Empowering Underprivileged Youth Through Commmunity Service: The Beginning of Stay True Philadelphia

At 26 years old, Nir Saar is the Founder and President of Stay True Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization focused on creating social and political activism among inner city youth. Following a two-year stint working in a low income community in Philadelphia for Teach for America, Nir developed such a deep connection with his students he served an additional year running extracurricular and weekend programs for the children based around the guiding question of - What does it mean to be a good citizen? His students volunteered in their community addressing topics they believed would set our country in the right direction. The enthusiasm and desire the kids demonstrated blew Nir's mind. He states: "The kids had an insatiable demand for service work. We ended the year resource-constrained so I decided to start Stay True Philadelphia, a formal program encompassing this concept."


Nir started inspiring inner city kids to become involved with helping others while at Teach for America. In such a short time he realized his vision for his pupils had come to fruition: "Despite the students' socio-economic standing, they realized the donation of their time and energy is the greatest, most powerful tool for them to enact change." The inaugural Stay True class will begin in February 2009 and when asked what the program is all about for him, Nir says: "Experiencing first hand the moment it clicks with inner city students that (1) volunteering is something that makes them feel good and (2) the realization they are actually having a real impact on their communities."

Nir is a first generation American, both of his parents were born in Israel and passed on the defining trait to their children of having an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Some would think graduating with a B.S. in Biophysics, a B.A. in History and a minor in Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan would send one down a path of pure fulfillment and a plethora of career opportunities, yet this was not the case for Nir. Working in a neurobiology lab for four years, there was something missing in Nir's life…he says: "I missed directly affecting the lives of others and the personal interaction that goes along with that, Teach for America was a program that fulfilled these desires."

Nir's vision is to expand Stay True to major cities throughout the United States, and eventually into international markets. He admits the most difficult aspect of his journey has been: "Having to compromise my greater vision and often times having my hands tied due to a lack of resources." Despite this challenge, Nir is dedicated to finding leadership and developing resources throughout underprivileged communities in order for bigger, greater change to happen. Nir's vision for Stay True is to: "Fundamentally change the social and political policies and issues in low income communities." Even if your goal isn't as daunting as Nir's, he assures others that: "Things aren't as hard as they seem…anything will move forward if you put the time and energy into it."

Nir has created a legacy through his students who are committed to community service that will last for generations.

Written by: Diana Farnsworth (for uwemp.com)