A week ago, the attendees of MalamaDoe’s Fireside Chat were 
treated to a wonderful experience. We heard the story of how a 
true Grass Roots Activist came to make an impact in
 our city. We had the great pleasure of having Sharlen Moore tell 
us the inspiring story of how she organized young people to
 make an impact in their communities. Sharlen rejuvenated her
 hometown of Milwaukee, one of the most segregated in the
 country, by giving the youth in Milwaukee a voice and an
 opportunity to make change. She gave them a place where they 
can be with young adults who care about their well-being and 
make sure they are respected.

fire-side-chat-malamadoeCo-founded in 2000, Urban Underground taps the creative 
intelligence of young people to change the conditions of their 
environment through a social justice approach. With having 
amazing staff, which is key to a successful program, Sharlen
 encouraged youth to use their leadership gifts by creating a
 youth leadership program inspired by the program her and her 
peers founded at the YMCA in Milwaukee. And her efforts succeeded.
Sharlen’s creation of Urban Underground has led to a new generation of leaders in our
 community. Over the past 18 years, Sharlen and her staff have 
been teaching youth how to engage in dialogue on challenging 
issues which has led them to have meaningful experiences and 
become leaders throughout Milwaukee and in life.

As we listened, we were able to sample from our ingenious last-minute sponsor, Insomnia Cookies, who dropped off cookies
 right before the event! Thanks Insomnia! However, with Sharlen’s
 vivacious nature, we did not need anything to keep us alert as
 her storytelling skills are superb. 
However, Sharlen’s work is not done. We all know that children 
grow up and need an adult in the home as a nurturer,
 protector, and advocate. When they do not have that, 
understandably, they make poor choices.

With the volatile
 climate of incarcerated youth in Wisconsin’s youth prisons,
 Sharlen became one of the founding members of Youth 
Justice Milwaukee (YJM). YJM is a broad-based campaign
 advocating for the creation of community-based, restorative programs as alternatives to locking up 
children in Wisconsin prisons. As the night went on, the overwhelming need of children in
 Milwaukee was apparent as well as how we all can help shape 
the future of our youth with small actions. One such way to help
 is with the below signup where you can take small or large steps 
such as sharing info on social media, hosting a talk, speaking at 
a press conference, etc. Please take a minute to sign up to 
help out and forward on to friends via social media.: https://www.youthjusticemke.org/about/join-the-movement/

Finally, the very night Sharlen spoke, PBS Newshour put on a
 segment which is basically Sharlen teaching the youth of
 Milwaukee in a college setting (Rutgers University) and inspiring 
them to have major impact in their communities through a great 
program (Honors Living Learning Community). Please watch and 
be inspired to make a change in our community and help Sharlen 
in the process: https://www.thirteen.org/programs/pbs-newshour/rethinkingcollege-
1539725787/

Since we are now inspired, here are some tips from Sharlen to
 grow our own businesses.

-Ensure your staff can connect with your target market by paying
attention to age and other demographics.

-Stay true to your mission and be careful the money you accept
does not compromise that.

-Try reign in expenses and create infrastructure to help grow with
partner organizations.

In Sharlen’s chat, we learned how one person’s voice can make a
 huge impact in our community to transform the lives of countless 
youth. Milwaukee has become a smaller and friendlier place 
because of Sharlen’s efforts and her generous, kind spirit.

I
 especially wanted to thank Sharlen for her time, enthusiasm, and
passion that she puts into helping the youth in Milwaukee and 
inspiring us all to take action! To best help our youth in Milwaukee we need to support
 @UUnderground on Twitter and Facebook and @YJMKE on
Facebook and use the hashtag #YouthJusticeMKE.

Please promote Sharlen and Youth Justice Milwaukee and Urban
 Underground on social media and share her story and thank 
her for speaking at MalamaDoe and educating us all. With
 the actions of each of us, we can make our community stronger.
 Thanks to Sharlen for being a beacon of hope for all in
 Milwaukee who have had the privilege of being led by her.

If you need to surrounded by a supportive community of leaders,
please contact us at MalamaDoe for a tour.

We have three 
different memberships available: reserved desk space, hot pods,
and club – all of whom have access to our amazing interns.
MalamaDoe is an inclusive, supportive and welcoming
 community.

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