Omega Showboat

On October 29, 2004, the Uplift Foundation, along with the Brothers of Xi Pi Chapter of The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., hosted its first Annual Omega Showboat Talent Extravaganza fundraiser. Since that time, this event has become one the Uplift Foundation’s premier event for fundraising and giving back to the Colorado Springs community.

The Showboat theme originated 1941, when it was first held in New York City as ‘Omega Showboat.’ By design, this initiative was a fundraising event, whose proceeds were used to assist needy youth pursuing higher education.’ The money raised goes directly to the Uplift Foundation, a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt public charity, for the sole purpose of financing academic scholarships for students who may not otherwise receive the opportunity for a college education. Since 2004, the Uplift Foundation has awarded over $300,000 in scholarships and partnered with Colorado College to establish the $125,000 Xi Pi Uplift Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund at the College.

Omega Uplift Golf Tournament

The Annual Omega Uplift Golf Tournament is a key fundraiser for the Uplift Foundation. The funds are primarily used to support our High School Scholarship program and other mentoring programs focused on youth in the Colorado Springs community.

The tournament is one of the best in Colorado Springs, attracting over 100 Golfers and a host of sponsors. It is a four-person scramble and business sponsorships range from $150 to $2,000.

In 2016, we named the tournament in honor of out late Brother, Samuel C. Hunter Jr. Sam, as he was affectionately known, graduated from Colorado Springs High School in 1936 and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in 1940 from West Virginia State College. He continued his education, graduating the next year from the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago, Illinois. Sam served his country during World War II in the US Army Air Force. He graduated in the class of 44-J as a 2nd Lt. B-25 pilot and cadet captain of his class. He separated from the United States Army Air Force in November 1945 with a commercial pilot license and was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force Reserve as a Captain in September 1959. He is a DOTA (Documented Original Tuskegee Airman) and a recipient, with other DOTAs, of the Congressional Gold Medal, awarded in 2007.

In conjunction with a great day of golf, we recognize our current year’s scholarship recipients during the day’s activities.

Omega Talent Hunt

Every year, the Xi Pi Chapter conducts an Annual Talent Hunt Competition in conjunction with its Annual All City Step Show and Dance Competition in Colorado Springs, CO. The event drew a myriad of competitors from across the state of Colorado and provided an extraordinary platform from which they competitors can showcase their various talents. The Foundation supports the chapter in awarding a total of $2,000 in monetary prizes to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place contestants of both competitions.

Educating Children of Color Summit

The Uplift Foundation teams with Xi Pi Chapter in supporting the Educating Children of Color Summit. It is an annual event dedicated to “dismantling the cradle-to-prison pipeline for children of color and children in poverty through education.” The Summit brings together community social, economic, and education professionals to offer high school students, along with parents and educators a program of activities and presentations to assist with improving and providing social and academic awareness. The Summit’s goals are encouraging youth to pursue higher education, to support teachers to be successful educators, and educate parents on what it takes to be college ready, and how to hold students and schools accountable. These are goals and ideals that the Uplift Foundation supports wholeheartedly and dedicate resources to promote. The Uplift Foundation joins numerous supporters in this endeavor and continues to give funding to the Summit as one of its major annual commitments. The Uplift Foundation also partner with ECOC to award two $2,000 scholarships to two participants.

Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO hosts the Summit. Due to the generous support of community businesses and organizations, the Educating Children of Color Summit is free to students and parents.

Bricker Elementary School Mentoring

In August of 2016, Xi Pi Chapter in conjunction with the Uplift Foundation began partnering with the Bricker Elementary School to show a strong male presence with the school’s 5th grade boys and assisting in life skills instructions for them. Bricker is one of Colorado Spring’s predominately minority elementary schools. The Uplift Foundation kicked off the partnership by donating $500 to the program so the boys could purchase collared shirts and ties for a dress up event. We plan to grow this relationship with Bricker Elementary School and the young men to help them become productive citizens.

