UrbanPromise Nashville

UrbanPromise Nashville Helping refugee and immigrant youth step into their God-given stories.

Every morning at Camp Shine, before the field trips, games, and activities, our campers gathered in six age-based Circle...
08/17/2026

Every morning at Camp Shine, before the field trips, games, and activities, our campers gathered in six age-based Circle Groups for a social-emotional check-in. These groups were designed to cultivate a stronger sense of belonging while supporting emotional health and well-being.

Each day, activities connected to our camp theme for the week and helped students connect with one another and themselves. They were given space to use creativity, express their feelings, and grow closer as a group.

They created art together, designed their own World Cup teams, talked through big feelings, and made each Circle Group space their own.

Starting our mornings this way became an important rhythm of camp—a chance to slow down, check in, listen, and be known.

Because learning how to name what you’re feeling, navigate hard things, work with others, and build healthy relationships matters long after summer camp ends. These are skills we hope our campers carry with them wherever they go. ☀️

We’re so grateful to everyone who helped make Camp Shine possible. 💛

Camp Shine 2026 ☀️What a summer.63 campers.15 StreetLeaders.Nearly 20 countries and people groups represented.Four unfor...
08/07/2026

Camp Shine 2026 ☀️

What a summer.
63 campers.
15 StreetLeaders.
Nearly 20 countries and people groups represented.
Four unforgettable weeks.

As we look back on Camp Shine, one word keeps coming to mind:

Joy.

Joy in friendships reunited.
Joy in new friendships formed.
Joy in StreetLeaders growing into who God created them to be.
Joy in children who felt welcomed, known, and deeply loved.

We believe joy is more than happiness. It’s a glimpse of the Kingdom of God breaking into ordinary places.

Thank you to everyone who prayed, volunteered, gave, and encouraged us this summer. You helped create a place where joy could flourish.

Here’s to year six. 💛

Behind every great StreetLeader at UPN is an adult who believes in them. 👏🏼We’re hiring a StreetLeader Coordinator to wa...
07/17/2026

Behind every great StreetLeader at UPN is an adult who believes in them. 👏🏼

We’re hiring a StreetLeader Coordinator to walk alongside our high school students as they grow into leaders. From celebrating successes to navigating challenges, you’ll mentor, encourage, and support StreetLeaders as they prepare for college, careers, and the future God has for them.

This role is all about relationships—helping young people thrive both in our program and beyond it.

We’re looking for someone who is equally comfortable encouraging a student over coffee and coordinating the details that help them succeed. 🎉 If you love mentoring teenagers, are a great communicator, and believe in the power of consistent presence, we’d love to hear from you.

Find the job description and application here: https://tr.ee/X_z9BHg0Vy 🔗

Hey Hey! 📢 We’re hiring!!  The most important thing we build at UrbanPromise Nashville isn’t a program—it’s a place wher...
06/29/2026

Hey Hey! 📢 We’re hiring!!

The most important thing we build at UrbanPromise Nashville isn’t a program—it’s a place where kids belong.

As our Site Supervisor, you’ll:
• Lead our after-school program and summer camp for elementary and middle school students.
• Coach, develop, and encourage a team of high school StreetLeaders.
• Help create a safe, joy-filled community where every child can flourish.

We’re looking for someone who loves kids, enjoys developing young leaders, and leads with humility, consistency, and joy.

Think you’d be a great fit? We’d love to hear from you. Find the job description and how to apply through the link in our bio.

06/20/2026

Today is World Refugee Day. 🌎

It’s a day to honor the courage and resilience of people who have been forced to leave their homes because of war, violence, persecution, or instability.

It’s also a reminder that behind every label is a person with a story.

Meet Sarah.

Sarah arrived in Nashville from Venezuela when she was 11 years old. Today, she’s a college student, StreetLeader alumna, and one of our summer interns.

In this short film, Sarah shares what it was like to leave home, find her place in a new community, and discover that she had something to offer others.

