Outside the ring, the UFC meets Covenant House New Jersey (CHNJ). We have now developed a strong partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to support our sites throughout New Jersey.
Visits to Atlantic City and Newark
On March 28th, UFC athlete Pat Sabatini, came to our Atlantic City site to share his story with our young people. On May 30th, UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney and UFC middleweight Andre Petroski came to our Youth Engagement Center in Newark to share their personal stories of transformation.
At the Youth Engagement Centers, we offer immediate safety, a bed, food, showers, and laundry facilities. Taking care of our youth’s immediate needs is a critical start – but it is only the start of our work. We also provide a variety of supportive services including Longer Term Housing, Jobs and Education, Mental Health and Legal Help. In particular, the Dove Learning Centers (DLC), located within our programs, focus on strengthening skills in 5 areas: Education,
Employment, Financial Literacy, Wellness (social, emotional and physical) and Social Navigation. Offering choice in selecting programmatic priorities and challenging each youth to reach their goals, helps contribute to success in the future and has a lasting impact. We coach our young people to develop skills that will help them navigate challenges and support them to thrive in their future housing opportunities.
Beyond the Youth Engagement Center, we offer transitional living programs that provide customized care from our wonderful staff. That care addresses the specific needs of each of our youth and is key to providing them the skills to transition them to independent living.
But experiences such as meeting with UFC athletes are also a key part of our mission and can be transformative for those in our care. Many of our residents have had significant challenges in their young lives. Hearing from members of the community on how they overcame challenges provides much needed hope to our youth and a belief that transitioning from our programs is doable. The youth were given the opportunity to ask questions and engage with the athletes to learn more about their personal journeys and about the UFC to try to relate to the challenges Pat, Andre and Terrance navigated.
Financial Support
The UFC meets Covenant House New Jersey in the financial ring as well. In addition to spending the day with our youth, it’s really terrific that the UFC is also supporting us financially. On May 29th, the UFC were one of the sponsors of our annual gala, A Night of Broadway Stars which raised over $1.7M to support our great work serving youth facing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking. They have also committed to being a sponsor of Atlantic City’s Sleep Out: Community Edition in the Fall. Click here to learn more about our Sleep Outs and how you can participate.
We are so grateful for the support and partnership of the UFC.
