Description
for education enhancement using athletics: basketball and football as hooks. The POWERS UP! PROGRAM is a mentoring and intervention program designed to help reduce the drop-out rate and increase enthusiasm for academic success of middle school, high school and detention facilities students while providing athletic participation, mentoring, educational classes, personal health classes and competitive sports.
The POWERS UP! PROGRAM will bring high profile professionals, entrepreneurs, educators, professional athletes and other specialist to provide direct mentoring. Each one will have success stories to share as a motivation component of the empowerment process.
The POWERS UP! PROGRAM will serve the South Central Los Angeles. This program will not have a specific zip code or boundary line however we do attempt to outline those zip codes with high percentages of at-risk-youth, 500 at risk students are identified by the district teachers. By being selected for this year long program (September 2010-June 2012), these students are in a school time reading mentor program and an after school study/mentor program. Students will attend 4 classroom sessions per week and 3 after school sessions per week.
The POWERS UP! PROGRAM is project to test the efficacy of reducing academic decline in students who are not motivated to accomplish academically. We will help them to identify and reach goals, by providing intervention focused education and competitive sports programs. This will be enhanced by one on one mentoring at the middle and high school level. The POWERS UP! PROGRAM aim is to reduce the lack of focus and teach the value of education as a tool to help them obtain viable skills for the current job market. They will be empowered with the tools to achieve their goals, and develop a strong work ethic. This will enlighten students to the many opportunities available to them regardless of their current situation. The importance of financial literacy and an educational foundation to obtain employment and move up in the work force. We will develop their work ethic and teach them how to set goals and accomplish their dreams. We will be an alternative to school failure and gang influence through self empowerment. The Program will not only give the students the encouragement needed to succeed, but introduces them to mentors who look like them. By creating a work place they can call their own. We will open their eyes to career options, entrepreneurial opportunities and allow them to work with professionals who have succeeded in reaching their goals. Students will also learn how to work in a business environment and how to create business from the ground level up.
The annual budget for the POWERS UP PROGRAM is $156,080.00 . The POWERS UP! PROGRAM will seek grants and funding of $ 12,500 for our two year mentoring program. The projected cost per participant is $ 150.00. Thank you for your Support.
Sincerely,
Treasure T. Owens
Founder/Executive Director
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
- Statement of Need
The POWERS UP! PROGRAM will serve South Central Los Angeles, California. This is a historically underserved area with hundred of thousands of youth who need our services. It has schools with drop-out rates over 50%, in some schools 80 % or more qualify for the federal Free or subsidized lunch programs. The incarceration and murder rates are some of the highest in the nation. The biggest deterrent to achievement in these communities is the lack of ground level instruction to the kids - showing them how to develop the skills necessary to achieve economic self sufficiency. It all starts with motivation, and teaching them the value of education as a tool to help them be successful in the current job market.
- Program Management
Our founder T. Treasure Owens has been serving the community since 1992. She is currently a Business Banking Professional with Wells Fargo Bank, she has received numerous awards as one of the top professionals in the industry. She serves on several local non-profit boards and has consulted with numerous government and community based agencies. She is certified as a non-profit development specialist, licensed real estate professional, and has extensive business experience. Her network of political figures, kings of industry and community leaders is second to none.
Reginald Grant will serve as the competitive sports manager for the basketball and football component of the program. Mr. Grant is a retired professional athlete (NFL and CFL), High School and Middle school coach, and Certificated English Teacher.
John Herron will serve as Director of the Basketball Completion. He is the founder of the 3 Point Hustle, a 3 point shooting and conditioning competition.
Reginald Johnson will serve as the Director of the Football Competition. He is a local high school and youth football coach. He will also coordinate the Self-Esteem and Health Component of the program.
Project Design, Service Strategy and Project Design
The POWERS UP! PROGRAM is designed to reduce the academic decline in students who are not motivated to accomplish academically. We will help them to identify and reach goals, by providing intervention focused education and classes. This will be enhanced by one on one mentoring at the high school level. The POWERS UP! PROGRAM aim is to reduce the lack of focus and teach the value of education as a tool to help them obtain viable skills for the current job market. They will be empowered with the tools to achieve their goals, and develop a strong work ethic. This will enlighten students to the many opportunities available to them regardless of their current situation. Our staff of certificated educators, industry processionals and network of mentors will ensure that the curriculums goals and message are delivered to the students in modalities that will ensure their success.
Sports component of the program of the program will consist of two elements:
3 point Basketball shooting and conditioning competition
( Middle School and High School Levels)
7 on 7 Football, competition, combine, and conditioning
( Middle School and High School Levels)
Key Partners and Resources
Los Angeles Unified School District: The second largest school district in the nation.
