The Muhammad Ali Center Council of Students (MACCS) is a diverse group of young leaders, committed to improving themselves and their communities through the practice of Muhammad Ali’s six core principles: Respect, Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Spirituality, and Giving. As a youth-led organization, these dynamic students make decisions that guide the course of their service work and leadership development.
What is the Muhammad Ali Center UCREW Program?
UCREW is a ground-breaking social enterprise program of the Muhammad Ali Center available to high school students. The program offers a unique opportunity for students to not only learn about social entrepreneurship, but to work in teams to develop an actual social enterprise. During the school year, students will meet twice monthly to explore the issue of “poverty” in their communities and to reflect on ways to combat local poverty through creative business endeavors. By the end of the program, students will have conceptualized, produced, marketed, and launched a small social enterprise business.
Supported in part by Louisville Metro Government Department of Community Services.
Alumni Spotlight
Jace Grissom
MACCS Member
Current Position: I am not working towards a specific career, but my majors are geared towards grassroots organizing. I am working with Unite Here at my college for eventually working for the union as a Salter and being more involved in workplace justice. Currently, Unite Here is organizing with maintenance and sanitation workers in Indianapolis to get better benefits and a living wage within a growing urban populace. I will also be involved in the upcoming contract negotiations at Earlham College with the cafeteria workers who were unionized in the past as a result of student and staff collaborative efforts.
Impact: When I started attending MACCS, I had been very involved in various youth programming around Louisville but had felt that I was missing a vital aspect of learning and tangible action that I felt was necessary for today's (and the time) social and political climate. The way in which MACCS impacted me was strongly due to the students I was surrounded by in the program. Previous to MACCS, I was in programs that had students who were apathetic to the issues we discussed or could not imagine a world that was radically just and peaceful in the way that MACCS, and Muhammad Ali's legacy, inspired us to be. The students in MACCS provided me with new perspectives, taught me how to discuss difficult issues, listened to different people's experiences, and ultimately dedicated themselves to making our community, and the larger community, a better place. I also credit a lot of my success and passion for social justice to the staff at the Muhammad Ali Center who provided me with resources and support that allowed me to pursue my goals in college and my future career goals.