“I didn’t feel like there was a place where I could be myself. But now I help others find it.”

That’s the story we celebrate today.

Not simply that people survive displacement, but that they can flourish when someone invests in them and believes in who they are becoming.

This is why UPN exists.

Today also marks the final day of our Five Years of Promises Kept campaign. If you’d like to help create more stories like Sarah’s, we’d be honored to have you join us.

Watch Sarah’s story. 💛

Link to donate: https://www.urbanpromisenashville.org/donate

06/18/2026

Shamsia is 17. She grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Less than two years ago, “immigrating” wasn’t even a word she knew.

Today, she’s a StreetLeader Captain, mentor, and friend to younger students who are navigating many of the same challenges she herself has faced.

What we love most about Shamsia isn’t just her resilience. It’s the way she has taken the care she received at UPN and turned around to offer it to others. The encouragement she once needed is now flowing through her to younger students and her fellow StreetLeaders. She is growing into exactly who God created her to be. 🕊️

Meet Shamsia. ❤️

Our Five Years of Promises Kept campaign continues through World Refugee Day this Saturday. For five years, we’ve watched God keep His promises in the lives of young people across Nashville. Every gift given now helps ensure that more children and teenagers will have the chance to experience that same story—to be welcomed, known, equipped, and empowered to become the leaders our world needs. 🌍

Give here: https://www.urbanpromisenashville.org/donate

06/14/2026

Meet Abdiel. 💗

Abdiel is eight years old. He loves soccer, his friends, and bringing unexpected treasures to UPN in his backpack. (Most recently: a giant crawdad he paid another kid at school $4 for.)

His favorite word is “UrbanPromise.”

When we asked him why, he said:

“Because this is a good program. We learn about God. We have a lot of games. It’s really fun to be here.”

For the last two years, UPN has been a place for Abdiel to belong, learn, grow, and be surrounded by people who know his name and believe in who he is becoming. And it’s given Navil, his mom, peace of mind.

His story is one of many reminders that every young person who walks through our doors has a story worth hearing.

Read Abdiel’s full story here: https://www.urbanpromisenashville.org/post/meet-abdiel-another-promise-kept

Earlier this spring, our students and StreetLeaders put pencil to paper 📝 and answered a simple prompt:“I am from...”The...
06/09/2026

Earlier this spring, our students and StreetLeaders put pencil to paper 📝 and answered a simple prompt:

“I am from...”

Their answers became poems.

Poems about identity, place, and belonging. About the people, places, memories, traditions, and experiences that have shaped who they are.

We paired their poems with portraits and drawings, created a gallery exhibit, and invited our community to come and see.

Then we recorded them reading their poems aloud. 🎙️

Over the next twelve days, we’ll be sharing some of those poems in stories—one each day, in their own voices.

Many of our students have been described by labels they didn’t choose for themselves—
Refugee.
Immigrant.
Asylee.

But these poems are an invitation to know our students beyond the labels often placed on them.

And they’re a reminder that every young person who walks through our doors has a story worth hearing.

Follow along over the next 12 days as we share our Where I’m From poem series.

The first one drops in stories today at 4 pm. 💗

05/30/2026

When Carla applied to become a StreetLeader, she wasn’t sure she would belong. She applied anyway. 

Today, it’s hard to imagine UPN without her.

Over the last four years, she’s been a StreetLeader, an intern, and one of the people helping create the same sense of belonging she once wondered if she would find.

This fall, she’ll begin her senior year at Tennessee State University studying political science and urban studies with dreams of serving communities around the world through nonprofit work.

When we asked Carla what promise she wants to keep for the next student coming behind her, she said:

“No matter where I’m at in life, I’m always going to come back.”

This is what five years of welcome, belonging, and becoming can grow.

🎥 Watch Carla tell it in her own words.

UrbanPromise kept its promise to Carla. Help us keep it for the next one. → Link in bio to give.

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Nashville, TN
37201-37250

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