforce Solutions, its current workforce training program. This program was developed to provide formerly incarcerated and other justice involved individuals an opportunity to gain long-term employment through the remediation of social deficits and the development of life skills. Our case management style combined with our curriculum that is uniquely geared toward returning citizens allow us to prepare our participants for re-integration as effectively as possible, resulting in our unprecedented 2% recidivism rate.
2018 – Uplift Solutions introduced Philly Food Rescue, a food recovery program that leverages ride-share technology to connect volunteers with surplus and emergency food to deliver to nonprofit partners serving the food insecure. Under Uplift, Philly Food Rescue helped deliver over 2.5 million pounds of food, or 2 million meals, to people who needed it most.
2021 – As part of our strategic plan, Uplift transitioned the Philly Food Rescue program to Share Food Program, the largest food bank and hunger relief organization in the region. This move impacts the fight against hunger in Philadelphia, saves even more food from landfills each year, and maximizes the potential of the Philly Food Rescue program. This transition also allows Uplift to focus on expanding work with justice-involved individuals by growing our Workforce Solutions program and advocacy efforts.
Founders Jeff and Sandy Brown
In addition to serving as Board Chairman of Uplift Solutions, Mr. Brown serves as Board Chairman for Philly Youth Network (PYN), Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, and the Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board. Lastly, Mr. Brown serves as Director and Officer the of New Jersey Food Council.
Sandy Brown – Sandy Brown graduated with a B.S. from the University of Maryland in 1984. She currently works as the In-Store Branding and Media Relations Director for Brown’s Super Stores. Before her work with Brown’s, Ms. Brown spent eleven years in management for consumer goods companies such as Unilever and Revlon. She joined the Brown’s team in 1995, developing the Human Resources basics necessary for the expansion and growth of the company. In addition, she was responsible for Customer Satisfaction and Quality Assurance for the company. Her HR involvement led her to a position in Customer Satisfaction and Public Relations for Brown’s, focusing on positive results with Wakefern’s Customer Satisfaction Measurement program and improved operational standards at Brown’s. Her current position with Brown’s Super Stores entails developing store décor for all new and remodeled stores and branding of ‘Brown’s Own’ products, as well as, Public and Media relations for the company.
In addition to serving as Board Secretary for Uplift Solutions, Mrs. Brown is involved with many organizations including the Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC), Susan Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer, Joshua Kahan Fund for Pediatric Leukemia, and Fragile X Syndrome. She currently serves as a Vice President for her synagogue in Cherry Hill and is an Advisory Board Member for Jewish Family Services of Southern New Jersey.
In 2009, based on his work with the FFFI, Mr. Brown was invited to meet with the Obama administration to discuss his role in and utilization of the program. In learning what was required to develop food desert supermarkets, the Obama administration inquired about organizations that existed to support local governments, supermarket operators, and developers in developing supermarkets in under-served communities. Mr. Brown informed the administration that no such organization existed, but he would dedicate his newly founded nonprofit to that mission. In 2010, Mr. Brown was recognized for his work in helping to establish the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), creating federal funding for the development of food assets in under-served communities nationally.