Holman United Methodist Church - Prison Ministry and Outreach Program: One of Los Angeles oldest and most respected church organizations.
The YWCA Greater Los Angeles: Los Angeles Job Corps managing organization serving over 7,000 kids.
Unity One - Anti Gang Youth Organization: A community based organization serving some of the toughest communities in the nation.
The National Alliance of African American Athletes: Presenters of the premier award in the nation for African American Male High School Scholar Athletes with a alumni college graduation rate hovering around 98%.
Local Chapter NFL Players Assn. Retired Players
Unity One Foundation
Sports Scholarship USA All-Star Games -AnnualHigh School and Community Colleges, high school underclassmen combines.
3 Point Hustle - The ultimate basketball 3 point shooting contest and conditioning program.
CVUSD - serving the communities of theSouthBay region ofLos Angeles,CA.
I. Proposal Summary
The proposed POWER UP! PROGRAM is a outreach, job training, education and financial literacy program, a community service of POWERS INC. Established as a pilot program, POWERS INC will demonstrate intervention that will reduce the risk of interaction of violence and drop outs to high school male and female students. The POWERS UP! PROGRAM would bring successful entrepreneurs, economics of finance, business professionals and other specialist to the schools. With a focus on personal skill development and career skill development. The Program would provide jobs and the opportunity for students to learn more about health issues, goal setting, the fundamentals of finance and economics, music, dance and theatre. Creating hands on training and career mentoring to all students meeting the class entry criteria. The program proposed service period is two years with a third year of follow-up and support. POWERS UP! PROGRAM services would include:
â-º Pre-program entry evaluation
â-º Related career education, counseling and mentoring
â-º Sports, Personal health and Physical conditioning
â-º Entrepreneurial Workshops (Financial Literacy)
â-º Personal Health screening and training
A. Goal
The goal of the POWERS UP! Program is to motivate and encourage program participants and their families to reach economic self sufficiency. We will create a supportive educational framework for students to achieve academically and in corporateAmerica. Many may eventually become business owners / entrepreneurs. Our goals is for participants to use our program to achieve academically, be prepared for job entry and have a positive impact on the lives of their family and the community.
B. Services
The three-year Program provides student involved at each collaborating high school and juvenile detention facility with:
â-º Academic Intervention and instruction
â-º Basic business training skills
â-º Competitive sports program and Personal Health Skill development
â-º Weekly program entrepreneurial workshop
â-º Career enhancement opportunity
This program will directly benefit approximately 3,000 students annually attending collaborating middle and high schools and juvenile detention facilities.
Organization Information A. History and Mission
POWERS INC, a non-profit organization established in 1999 created "Project Guardian Angel Mentor Program" as a multidisciplinary entrepreneurial educational program assessing the needs of the community and children who are considered at-risk-youth. The organization mission is to provide outstanding mentoring enhancement for students that have the desire and will to achieve at a higher level academically and in the work-force. Our focus is to stimulate and motivate the program participants to achieve their goals. Focus on skill development, life skill development and financial issues that affect their lives and through the introduction of education and professionals representing different business. We will advance the youths toward career obtainable and viable career goals. Our center will provide a focused academic curriculum, hands on training, mentoring and job placement.
Mission Statement:
"To promote staying in school for our most at risk students entering high school through one on one mentoring, education and services necessary to succeed academically."
B. Description of Current Programs
Every year, POWERS NETWORK INC. non-profit, which is the parent organization under which all the current programs are under, host special events and to allow entrepreneurs to network and promote their business. We offer special events for teens to highlight their talents. POWERS UP! Program is the next step in showing youth how to turn goals into successful opportunities for future security. Through our non-profit 501C3, we are able to provide free tuition for students that will lead them into career success stories.
After-school and camping program; childhood health and mental screening; counseling; in-home service; parenting classes; mentoring; families and schools together program; mothers and sons/daughters program; off-site service provider information and referrals.
Demographic Description of the Constituency Served
POWERS UP PROGRAM provides mentoring for young people and families living in downtown, central, south centralLos Angelesneighborhoods. The Program targets neighborhoods within the following Zip:
â-º90003, 90004, 90005, 90006, 90007, 90008, 90016. 90018. 90019, 90037, 90043, 90044, 90045, 90047
Target area with a population estimated at 400,000 is POWERS UP Program primary service community. Excluding business, civic and commercial areas and the University of Southern California (USC) campus, the neighborhoods have the highest concentration of ethnic and linguistic minority residents in Los AngelesCounty. More than half of residents self-identify as Latino, 40 percent African America, and 10 percent Asian-Pacific Islander. About 50 percent of families with children live at or below the poverty level. The annual school dropout rate for the area ranges from 30-45 percent. While a minority of these young people are gang members, the several dozen Bloods, Crips, and 18 th Street gangs in the area adversely affect the quality of life for old and young alike.
