Young Unitarian Universalist Project

YUUP Logo. The yellow Y has an orange flame, the U's are blue and pink and the P is purple

The Young Unitarian Universalist Project is a national community care network of high school aged UUs and those “on the bridge” of their first year as an adult. YUUP centers BIPOC, trans/non-binary, disabled and neurodivergent youth and offers a transition zone for young people moving into emerging adulthood. YUUP is supported by the Lifespan Faith Engagement team and honors the UUA's youth safety and inclusion guidelines.

Join Our Community!

Our Story

When the world shut down, YUUP started up. YUUP was started by a design team of youth and emerging adults who loved and missed being able to see their friends at cons, camps and immersion programs during the covid-19 pandemic. So, they designed a way to keep young UUs connected to each other and their faith through online worships, meetups and chat space until they could be in person again.

As members of the design team moved further into young adulthood they charged the Lifespan Faith Engagement office with keeping the flame lit until new leadership emerged. At the same time, the Commission on Institutional Change presented a call to action to support virtual communities and expand “opportunity for youth and young adult leadership development and programming at the Associational level, with a grounding in equity, inclusion, and diversity and responsive to the challenges these generations face today.” To honor these important charges, the Unitarian Universalist Association is investing in people and platforms for young UUs to connect, organize and amplify their voice through YUUP.

In 2022, we started a newsletter, hired an emerging adult Social Media Coordinator and hired a youth ministry professional to support the UPLIFT trans/non-binary monthly gatherings. In 2023, 3 youth and 2 adult Community Moderators joined the team and launched a Discord server.