Youth using positive forms of self-expression to help make positive life choices

            “Hip Hop Away From Violence” is UNITY Charity’s high school anti-violence outreach program.  Through this program youth show youth that using positive forms of self-expression helps to make positive life choices.  Through our motivational performance assemblies and workshops we aim to reduce violence, eliminate prejudice and boost the self-esteem of youth across Canada.  Our goal is to empower youth to realize their highest personal potential.  Through our program follow up activities, we develop a long term anti-violence presence within each participating high school

The goal of the “Hip Hop Away From Violence” program is not only to empower students but also to establish a long-term anti-violence presence within each participating high school.  To organize the main event and the overall program, students and teachers from each school create a UNITY committee.  Each UNITY committee uses our program model to instill a lasting anti-violence message into the culture of their school.

Advantages of the Program

  • Informative AND Entertaining assembly: includes our motivational performers, inspirational video, and each high school’s own student talent.
  • Relevant issues for youth: to reduce violence, eliminate prejudice and boost self-esteem.
  • Youth to youth: giving students the chance to speak out and be heard in front of their peers.
  • Empower youth: by giving them tools & support to sustain & develop their own committee.
  • Easy to Implement: with our step-by-step interactive program manual and ongoing support.
  • Year round message delivery: through our program’s ongoing events, workshops and follow up activities for students.
  • Access for youth: to our interactive website to learn about positive self-expression.
  • Fun additions: t-shirts, positive Hip Hop CD, tickets to our BIG positive shows, and more!
  • Fair price: which can be sponsored in part if needed.
.The Assembly the_event

This is the main event for the program’s anti-violence message delivery implemented as an in school assembly for grades 9 to 12, making it available to all students and faculty members. The events’ entertainment and artistic expressions are a mix of our professional performers and student auditioned talent.  We encourage this process to be as inclusive as possible while choosing a variety of amusing yet appropriate art forms. These are acts created or performed by students to convey their perspective concerning many of the difficulties they face by using multiple formats of expression. This includes, but is not limited to accumulations of short plays, films, dances, songs, rapping, drawings, paintings, etc.

EMPOWER students with our help!

We strive to provide students and teachers with all the needed guidance and support while they implement UNITY’s “Hip Hop Away From Violence” program within their own schools. Together, the selected teacher and students will create their own UNITY committee as they progress through an information package we provide. A UNITY Support Representative maintains on going communication to offer encouragement, insight, and feedback needed during the planning process. Materials presented by both the informational package and by the UNITY Support Representative deliver a clear, consistent, and effective message in producing a successful and impactful event.  

Our Step by Step Program Manual

This youth driven package provides a step-by-step interactive program that guides and encourages students as they implement UNITY’s “Hip Hop Away From Violence” assembly and follow ups within their own school. The package details the format, positions and procedures which are explicitly laid out with examples, activities, and creative ideas to make each event distinctive and effective. 

- UNITY Charity the_event

Through our programs we aim to boost the self esteem of youth while reducing violence and eliminating prejudice. When feeling there is nowhere to turn and no one to listen, youth can make some poor choices as their identity is forming in relation to their peers.

Urban Non-violent Initiatives Through Youth (UNITY) is the charity that this program is supported by. (www.unitycharity.com)

Our Partnership with the Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE) Charity

At each “Hip Hop Away From Violence” event, LOVE provides trained youth speakers from the national charity to share their stories on the ability to overcome violence and negative choices.  They validate how adolescence can and do triumph over many of the social issues such as bullying, gang culture, drugs, crime, and all forms of abuse.  We engage students to realize their potential in utilizing positive alternatives of self-expression through different mediums such as photography, writing, dancing, etc.