how our programs work

We are on a mission to equip youth to be leaders and changemakers through youth-led, youth-driven community service. Our programs provide youth with the opportunity to be the solution to problems and inequities they see and experience directly.

Identify a needYouth identify issues they are passionate about in their community

Identify a need

Youth identify issues they are
passionate about in their community

Create a service projectParticipants design a youth-led service project in support of the identified issue

Create a service project

Participants design a youth-led service project in support of the identified issue

Positive impact Participants develop social emotional skills such as empathy, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork, while helping their communities

Positive impact 

Participants develop social emotional skills such as empathy, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork, while helping their communities

 

Our work continues to grow

Since we began our first pilot program in the spring of 2011, we have intentionally expanded our programs in Oakland each year. Right now, we're on a path to deepen our impact through thoughtful, collaborative partnerships at select OUSD elementary schools. Support this growth. Become a monthly, sustaining Changemaker Donor!

Number of participants

Bar

  • 201128
  • 2015174
  • 20191950
  • 20253300

Number of service projects

Line

  • 20113
  • 201511
  • 2019143
  • 2025257

Number of PEOPLE IMPACTED

Bar

  • 20110
  • 2015150
  • 20193467
  • 202514224
 

Empower Hour

a fundraiser to support our mission

Please join Upward Roots for our annual Empower Hour, in support of our mission to equip Oakland youth with the skills to be leaders and changemakers in their communities through youth-led, youth-driven community service.

We're excited to collaborate with the one-and-only, Oakland Athletic Club at 59 Grand Ave in Oakland to bring our supporters, allies, cheerleaders, and donors together.

Join us on October 24 from 3-5 pm to celebrate youth leadership and fuel our work in Oakland. Together, we can ensure youth ideas are nurtured into real youth-led community action.

In addition to great community, they'll be a silent auction, and of course beverages and bites on Upward Roots! This event is family friendly, all are welcome.

secure your spot

Why support Upward Roots now? We've expanded our program focus this year and we are deepening our roots, exploring how we can provide a more integrated and meaningful youth-led community action experience during both afterschool and during the school-day. In partnership with Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) in East Oakland, we are working with 6 educators to fully integrated an Upward Roots learning, leadership, and action experience into their curriculum. We've nicknamed this Sprouts Rise and with a shared vision for what student-led, authentic, project-based learning can be for all Oakland students, we are marching towards a day at KDA where Upward Roots is institutionalized, inspiring East Oakland's premier academic, civic, and cultural leaders.

 
 
 

upward roots events

 

Upward roots service Saturdays

VOLUNTEER WITH UPWARD ROOTS!

Upcoming volunteer activations:

  • Saturday, August 8, 2026 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at Horace Mann Elementary School, REGISTER HERE!

  • Saturday, January 16, 2027, this is our annual MLK Day of Service in partnership with Target. More details to come in early November.


At Brookfield Elementary, a group of 4th and 5th grade students from Upward Roots were concerned that children their age were not being nice to each other unless they were already friends. They observed that some kids were teasing others based on their appearance, which is known as body shaming. This motivated them to take action. They designed T-shirts with positive messages about bodies and organized drawing and writing activities to promote body positivity at two other schools.

 
 

OAKLAND YOUTH ACTION FORUM

From Service to Power: Centering Youth Voices in Community Solutions

📅 february 2, 2026 | ⏰ 4-6 PM | 📍 1955 Broadway ave, Oakland, CA

register here

Our Purpose

To activate Oakland's youth organizing community by centering youth voices in identifying how to build power and resources for young people to lead solutions to the challenges facing their communities in this social, political, and cultural moment and for years to come.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

🏛️ Local Government

City officials, youth commissioners, and staff ready to partner with youth-led initiatives and shift power to young leaders

🏫 Education Leaders

Teachers, administrators, and school board members committed to student voice and youth organizing beyond the classroom

🤝 Nonprofit Partners

Organization leaders ready to move from youth service to youth organizing and build collaborative power

✊ Youth Organizers

Young people leading change in Oakland who want to connect, share strategies, and shape the future of organizing

INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE

This is a movement-building experience designed for action.

Youth-Centered Panel Hear directly from nonprofit leaders and youth organizers about what's urgent, what's working, and what support they need right now.

Interactive Stations Rotate through hands-on sessions exploring barriers, resources, urgent issues, and bold visions for Oakland's youth organizing future.

Collective Strategy Identify shared priorities and partnerships, commit to concrete next steps as a community

Network Building Leave with contacts, working groups, and a path for sustained collaboration.

WHY THIS MATTERS NOW

Oakland has a legacy of community-led movements that have shaped our city and our nation. In this moment—with challenges around immigration, housing, school safety, and environmental justice—young people need the power and resources to lead solutions. This forum is about shifting from doing things for youth to organizing with youth. It's about building the infrastructure Oakland's young leaders deserve.

BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT

Join us to center youth voices, build power, and create the Oakland our young people envision.

Questions? Contact us at events@upwardroots.org| Limited capacity—register early

register now!

Thank you to Youth Service America and its New Era of Youth Service initiative for supporting this event.