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Special Projects
Our Mission
Empowering Pathways to Lasting Success
The Special Projects Department empowers individuals through belonging, inclusion, and autonomy, creating pathways to economic mobility. Using youth-driven, trauma-informed programming, we build skills, foster community, and expand opportunities for lasting success.
- Youth Engagement
- Workforce Development
- Professional Skills Development
- Personal Development Skills
- Civic Leadership
- Community Engagement
- Economic Mobility
- Power and Autonomy
- Belonging and Inclusion
Changing Lives, Showing Results
Uplift Project
The Uplift Project empowers local youth with jobs, skills, and leadership opportunities. Driven by their voices and supported by Mobility LABs and Illinois Department of Human Services, we create programs that reflect their needs and build real community impact.
Uplift forces tough conversations
South Suburban teens took their concerns straight to elected leaders—and made real progress on solutions.
CEDA Fashion
Watch teens turn their fashion dreams into reality—designing, modeling, and showcasing their own creations while gaining confidence and career skills.
How We Help
Economic Mobility
Our Uplift programs are dedicated to empowering, engaging, and uplifting youth ages 16 to 24 across Illinois by providing the skills, resources, and opportunities needed to break the cycle of poverty.
Our program provides financial relief and equips young people with skills for future employment through paid internships, stipends, and year-round training. The NEXT initiative builds life, leadership, and technical skills to prepare them for school, work, and beyond.
Successfully Completed Programs since 2021
Employed Youth & Young Adults since 2021
How We Help
Belonging & Inclusion
The Purple X Program provides year-round structured activities and creative opportunities where participants can explore various forms of artistic expression.
Through these media, youth learn to process and express their emotions in positive ways. The program also expands access to mental health support and reduces stigma surrounding behavioral health.
Active Event Members Since 2021
How we help
Power & Autonomy
Connecting our youth to local politics, policies, and officials empowers them to make sense of their world and inspire and create change.
The Mobility LABs Project expands youth knowledge of local government while building critical thinking skills essential for grassroots change. Participants organize and lead community events that empower them, strengthen their neighborhoods, and amplify their voice in their community.
Increased Political Knowledge
