PROJECT HERE: Waterloo
PROJECT HERE: Waterloo Ongoing
Hip Hop Literacy - Learning literacy through Hip Hop
The program uses young people's interest in hip hop music to develop literacy skills, including writing, performing and recording their own music, as well as helping children gain confidence and explore their creative sides.
415 Walnut Collective
This project is designed to understand the community's needs in an effort to develop a reuse vision for this historic building.
Black Life Youth Camp - Preserving local Black history through digital storytelling
Elementary and middle school students spent their summers preserving local Black history through digital storytelling and imaging skills at the University of Northern Iowa’s Black Life Youth Camp (BLYC).
People's Clinic
People's Clinic ensures that patients and their families have access to nutritious foods that lead to healthy eating! That is why they started the “Peoples Community Garden” in 2019. This project is conducted in partnership with faculty and students of the University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy & Environmental Education along with AmeriCorps.
YWCA - English Language Learner Classes
Collaboration with the YWCA of Black Hawk County and UNI students stretches back more than five years. UNI students supervise lessons and serve as conversation partners for YWCA students. The UNI students are studying English, Spanish, a combination of the two, or are preparing to become teachers of those disciplines. The YWCA students come from a variety of backgrounds such as Burma, Bosnia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UNI Science & Engineering in Theater Technology
The Gallagher Bluedorn and UNI Department of Theatre offer a camp opportunity for middle and high school students in the Cedar Valley who have an interest in technical theater. The Science and Engineering in Technical Theater (SETT) Camp is a week-long experience that introduces youth to technical theater through lighting, audio engineering, set construction, costuming and more - all while amplifying STEM concepts.
SHIPHT (ongoing partnerships with UNI)
The objective of SHIPHT is to activate an entrepreneurial mindset and transform career trajectory for a new and existing generation of diverse leaders – while expanding talent pipelines in the business, tech, public and entrepreneurial sector.
Black Business Entrepreneurial Accelerator partnership with UNI’s JPEC
The Cedar Valley Black Business & Entrepreneurship Accelerator (BBEA) is a 24/7 Black Leadership Advancement Consortium (24/7 BLAC) program that aims to provide critical and intensive financial and sustainability support to accelerate growth and development for new and existing minority owned businesses in the Cedar Valley. The free program is supported by the University of Northern Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC). The program also functions with collaborative efforts from Grow Cedar Valley, Iowa C.O.R.E. and Red Cedar.
PROJECT HERE: Waterloo Past Projects
Allen College Engagement & Salvation Army Partnership (ACE-SAP)
Under the coordination and supervision of Dr. Kelli Snyder & Dr. Tricia Schrage, senior athletic training students are required to spend a minimum of four hours at the ACE-SAP Free Clinic
Cedar Valley Regional Food & Farm Network
A coalition of individuals, food and farm businesses, Black Hawk County Public Health, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, UNI Local Food Program and other community organizations & leaders working together to positively impact the local food system.
UNI’s Fortepan partnership with Jesse Cosby Center
As a Black janitor working at the "white only" Waterloo Recreation Center in the 1950s, Jesse Cosby set out to offer recreational activities for local Black children. This and many other photos of Cosby were donated by his great nephew, Jesse Henderson
Walnut Tree Planting
Green Iowa AmeriCorps and CEEE staff and students helped, as did the Waterloo Schools Project Search participants. Church partners, neighbors, and Habitat for Humanity staff and homeowners.
Diversity is our Strength
Iowans champion education. Through this project, which focuses on Black Hawk County, Iowa, we acknowledge the state’s historical commitment to educational quality. We also urge Iowa educators to celebrate and capitalize on the rich diversity in our state and our classrooms.