Anytown Alabama
Get ready for Anytown Alabama - June 7-13, 2026! This year, ACE Alabama is excited to partner with the UAB Institute for Human Rights, and Anytown will be hosted on the UAB campus! Campgrounds have served us well for 36 years, but this move offers students access to new resources, including international perspectives of leadership and community building and introduces them to a college setting.
Anytown Alabama will continue to be a residential (overnight), week-long leadership summit for students in grades 9-12 (including May 2026 graduates). Delegates will live in a UAB dorm, eat at The Commons, attend workshops and small dialogue group sessions related to important issues in our community and world, swim and play games at the Rec Center, take field trips, and have fun. Throughout the week, and guided by trained and committed adult staff, expert UAB faculty and area community leaders, they'll strengthen critical thinking and communications skills to enhance their emotional intelligence and ethical leadership. These skills will help them build empowered communities and serve as positive agents of change. Anytown’s safe and structured environment gives teens the space, training, and tools they need to grow personally and professionally into transformational leaders now and into the future.
But don't just believe us, read what former Anytown Alabama delegates have said!
"I still tout Anytown as one of my top 3 most impactful, culturally enriching life experiences!" Cedric Sparks, 1992 delegate; Chief of Staff, City of Birmingham, AL, Mayor Randall Woodfin
"Anytown changed my life in a way that nothing else ever has. The counselors taught me so much and the open discussions helped me understand other people's life experiences and point of view." Lillian Nelson, 2016 delegate.
"Anytown was the first time in my life I felt like a valuable and valued part of a community and that I had power to make positive changes in the world around me. I wouldn't be who I am today without the lessons I learned and the friends I made as a delegate." Abba Mellon, 2014 delegate & 2017 staff
*Full and partial scholarships are available. We are committed to making sure no student misses this life-changing opportunity. The deadline to apply to Anytown Alabama is March 15, 2026.
Started by the former National Conference for Community and Justice in 1989, Anytown Alabama has a near 40-year long history of empowering student delegates as leaders in the community.
Anytown Alabama will continue to be a residential (overnight), week-long leadership summit for students in grades 9-12 (including May 2026 graduates). Delegates will live in a UAB dorm, eat at The Commons, attend workshops and small dialogue group sessions related to important issues in our community and world, swim and play games at the Rec Center, take field trips, and have fun. Throughout the week, and guided by trained and committed adult staff, expert UAB faculty and area community leaders, they'll strengthen critical thinking and communications skills to enhance their emotional intelligence and ethical leadership. These skills will help them build empowered communities and serve as positive agents of change. Anytown’s safe and structured environment gives teens the space, training, and tools they need to grow personally and professionally into transformational leaders now and into the future.
But don't just believe us, read what former Anytown Alabama delegates have said!
"I still tout Anytown as one of my top 3 most impactful, culturally enriching life experiences!" Cedric Sparks, 1992 delegate; Chief of Staff, City of Birmingham, AL, Mayor Randall Woodfin
"Anytown changed my life in a way that nothing else ever has. The counselors taught me so much and the open discussions helped me understand other people's life experiences and point of view." Lillian Nelson, 2016 delegate.
"Anytown was the first time in my life I felt like a valuable and valued part of a community and that I had power to make positive changes in the world around me. I wouldn't be who I am today without the lessons I learned and the friends I made as a delegate." Abba Mellon, 2014 delegate & 2017 staff
*Full and partial scholarships are available. We are committed to making sure no student misses this life-changing opportunity. The deadline to apply to Anytown Alabama is March 15, 2026.
Started by the former National Conference for Community and Justice in 1989, Anytown Alabama has a near 40-year long history of empowering student delegates as leaders in the community.
