Ten North Group, formerly the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation, has been awarded a five-year, $4.5M grant by the Children’s Trust for its Art of Transformation Youth Development and Enrichment School Programs and Summer Camps for 4th -8th-grade students in Miami-Dade County.
The Art of Transformation Youth Enrichment Initiative offers a high-quality hands-on, innovative, creative and immersive school year and summer enrichment program that combines evidence-based and out-of-the-box activities for young people in high-need areas of unincorporated Miami and North Miami-Dade County.
The Program will serve 220 young people after school and 260 in the summer and focuses on supporting literacy, differentiated learning, social-emotional learning, homework assistance, physical fitness, and nutrition education while also opening doors to the creative arts, young entrepreneurship, and the STEM world. Youths will be able to indulge in a variety of artistic and STEM activities that allow children to use their imaginations, and creativity, and express ideas in a variety of mediums. Youths enrolled in the program will be able to explore dance, visual arts (inclusive of painting & photography), theater, creative writing, music production, 3D & laser printing, virtual reality (VR) programming & simulation, and coding. The program will cater to students in grades 4th through 8th.
Nakia Bowling, Director of Family Services & Community Initiatives, Ten North Group comments “It was important for us to design a program that pushed the boundaries of creativity for the students we will serve. Everything about this program is designed from the students’ perspective and enrichment activities that place students’ engagement as our top priority”.
Ten North Group, formerly the Opa-locka Community Corporation, has a slate of company-wide initiatives that enrich the North Miami-Dade community to include social, educational, and financial programs that have served close to 4,000 youths, 6,250 children, and families. In addition to its educational programs, Ten North Group has served over 2,500 first-time home buyers, and its CDFI has provided loans and technical assistance to over 1,500 small business owners and entrepreneurs. Ten North Group has built over 2,500 units of affordable housing and 145 single-family homes. Its current real estate portfolio consists of historic properties, commercial parcels, and over 1,200 affordable housing units.
“We are incredibly grateful to The Children’s Trust for entrusting us with this important work of strengthening Miami-Dade’s families by focusing on the development of the next generation; our youth. I am confident that this innovative 5-year program, focusing on so many of our priorities like the arts and STEM, will create a ripple effect of success for decades to come”, said Dr. Willie Logan, President & CEO, Ten North Group.