“transforming young Christians into leaders and peacemakers”
Closing Celebration July 2019
Our Beginning
Kerry Canon Waterstone, a Church of Ireland priest, started the Ulster Project in 1975 as an effort to ease the tensions between Catholics and Protestants during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. He felt the attitudes of the next generations could be changed if they could experience living together in the “melting pot” society that America represented. Ulster Project Cincinnati held its first project in 1989, thanks to the work of volunteers Marybeth Kantner, Chris and Dan Bissmeyer, and Dave McHenry.
“The Ulster Project, which is sowing the seeds of peace, is important now more than ever.”
— Fr. John Forsythe, coordinator for Northern irish centers
Each year, since 1989, Cincinnati has hosted teens from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland to live with U.S. host teens and their families. The month of July features daily activities for all the teens focusing on service projects, shared worship, moderated discovery session and lots of fun. To learn more about hosting click here.
Special thanks to Ulster Project Milwaukee for use of their What Is Ulster? video.
Our Mission
The goal of the Ulster Project is to have our teens demonstrate to themselves, their communities, their peers, and their parents that they have grown in faith, become accepting of differences, learned to accept responsibility for self and others, increased their own self esteem, found the courage to act and accept change, thus showing themselves they are peacemakers.
30+
number of community service hours each teen performs each project month
12
number of hours spent enjoying the rides at Kings Island
100+
number of lives directly impacted each year by the project
During the Project Month, both US and NI teens are busy with activities almost every day.
Activities include:
Community service- Miracle League Baseball, Freestore Foodbank, etc.
Social and Team Bonding opportunities
Faith based activities
Times of Discovery (mini-retreats building reconciliation & leadership skills)
Closing Ice Cream at Summit Park
Get Involved
If you live in Cincinnati, get involved. Volunteers are always welcome. Certain project events are open to the public and are advertised by June each year. Our fundraisers are also a great way to get involved.