Council Member Yvette Simpson hosted the leaders or representatives from the nine African American Greek fraternities and sororities at City Hall as part of her “It’s Time to Wake the Village” tour on Wednesday, Oct. 11. The group discussed how they could use the YCC Youth Gap Analysis Study to expand their youth programs. Photo by Andria Carter
The National Panhellenic Council-Cincinnati Chapter and Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Yvette Simpson are discussing how all nine African American Greek fraternities and sororities, known as the Divine 9, can expand their youth mission. The leaders and representatives of the organizations met with Simpson at City Hall last week.
Simpson, a member of Delta Sigma Theta, arranged the meeting as part of her “It’s Time to Wake the Village” tour, which is a citywide effort to meet with grassroot community organizations with youth initiatives. Representatives from the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Cincinnati Police Department, The Community Building Institute and Cincinnati Public Schools were also in attendance.
NHPC President Kemal Catalan said the meeting with Simpson is just the first step in expanding their youth mission, and plan on meeting again with the Council member. Each organization has their own way of working with Cincinnati youth, but we need to expand our mission to do more for our youth. He was pleased to not only hear about the YCC Youth Gap Analysis Study, but is urging all of the Greek organizations to study the data and see how each can do more in Cincinnati.
Fraternities and sororities that attended the Wednesday, Oct. 11, meeting included Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. Representatives from Iota Phi Theta Fraternity could not attend the meeting.
Simpson created the “It’s Time to Wake the Village” tour in 2016 to engage the Cincinnati community with the three-year Youth Gap Analysis Study. The Youth Commission of Cincinnati Youth Gap Analysis Study is a three-year study commissioned by Simpson and YCC to provide a complete report on the state of Cincinnati youth and provide insight to what our youth believe, experience and need.
“The work that we are doing right now is going out and sharing the results of the community based youth study with our different stakeholders and to enlist them to carry on the initiatives,” Simpson said. “What I love about the recommendations is it helps with community empowerment. By empowering our youth, we empower our neighbors and we help to empower people who want to improve their circumstances.”
To read or download the YCC Youth Gap Anslysis Study visit www.cincinnati-oh.gov/simpson/youth-commission-of-cincinnati.