Empowering a generation of young leaders in high-risk Philadelphia
With a Replicable Model for Other Cities
BIG NEWS!!!
Level Up Philly has launched both our STEM LAB and STEM CURRICULUM Website!
Level Up Philly is proud to announce our NEW state-of-the-art lab equipped with PCs, VR setups, 3D Printers, and more. Explore our new course website offering free access to cutting-edge educational resources on AI, VR, Metaverse, 3D Printing, and beyond. As Level Up hosts up to 1,500 kids weekly—from 131 different schools (elementary, middle, and high schools)—we are now positioned to impact a city of high-risk youth with the absolute best in emerging technologies and possible career pipelines!
Level Up featured on nationally-televised ABC NIGHTLINE NEWS with award-winning reporter, Byron Pitts
City, State, & National Recognition
“Pastor Campbell has put together an amazing program centered on young people, meeting them where they are, and giving them the space, security, and support to help them move up and to help them become confident and self-sufficient for them to function fully and effectively in society.”
Vincent Hughes
Pennsylvania State Senator
Special Thanks to Our Partners
Local News Featuring
Level Up's Partnership with Pepsi
In the Fall of 2022, Level Up Philly and Pepsi came together to host an incredible tournament for young athletes, demonstrating the transformative power of friendly competition, teamwork, and resilience in a community in the face of a gun-violence epidemic.
In the News
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Sign up to receive our newsletter and blog posts, and join the Level Up movement. We have been funded by the state of Pennsylvania, as well as the city of Philadelphia, and have been respectfully coined at both levels as being the “tip of the spear” when it comes to our front-lines anti-violence work and safe space mentoring and creating STEM career pipelines in one of America’s toughest cities—Philadelphia.
By signing up, you aren’t just watching from the sidelines—you are becoming a crucial piece of our shared vision for a brighter future for Philadelphia youth and beyond.
About Level Up & Urban Dream Chasers
300,000+ Home-cooked meals served since 2018
$2,000,000+ Invested into our youth since November 2018
10,000+ Young people from 131 elementary, middle, high schools, and high-risk neighborhoods positively impacted
(ages 10 to 23)
"Thanks for your financial support, without which none of this would happen in the midst of our city-wide youth crisis. Our vision is to see our Level Up holistic mentoring model replicated in other cities."
Aaron Campbell, Founder & Executive DirectorFollow Him at @pastoraaroncampbell and @LevelUpPhilly1
Philadelphia's escalating violence, affecting our teens both as victims and perpetrators, calls for immediate action. With youth grappling with poverty, homelessness, PTSD, depression, and despair, Level Up steps in.
We engage young people from high-risk neighborhoods directly on Philadelphia's front lines, combating these crises and transforming lives.
Urban Dream Chasers (our guiding 501(c)3 entity) anchors Level Up, a holistic mentoring initiative for high-risk youth.
We offer services like counseling, crime intervention, academic support, and housing aid, all geared towards a larger goal: establishing the city's best art STEM lab to prepare high-risk youth for the global technology-powered job market of the future.
In the heart of the city, our 12,000 sq ft 'safe space'—including a custom-built dance studio—serves as a refuge for over 1,500 high-risk youth weekly from over 131 different middle and high schools across the city.
From every dangerous corner of the city, these young people find hope and community in Level Up's weekly & monthly gatherings.
The Philly Crisis Deserves A National Response
These nightmarish statistics are affecting REAL people - OUR children and OUR future!
Source: Respective Police Department Crime Data (2021YTD)
Crime and Violence
In 2021, Philadelphia had more homicides than its ever had. Even more than New York City—a city that is roughly five times larger!
Serving Life
Historically, Philadelphia has had more teens serving life sentences in prison without parole than anywhere else in our nation.
Source: Mills, John R. and Dorn, Anna and Hritz, Amelia, Juvenile Life Without Parole in Law and Practice: The End of Superpredator Era Sentencing (September 22, 2015). American University Law Review
Poverty
Philadelphia is the poorest of the ten largest US cities—with a child poverty rate that is nearly twice the national average.
Source: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count Data Center
Suicide
The national average of high school students who attempted suicide is 8.9%. Philadelphia is among the highest at 15%. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents aged 13-18 in the U.S
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
There Are Levels To What We Do!!
At Urban Dream Chasers, we coined the name “Level Up” simply because we meet each young person, wherever they are, and help them “Level Up” to their next step of success—whatever that may be. So when someone comes to us and needs court-mandated community service hours, we work with them and “Level Up” from there.
When someone is drowning in the drug-dealing culture and has never been exposed to an alternative lifestyle, we work with them to “Level Up” to a legal part-time job. When they are failing or struggling in school, we “Level Up” with tutoring and college guidance.
We have seen countless young people go from C’s and D’s to A’s and B’s, school suspensions, and even helped some be the first in their families to attend college. Urban Dream Chaser’s “Level Up” is intentional, it is committed.
Our Mission
To inspire and empower young people, and their families, through mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and recidivism reduction in response to the city’s violence crisis.