Youth Development

The YCC program was piloted in 2014 and has successfully impacted its over 300 participants. Youth selected for the program have been identified as leaders within their communities, but who need their leadership skills adjusted to be used in a positive way. Through weekly sessions over the three-month period, youth build these skills, directly resulting in an increase in self-esteem. The youth are encouraged to be outspoken and participatory within their community.

Sitar Arts Center student Skye Robinson and her family reminds us that hope lives in our dreams for ourselves and the world, and the will to relentlessly pursue them no matter what.

The Robinson family loves to perform. Skye (age 14) and her two sisters (ages 10 and 17) have grown up with Sitar, immersing themselves in dance, theater, music, and acting classes at Sitar. Right now, Skye is enrolled in online Physical Acting for the fifth year, where, through improv, she learns to react, adjust, and continue in any situation. A skill we’ve all needed to practice this year!

According to a report by the Virginia Council of Teachers in Mathematics, young black
women like Brittany are steered away from engaging in STEM as early as elementary
school, limiting the future careers they are qualified to pursue. But at C4K, Charlottesville youth – including girls and youth of color – have the mentors, encouragement, and tools they need to freely explore STEM. Every day at C4K local youth gain both life and technical skills that make them competitive for college and for local internship and job opportunities.

Imagine the sound of a large, iron bell ringing in the distance on a cold and snowy day – not once, but 27 times.

Any time this bell on our campus can be heard ringing, you can expect that a happy occasion of some kind just occurred. Libbie was ringing that bell with all her might. With a huge smile on her face, she was telling the world that she’d found a home just in time for Christmas.

In the summer of 1999, Elsie Churchill, who had recently relocated to Minneapolis from Chicago, noticed a group of neighborhood youth working in a garden right below her 16th floor window in the Charles Horn Towers. As a seasoned community organizer, it was a natural instinct for her to investigate – after all, she was eager to connect to her new South Minneapolis home.

The Diamond Youth Foundation (DYF) is comprised of college educated professional men dedicated to serving youth in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, through our Guide Right Mentoring Program and Scholarships. Our Advisory Board is an elite group of Community Leaders and advocates.

Except for five days in March, Operation Breakthrough has been open throughout the pandemic. The center, located at 31st and Troost, continues to provide 11 hours of care and education each weekday to hundreds of Kansas City children from low-income families, thanks to the efforts of many to limit exposure.

Jessica Ann Moore Foundation (formerly The Drop Out To Degree Program) was founded July 2009 by Dr. Phyllis Moore-Tolliver and co-founder Jessica A. Moore (deceased). Jessica Ann Moore, co-founder of Drop Out to Degree Program and an honors student at Seton Hall University, East Orange, New Jersey, majoring in Psychology was tragically shot and later died of her injuries on September 25, 2010 as she attended a fraternity party. The foundation was renamed Jessica Ann Moore Foundation, to honor Jessica's memory and to continue the work that she was so very passionate about.

What Camp Means to Our Children and Parents:\ A Testimonial about Camp Opportunity

Splashing and babbling are the soothing sounds made by the Chira River, which runs alongside the town of Tamarindo in Peru. However, the river’s soothing sounds mask a sobering truth: Its water is severely contaminated and dangerous for human consumption.