It started with community. It continues with the next generation.
United Family of Stars (UFOS) has roots in Brooklyn that go back decades.
What began as a commitment to creating safe spaces, new experiences, and opportunities for young people has grown into the United Family of Stars we are building today.
Our story has changed over the years, but the heart of the work has remained the same: showing young people what is possible and making sure they have opportunities to experience it for themselves.
Growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn in the 1970s, our founder, Shatiek Allah, saw firsthand the challenges young people in his community were facing.
In 1982, he joined other men in the community to help create a youth center where children could have a safe place to spend time, learn, and experience something different.
They organized activities and trips outside of the neighborhood, giving young people opportunities to see places and possibilities beyond what they encountered every day.
That work became the foundation for what would eventually become United Family of Stars.
Image sourced from the published work of Jamel Shabazz.
In 1988, Children’s Day began as a way to bring children, families, and the community together.
Over the years, it grew into a UFOS tradition filled with games, food, activities, giveaways, resources, and most importantly, a day centered around our kids.
Children’s Day has now been retired as an annual UFOS event, but its impact and memories will always be part of our story.
We’re proud of where we started, and even more excited about where we’re going.
Before there was a website, there were stages, microphones and young people being given a place to be seen.
Archival footage from early United Family of Stars community programs.
In the early 1990s, the work continued through Black History Month talent shows that celebrated creativity, culture, and young people in the community.
Those experiences helped inspire P.E.A.C.E! — Positive Education Achieved through Creative Energy.
P.E.A.C.E! brought creative and educational experiences into schools and gave young people another way to learn, express themselves, and discover what they could do.
Today, we are building on that foundation and introducing P.E.A.C.E! to a new generation of Stars.
Archival footage from early United Family of Stars community programs.
UFOS has always been rooted in family and community.
What started with Shatiek’s commitment to the young people of Brooklyn is now being carried forward by the next generations of his family, each bringing their own experiences, ideas, and talents to the mission.
And when we say family, we mean more than the people related to us.
Every Star, parent, volunteer, mentor, partner, and supporter who becomes part of this work helps our family grow.
United Family of Stars, Inc. represents the next chapter of that work.
We are creating opportunities for young people to explore careers, build real world skills, visit new places, meet new people, give back to their communities, and discover interests they may not have known they had.
We don't expect our Stars to have their whole future figured out.
We just want to help them see more, try more, and dream bigger.
And ours is still being written.