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Programs
Building Blocks Early Learning Center
Fortress Literacy Center
Sunday JAM
Summer JAM
The Need
In the inner-city of Fort
Worth there is an inferno of hopelessness, despair and lack of
resources. Fortress Youth Development Center is here to fight against
this inferno in the name of Jesus Christ. Many of the children and
youth in our community do not have a safe and nurturing place to go
after school and on the weekends.
"Youth who do not
participate in after-school programs are at a greater risk of violent
crime (juvenile crime triples after 3pm), substance abuse, antisocial
behavior, poor academic performance, and dropping out of school ."
(After-School Programs:
Keeping Children Safe and Smart, A Chung, U.S. Dept. of Education, 2000)
Due to the environment
surrounding Fortress, this risk is inevitable for most of our children
and youth. Therefore, if Fortress Youth Development Center did not
exist, many of our children would become just another statistic in the
vicious cycle of generational poverty.
As in many urban poor
communities, Near-Southeast Fort Worth demographic statistics show an
alarming void of resources and opportunities for its residents,
especially the children. Here are some of those statistics taken from
the Census 2000 Profile of General Demographic Characteristics for
Census Tract 1033.00.
-
Families in poverty
level
-- 40.3%
-- 12.4% national
average
-
Median household income
-- $20,543
-- $41,994 national
average
-
High School education
(or equivalency) or higher
-- 48.9%
-- 80.4% national
average
-
At-Risk Youth
-- 69% of the youth
living in the service area are considered at Risk as defined by
PEIMS (Public Education Information Management System) and the TEA
(Texas Education Agency)
The
Solution
Equipping children and youth
with spiritual, social/emotional and academic resources will empower
them to overcome their circumstances within generational poverty and
build a solid foundation on which to ignite a relationship with Jesus
Christ and grow as a child of God. If we are going to create
powerful change in the lives of kids, we need to start as early as
possible to build a solid foundation. This will create the basis
for a long-term, intimate relationship to be built with a child and
their family. Fortress Youth Development Center is dedicated to
offering the best and most relevant developmental resources and
opportunities to inner-city children and youth.
The
Strategy
Currently, we have four
programs that help us accomplish our mission:
Building Blocks Early Learning Center Early
Learning Center - (ages 0-5, coming Fall 2008)
Fortress YDC plans to
launch Building Blocks Early Learning Center in the fall of 2008, with an initial enrollment
of 12 preschoolers in a 2-day/week program. By 2009, we hope to
expand it to 24 students, as well as add a pre-natal educational
program for expectant mothers. It is our dream to become a 5-day/weel
preschool program by 2010, and to continue building the pre-natal
program.
read more
Fortress Literacy
Center - ages 7-18
A daily after-school
program for children age kindergarten through 12th grade.
Children and youth participate in this program that will help them
achieve their full potential in school.
read more
Sunday JAM (Jesus and
Me) - ages 0 -18
A weekly opportunity for
neighborhood children of all ages to come and join in a community of
believers to praise, worship and learn more about the Lord.
read more
Summer JAM (Jesus and
Me) - ages 3-18
Operates weekdays during
the summer months. It involves activities for children ages 3
through 12th grades. They participate in a variety of
activities including worship, Bible lessons, craft time, park time,
field trips and summer camp.
read more
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