Breaking Down Barriers; Building Up Futures
Our Mission
To nurture and inspire our children to break down racial, cultural and religious barriers by building up understanding, empathy and human dignity.
Our Vision
To create a connected, empathetic, and sustainable world by fostering lifelong relationships among young global citizens. Together, through educational programs, team building, travel, and sustainable service projects, we will build a more inclusive future where every child has the opportunity to thrive in an environment free from bullying and violence.
Our Programs
How we help teens worldwide build a more inclusive future:
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The unique Philly UP education program nurtures deep, meaningful and oftentimes uncomfortable conversations designed to build understanding with respect to all races, religions, ethnicities and cultures and offers the opportunities to reflect on these conversations through journaling. Further, Philly UP will teach conflict resolution techniques and inspire teens to advocate for one another and be an ally to those who are subjected to discrimination, hate and/or bullying.
Our cohorts (typically 24-30 teens) will meet as a group regularly throughout the semester. The program includes speakers and special guests, along with a variety of historical and cultural visits. All of this will help to cultivate awareness, reflection and action in order to achieve our aspirational goal: equality and justice for everyone, especially our teens.
Education Objectives
Participants will learn to:
1. Develop an increased awareness of themselves as individuals and as members of social identity groups.
2. Learn more about their own and others’ identities, histories and experiences.
3. Explore commonalities and differences across cultural boundaries.
4. Express curiosity in respectful ways and become aware of and learn strategies for dispelling stereotypes.
5. Develop effective communication skills that can be used to explore conflict and build bridges.
6. Embody the shared values across races, cultures, and religions.
7. Identify actions that contribute to the creation of socially just communities, specifically at their schools. -
Our projects have been chosen to bring our teens even closer together. They are sustainable service projects designed to benefit and empower children around the globe at schools, orphanages, and other organizations that serve children. One such project is planting gardens at schools and orphanages. Other projects include working with special needs kids and playing sports and other games with them, visiting a homeless shelter for kids and throwing holiday parties for them, and numerous other ideas that will mean something to our teens.
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Nothing brings people closer than living together, trying new things and sharing emotional experiences. When teens travel, it deepens their empathy, compassion, understanding, and awareness of others and helps to emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion. Exposing teens to different cultures allows them to dispel stereotypes and to better understand and respect the world. Throughout the trip, students will learn about local cultures, the importance of service, and continue learning empathy and multicultural understanding. Philly UP will do all that and more!
Our Story & Our Founders
When Tsion was in high school, she reached out to her former teacher, Mr. Larry Kaplan, to help with school assignments and projects. As a lifelong teacher who consistently dedicated his time to helping former students, this was not out of the ordinary for Mr. Kaplan.
While a senior, Tsion asked for help with her college essay. Her first draft detailed her desire to move back to Ethiopia after college and help other kids succeed in education and life. Mr. Kaplan was moved and inspired, and he told Tsion about a project he had conceived many years prior while teaching in Tanzania. They put their heads together, met and discussed ideas with diverse groups of teens, and Philly UP was born!
Our Founders
Tsion Bezabih
Co-Founder and CEO
Tsion is a graduate of Carver High School currently attending Wharton, studying Finance and Entrepreneurship. She was born in Ethiopia and moved to Philadelphia in 2nd grade not knowing a word of English. She’s passionate about social impact and fostering an environment where people feel heard. Her favorite things are her family, culture and giving back to her community. Tsion’s favorite thing about Philly UP is the environment they foster which allows students to open up and have difficult conversations about race, ethnicity, and religion.
Larry Kaplan
Co-Founder & Board Chair
Larry is a graduate of Central, Temple, and the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Masters in Education and taught for many years in the Philadelphia area. Although he has created a number of successful businesses and trained professional athletes in his role as a Sports Specialist, Larry considers himself a lifelong educator and child advocate. His favorite things are his nephews, traveling, traveling without his nephews, and of course, his cat, Bubbles. Larry’s favorite thing about Philly UP is bringing a diverse group of teens together for a common goal and watching new friendships grow into lifelong bonds.
Board of Directors
Daryl Flowers
Daryl is a Philadelphia Native and graduate of Central High School and Morgan State University. He is an Information Technology Professional of over 30 years and holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Science and Systems. A lifelong Philly Sports Fan, Daryl can be found in and around the sports complex during Football/Baseball/Basketball Seasons. In addition to sports, Daryl enjoys learning how to play bass guitar, traveling and all things technology.
“I believe in Kap’s (and Tsion’s) vision to make Philly, and ultimately the world, a better place not only for our teens but for everyone.”
Ian Schachter
Born and raised in Upstate New York, Ian graduated from Ithaca College, moved to Arizona, met a Philly girl, and now lives in the suburbs with her, their two kids, and lots of their extended family. Ian spends the summer at his “happy place,” Camp Ramah in the Poconos, teaching and playing sports with kids and doing anything necessary to ensure a fun camp experience for everyone. That same attitude carries over to Philly UP. Inspired by daily conversations with his lifelong friend and Philly UP co-founder, Larry (or AJ, as Ian knows him), Ian serves as Board member because of his passion to bring kids together from diverse backgrounds. “I want to help make this project come to fruition and be a resounding success.”
Apply to join a future Philly UP cohort.
Cohorts begin in September (Fall) and January (Spring) each year and are open to all 9th-11th grade students. Applications are rolling, and we will reach out to you with more information after you apply.
Each cohort will meet every 2-3 weeks, usually on Sunday afternoons and occasional nights for special activities. The full schedule will be shared before the program begins.
There is no cost for Philly UP thanks to grants and our generous donors!
Your generous donation enables Philadelphia area teens to participate in our program.
Donations to Philly UP (aka the Global Youth Collaborative) are tax deductible under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Our tax identification number is 93-4708063.
Philly UP is making news!
March 10, 2024
Margaret Mead said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has."
Please help us change the world.
Make a donation today!
While all donations are greatly appreciated and tax deductible, please consider the following:
$1,500 sponsors one teen for the educational program
$7,500 sponsors one teen for the entirety of the program
$36,000 sponsors a full cohort for the educational program
$180,000 sponsors a full cohort in its entirety
Donations to Philly UP (aka the Global Youth Collaborative) are tax deductible under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Our tax identification number is 93-4708063 .
