AFJ Participants Visit Bear Mountain State Park and Uber Technologies

At Avenues for Justice (AFJ), we place importance on building community through meaningful partnerships with BIPOC-owned local businesses and our corporate partners. We also value the importance of planning field trips and cultural outings throughout the year for our Participants. We strongly believe that by embedding ourselves into the communities we serve, not only are we providing our Participants with second chances, but we are providing them with access, opportunity and exposure to all that New York City has to offer. This month, AFJ Participants enjoyed our annual trip to Bear Mountain State Park, along with a career day visit to Uber Technologies.

For over 30 years, AFJ has hosted a trip to Bear Mountain State Park for our AFJ team, Participants and their families, and community members. Many of our young people do not have the opportunity to venture out of the city to spend time outdoors enjoying nature. Last week, Participants enjoyed a day of swimming, playing basketball, and riding boats on the lake. The highlight of the day was the hike up to the top of Bear Mountain with Court Advocates, Jalil and Julia. AFJ Participant, Cameron, who was highlighted earlier this month, previously hiked up Bear Mountain on the annual trip in 2019. This year, he proudly led a group of his peers all the way to the top. The Participants really enjoyed speaking with our board member, Danielle O’Bannon, who joined us on the trip, about why she joined the board and champions our mission. One of our Participants shared with Danielle about how they had never been upstate, let alone hiking---underscoring the importance of such trips.

A delicious barbeque lunch was prepared by Chef Gabriel and Chef Quie of Charles Pan Fried Chicken. Chef Quie facilitates “Cooking with Shirley’s Son”, a monthly cooking class at our Harlem community center. The day was filled with camaraderie, laughter, and bonding over picnic tables.

After last week’s fun-filled trip to Bear Mountain, AFJ Participants headed to Uber Technologies this Monday. Organized by AFJ board member, Bernie Huddlestun, who is the Senior Director of Operations at the company, Participants were treated to an office tour and career panel. The AFJ group excitedly ascended to the 43rd floor of the building where they were greeted by the panelists, while enjoying the beautiful Manhattan skyline. Participants learned about the history of Uber, the power of Uber’s scale, and the importance of the tech industry. Panelists spoke about their career paths, what their typical workday looks like at Uber Technologies, and offered advice to those interested in the career field. Two Participants who attended the trip recently completed two paid internship placements through our HIRE Up program. The trip helped them think about what types of careers they want to pursue in the future as they start their senior year of high school next week.

Participants were treated to lunch as they enjoyed speaking with the panelists about skill sets that they thought were valuable to building their careers. AFJ Participants shared how, for many, this was the first opportunity for them to visit the headquarters of a global company and to see firsthand what corporate life is like in New York City. We are grateful to our board member, Bernie, for curating the empowering career day at Uber Technologies. As many of our Participants usher in a new school year next week, we look forward to ramping up fall programming at our community centers and welcoming new volunteers and facilitators.