African American Youth Leadership Conference

For the past 15 years, The Uplift Foundation has been a significant sponsor of the African American Youth Leadership Conference (AAYLC), in terms of both financial and active participation. The African American Youth Leadership Conference, since its inception on January 16, 1993, continues to be a hallmark forum in addressing many of the challenges facing African American youth during their progression to adulthood. The Conference primary sponsor is the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., who in turn, enlists the expertise and leadership of all who are dedicated to furthering the education and intellectual potential of our youth. The mission of AAYLC is to educate, empower, and enlighten youth to become critical thinkers, responsible citizens and embrace the traditions, histories, and cultures of their communities. The intended participants are students of all ethnicities from 6th – 12th grade. In recent years, Colorado College has also collaborated with the myriad of sponsors and contributors in ensuring the students receive the utmost accommodations (Colorado College campus) and Mentors for the day. The Uplift Foundation through the Omega Men of Xi Pi Chapter provides ‘hands-on’ classroom instructions, workshop presentations, and general administrative and leadership roles as necessary towards ensuring that the annual Conference is a success.

Care and Share

One of the Uplift Foundation’s key community service programs is supporting the Colorado Care and Share Food bank. The food bank’s core purpose is to bridge the gap between hunger and abundance. Its mission is to provide food, partnering opportunities, and education to combat hunger and food insecurity in Southern Colorado communities. Its vision is to end hunger in Southern Colorado. With much enthusiasm, the brothers of XI Pi chapter and their families pitch in and assist the food bank in its purpose, mission, and vision by annually assembling food boxes consisting of healthy beverages, dry food goods and vegetables. Additionally, the Uplift Foundation provides an annual monetary donation to further support the food bank’s mission. Since 2004, the Uplift Foundation and Xi Pi Chapter’s generous support has helped the Care and Share Food Bank continue its mission of providing food for needy families.

Colorado Springs Teen Court

Members of the Xi Pi Chapter provides mentors and life skills facilitators for Colorado Springs Teen Court. Teen Court is a unique and highly successful approach to juvenile crime. In Colorado Springs, this independent non-profit program provides an alternative to the regular Municipal Court sentencing for first-time misdemeanor offenses committed by young people between 10 and 18 years of age. The purpose of Teen Court is to hold youth offenders accountable for their actions and assist them in making better life choices through relevant sentencing options. The theme of this initiative is “Empowering Our Youth Through Restorative Justice for a Brighter Future.” The Uplift Foundation provides an annual grant to support the ongoing services provided by Colorado Springs Teen Court.

Health Fair and Charles R. Drew Blood Drive

The Uplift Foundation is a proud sponsor of an annual Community Health Fair and Charles R. Drew Blood Drive. The Health Fair is a one of a kind event which is provided annually to the residents of the community free of charge. It is a family-oriented occasion which provides free screenings, shots, tests, assessments, the opportunity to donate blood, and health information focused upon accident, disease and illness prevention, early intervention and reduction of health care costs..

Xi Pi Chapter provides the core leadership for the event. They contact health care providers, oversee the creation and distribution of marketing materials, advertisement to schools, churches, businesses, community groups and local radio and television stations.

We partner with Penrose St. Francis Hospital for blood donations. We usually average 30 units of blood. Our attendance is over 350 adults and children. Some of the activities include; children receiving instruction on proper care of their teeth, in addition to free toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. A bicycle helmet give-away and bicycle safety presentation.

Families Investing In Reading Excellence (FIRE 700)

The Uplift Foundation supports Families Investing In Reading Excellence (FIRE) 700 to improve the reading levels of African American students in Colorado Springs. The vision of FIRE is that all African American third graders in Colorado Springs schools will be ranked the highest performing ethnic group based on state reading tests. The goal is for every student to achieve proficiency.

To achieve the vision and goal, FIRE 700 has built a model program locally to demonstrate how all students can succeed. There are five key elements to the program: (1. Connecting with the families and maintaining an ongoing relationships; (2. Ensuring students and family members have access to computers with internet connection so they complete on-line training; (3. Establishing high expectations and building a sense of purpose and commitment to success; (4. Securing sufficient resources; and (5. Building a program that is effective, manageable, and scalable.

The Foundation is not only providing financial support to FIRE 500, but also marketing the concepts to other non-profits, assisting the Director with securing grants, recruiting other organizations to assist, and identifying business sponsors.