Valentine's Day may have passed, but United Community Corporation isn't ready to stop spreading the love.
On Saturday, February 26, the Community Action Agency will host a Love Fest Event from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Vailsburg Park in Newark, sponsored by Amerigroup.
The event will be highlighted by the distribution of groceries and pampers, a laptop raffle for youth aged 12 - 17, and access to various different services, including housing and energy bill assistance.
UCC will have both housing and energy bill assistance employees on-site to schedule appointments and provide help with any families struggling to pay rent, mortgage, and energy bills or are in danger of facing eviction.
"This event shows the community love, which is really important," UCC Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services Yucleidis Melendez said.
"I know that a lot of the moratoriums are being lifted, so providing housing and energy bill assistance information is so important to the families in our community. We want to make sure that families are aware of the help that UCC is providing for them in addition to giving out groceries and other giveaways."
A specific focus of this event will feature UCC's Youth Ambassador team.
Funded by the United Way of Greater Newark, this team of high schoolers is committed to being ambassadors among their peers to spread the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations and general information about the spread of the coronavirus.
The youth ambassadors will be raffling off a laptop to eligible youth aged 12 - 17.
"Our youth ambassadors are excited about planning events, but more importantly, they are excited about being heard when it comes to the topic of Covid-19," UCC Outreach Specialist Alexis Grey said.
"Planning these events gives them a voice in a more creative way that speaks to everyone. Having the youth spread information about COVID-19 is important because it helps acknowledge that the youth have also been deeply affected by the pandemic. These events show their idea of normal and where we could be as a collective once the pandemic is over."
The Love Fest Event will be the latest in a series of monthly distribution events hosted by United Community Corporation at various locations in Newark.
Since the pandemic began, these monthly events have served over 10,000 individuals.
"My staff and I value our community a lot. The community supports all of our events. For us, serving the community has been the biggest gift for us," Melendez said.
"We've never stopped serving, and to be able to continue doing that for the children, families, and seniors in the community has been of great value to us. We've shown the community that UCC isn't going to stop serving those that are in need."
Saturday's Love Fest was made possible by United Community Corporation's network of reliable partners.
Amerigroup, Saydah's Community Action Center, Beauty for Ashes, Hope With N, Mainstream, the County of Essex, Partners in Health, and United Way of Greater Newark all helped support this upcoming event.
"Partnerships are really important because they enhance the resources that we are able to provide at our events," Melendez said.
"They help UCC complete our mission of providing wraparound services to help move people from dependency to self-sufficiency."