Living Legends

YPC Idol

YPC began another exciting season of "Idol" as contestants and YPC members met at pie hole on this very cold night. Our contestants were Lauren, Tony and Brandon. Lauren started things off with her rendition of "Should Have Known", followed by Brandon with a great performance of "Ordinary People" and Tony finished up round one with a song he wrote himself.
Round 2 followed, and our exuberant host, Steven, gave the crowd some lighthearted humor. In round 2, we were treated by another round of great performances. Lauren sung some song written by some girl, Brandon song a crowd favorite (the name escapes me), and Tony song a catchy tune he wrote himself. Who will make it closer to the grand prize?! Find out SOON!

Teen Test Day

YPC gathered in the huge hall of the South Shore Cultural Center for the annual teen test day presented by walgreens. Teen test day is basically a huge convention type thing were various social groups set up tables with a plethora of valid information such as how to prevent STD'S, the proper way to use a condom, and information about LGBTQ outreach programs. YPC had the only table that was indeed LGBGT related. There was alot of fun things to do such as enter raffles, play games, sing, and get wonderful Mary Kay facials. There were also oppurtunities for people to get tested, and getting tested was the only way to get food...so alot of people got tested. "Think Fast" was a trivia type game and of course, YPC won. How suprising, since YPC tends to come out on top.

Also, Lauren entered a raffle and won a ipod mini, so YPC rained supreme throughout the whole day. The concert was great, with performances by Ben 1 and The Pope. Being the artsy individuals which we are, we had to give the crowd a sample of our great talent. Dance troup "Geek Squad" and "3D" gave wonderful show-stopping performances, and made it known that YPC was indeed in the building.

So all in all, it was a great day. Not just for YPC, but for everyone who came out to support such a positive event.

New Attitude, New Members, and a New YPC!

Tonight, YPC gathered in the beautiful space of the University Center for the new 2009 new member orientation. As expected, we started a bit late and we seemed to have a good turnout. About 20 people showed up, and the meeting got off to a good start. We spent the first hour talking about some of the issues that have been concerning the integrity of the YPC name, and we tried to figure out how to get things back to the way they were, back in the YPC golden days.
The 2nd hour Frankie (the founder) talked about all the events planned for january, new jobs, and some exciting changes we have coming to YPC.
It would appear to me that we are about to doa complete overhall of YPC. We have a great commitee, great members, and a wonderful new attitude!

Key Lime Cove

YPC took a nice little trip to key lime cove over the weekend, and I personally must say it was a great experience. Key Lime cove is a indoor waterpark, with a spa and indoor waterpark Everyone who went seemed excited about getting away from the horrible weather of the city, which could be draining. Me and Tony rode with Frankie, so we got there significantly earlier than everyone else. The ride wasn't that long. We arrived to a huge building with people all outside. I didn't know what to expect, and I was excited to actually go inside.
We walked in, and the one thing we both noticed was how bright and vibrant the atmosphere was. We just wanted to get to our room. The rooms were very, very nice and cozy. We got to our rooms, jumped on our beds, and relaxed until everyone else arrived. They finally did. Once everyone was here, that's when the fun really started. I believe photo's would be more appropriate to display, rather than me rambling.

Here are some member's reactions to Key Lime Cove:

Dejon: "It was fun for the little time I was there, i loved the waterpark and the rooms setting were so appropriate and i was just really fun"

Alex: "I loved it"

Anshae: It was fun. The waterpark, being with my ypc family, and the escape from the cold of the winter. I had a blast!!!!

Tierra: for the amount of time that I was there it was a blast, we had a lot of fun. I would defenitely go again:)

Lawrence: When is the next trip because i had a marvelous time darling....

Sirez: I had a wonderful time at key lime cove n I would love to go again

Lauren: I had a blast getting to know other YPC members and just being with friends it was so relaxing.

Tony: i had a blast- since we've been back everday has been about YPC- cuz i luv yall :-)

YPC Member Tony takes the grand prize at poetry event!

YPC gathered tonight in the Garfield Park Conservatory for a wonderful poetry slam event. The event was sponsored by the "Chicago Black Gay Male Caucus" and the event offered nothing but spectacular spoken word poetry of all types of people.
The event, held in a cozy hall space deep within the conservatory, and welcomed guest with great food, friendly mingling, and even some slight "old school vouging" to start things off properly. There was a full house, for I'm sure no one wanted to miss this great event. DJ Chip supplied the great music, which set the tone for the event throughout the night. Our wonderful, ever-charismatic host Tommy fro, WGCI kept the crowd laughing throughout the entire night.
The program was set us this way. There were 2 groups, the adults, and the youth. The adults would compete with each other for cash grand prizes, and the same for the youth. Poets could "rhyme" about whatever topic they so desired, but they got extra points from the judges if their poems consisted of topic including HIV, homosexuality, and HIV awareness. HIV awareness was the underlying thread in almost everyone's poems, and our host Tommy made sure we all knew to get tested by making us finish the line in the statement "I'm gonna what!" the audience would then reply "tested!". The adults presented their poems in a more "polished" manner, often times speaking a bit more slowly, calmly, and intimately. You could really tell the adults had passion for their words, and the crowd loved every minute of it, often yelling things like "Work!", "Go head!" and I believe I even heard a woman say "Tell'em preacher tell'em!" The youth, not letting the adults have all the shine, proved to be a force with precesion. The youth as a whole had pieces that were a bit more applicable to youth as of today, and the poems were def more relatable than some. There was a sense of "personability" to the poems, which made them more relatable.
But as good as the youth were, the winner in the youth category was apparent to the judges, as well as the auidence, for Tony received the grand prize of the night, of $250. Now thats a nice piece of change to have in your pocket. Tony's piece was from within, and the auidence could really tell he meant everyword he spoke. One thing that seperated Tony from the pack was his delivery was his words. He spoke with passion, courage, and confidence, everoking strong positive reactions from the auidence. We loved it, the judges loved it, and thats why he won. The night ended on a wonderful note, and as soon as Tony was announced as the winner, everyone packed up and left the building, dreading our long trecks home. But im pretty sure for Tony, that ride was a bit sweeter, since his pockets were a bit heavier.
- The Tea.

YPC receives $100K because of WCT item

A community member recently donated $100,000 to the Youth Pride Center ( YPC ) after reading a Windy City Times article about an event thrown by youth in early October.

The donation, which was not anonymous, but the name of the individual will be revealed later, is for “specific purposes,” said YPC founder Frank Walker. Walker added that there are many legal restrictions on what the money can and can't be used for. For example, the donation can't be used for personnel or political activities.

According to Walker, the donor said that when he was growing up, he did not have access to anything like YPC, and there weren't any mainstream organizations ( non-clinical ) run by people of color and specifically for youth of color.

Walker said that the money will go toward education incentives, cultural programming and possibly innovative health programming geared toward youth even outside of the center.

Because of the donation, Walker also expects that the youth center will be able to double the number of youth taken on several road trips to LGBT youth centers across the United States.