Q: What is J.U.i.C.E.?
Justice by Uniting
in Creative Energy, or J.U.i.C.E., is a non-profit hip hop arts
program founded by Dawn Smith in 2001 to
impart
at-risk youth with the
knowledge and skills necessary to engage in creative expression
in a safe
environment.
Q: Why was J.U.i.C.E. founded?
J.U.i.C.E. evolved from Ms. Smith’s work with high-risk youth in
shelters, schools, and juvenile halls, coupled with the
inspiration and advice she received from numerous local artists
immersed in the hip hop culture. Basically, she felt that youth
represent a marginalized population to whom society assigns
negative perceptions and expectations. Many youth programs in
Los Angeles do not offer age-appropriate programming in urban
art expressionism or restrict the very youth who most need the
programs by applying dress codes, fees, or other prerequisites.
Q: Why
Hip Hop?
Studies detailing the
effectiveness of hip-hop arts inspire J.U.i.C.E. to utilize
these artistic elements in its programming and view them as
essential in nurturing young people’s self-worth,
self-knowledge, dignity, respect, and confidence. By providing a
space and specific equipment, such as artists’ canvas, painting
materials, turntables, and music recording software,
participants from all walks of life are able to learn from each
other and hone their own skills in an environment free from
discrimination.
Q: Where is J.U.i.C.E.?
J.U.i.C.E. rents
space from the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles at 2936
West 8th Street in the Rampart District
on the border of
primarily-Latino MacArthur Park and primarily-Asian Koreatown.
Q: How often do participants attend workshops?
The J.U.i.C.E. program operates every Thursday during
afterschool and evening hours, from 4pm-9pm. We often have
special events which go beyond our normal operating hours.
Please check our
Calendar or
myspace.com page for upcoming events.
Q: Where
do J.U.i.C.E. participants come from?
Approximately 50% of our participants come from the surrounding
neighborhood,
while others come from all over Southern California, many taking
multiple forms of transportation to arrive. We have a great deal
of international visitors every year from every continent.
Q: How many youth does J.U.i.C.E. serve and who are they?
Over one-hundred young
people (approximately 70% male, 30%
female) attend each session. In the
first five years of operation, J.U.i.C.E. has had over 4
thousand different participants attend the program. Our
participants are approximately 50% Latino, 30% Asian
(predominantly Korean and Japanese), 10% white, and 10% other
races. While the program is geared towards adolescents and they
represent the majority of our participants, all ages are
welcomed and encouraged to participate.
Q: How does J.U.i.C.E. programming impact the
youth served?
Participants benefit from peer-to-peer
mentorship, community collaboration, leadership opportunities,
and the valuable life and job skills presented in our programs.
J.U.i.C.E. promotes participatory processes which respond to
youth’s identities and their cognitive development needs by
advocating for juvenile justice through education, and
encouraging creative expression based on the elements of the
hip-hop culture.
Q: How is J.U.i.C.E. funded?
J.U.i.C.E. relies
on the generous donations of volunteer time, and a combination
of public and private funding and receives support from
government sources, private foundations, businesses and
individuals. Please make a donation today!
Q: How can I get involved?
Please help spread
the word to others about our work. We welcome you to visit
J.U.i.C.E. any Thursday and see for yourself the incredible
positive energy exuding from our youth.
We accept all size donations in all forms. Credit card donations
can be made on our website via Community Partners and checks can
be mailed to: PO Box 17837, Los Angeles, CA 90017 made out to “Community
Partners FBO J.U.i.C.E.”
We also accept in-kind donations. If you are interested in
become a volunteer intern, please contact us at rampartjuice@gmail.com.
Internships vary from special projects to general on-site
assistance. Position availability not guaranteed and dependent
on program needs.
Q: What is Community Partners?
Community Partners is our fiscal sponsor. They
incubate growing projects and civic leaders and provides
individualized consulting, leadership development,
administrative assistance, training workshops and network
building techniques that help emerging organizations address the
needs of our community in ways that are more strategic, more
effective, and which have the greatest impact possible.
www.communitypartners.org