III. Funding Request
The annual budget for the POWERS UP PROGRAM is $ 156,080. POWERS NETWORK INC Non-Profit estimated this amount to run the program annually on three-year term. The Applicant is requesting $12,500. The Program will seek other area private charitable organizations grants, corporate donation, development of fundraisers, and additional matching funds.
A. Specific Educational Related Needs
The POWERS UP! PROGRAM is a sub-division of it's successor program "PROJECT GUARDIAN ANGEL MENTOR PROGRAM" which deals with ages ranging from 7-24 years of age. The POWERS UP! PROGRAM will focus on youth ages 12 - 18 years of age. program "PROJECT GUARDIAN ANGEL MENTOR PROGRAM" was developed as a pilot program in 1999 to stir up the motivation process in entrepreneurs and to reduce the ignorance of the mind-set in career success goals for youths, by educating youths about financial literacy, business and competition while providing youth in the inner city with alternatives to school failure, alcohol/drug abuse, HIV awareness and gang influence. Doing so is imperative because the schools collaborating with POWERS UP! PROGRAM ,do not have the ability to foster positive change and educational enhancement for the communities served. That's where we come in.
POWERS NETWORK Inc., see the need to provide a network source with other organizations providing youth opportunities in the community and surrounding communities that list and provide services in enhancing the education of youth toward independent goals. Providing the tools for job preparation, financial literacy and learning skills for success. Including but not limiting the opportunities to sports, arts and entertainment, but showing the process of building a successful business with credibility and preparing them for entry into corporateAmerica..
How Needs Are Assessed
At-risk youths are more prevalent in inner city high schools than in communities that are more affluent. Due to lack of financial literacy starting in the home, most youth have no concept of money and how the economy affects them, their families and the community. More than a hundreds if not thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District students have lost their lives since 1998 due to gang violence, HIV, or athletic injury. Hundreds more were left with inadequately treated moderate injuries that will lead to degenerative processes in the future. In the 1997-98 school year, about half of the sports injured young people were referred by their coaches or school nurse to hospital emergency departments with theCountyofLos Angelesand State ofCaliforniasystems absorbing most of the enormous cost of emergency room care. The other half were diagnosed with some form of sexually transmitted diseases because of lack of knowledge. No skills to fall back on, no career choices outside of a sports, or entertainment dream or gang activities.
C. Importance
The POWERS UP PROGAM builds on the contributions of the POWERS INC., NON-PROFIT Financial Literacy concept. The impact at schools will illustrate the academic climb in the success rate from this program. Half of the students involved in sports to gang activity suffered a reportable injury. With the fall in injury statistics, we are able to see the overwhelming cost savings to the medical system in the (sports care program statistics.) In the schools targeted in the Education Program we anticipate a growing number of students will clamor to participate in this program because it will provide training, internships, financial classes to students for investments and training in the construction industry establishing morals and values of others. The energy and excitement of commitment from our staff will show the importance of mentoring the minds and empowering them with the tools already in motion.
Collaborating with schools and other individual programs, educational, sports, homemaking, and music programs will offer different alternatives such as, business management, marketing, financial literacy, program development, sports, arts and entertainment, and personal hygiene . The Program brings career goals and proper appearance consciousness to schools with virtually no such resources of their own.
We will provide students with real world instruction, and mentoring, during their participation in the program.
D. Activities/Programs
The proposed POWERS UP! PROGRAM exposes career choices as entrepreneurs to students as well. Many young people in the target community believe that prospects of a career in professional sports or entertainment are certain. The reality is that less that one percent of high school, athletes become professional athletes and of those, only a handful attains the fame and fortune of a Michael Jordan. The other half rely on talents in the entertainment field and fall to the wayside of fame. Program-sponsored activities provide young people with an introduction to alternatives and high demand occupations and professions.
â-ºBasic Training and Advanced Training Sites: Basic and advanced sites would be set-up for the training and participation of high schools at our facility and on campus. Conducts as an intensive workshop after school and on weekends, the sites will give student entrepreneurs, coaches, school staff and hands on education about topics ranging from startup careers, management of business is all aspects, financial literacy. The Program would emphasize generic techniques for all career choices. The advanced sites would include hands on experience in (on various) profit projects, by training on actual materials used in business. After completing the 14 week course students will be better prepared to succeed in school and life.
â-º Student Entrepreneur Trainer, Intern Program: Successful Industry Professionals and Entrepreneurs are assigned to each participating high school. Working with Entrepreneurs, faculty, they recruit, train and supervise the interns at each school. The Student Trainer Interns receive pre-service training experience and participate in on-going training and program planning opportunities. They would assist in the Basic and Advance Sites.
â-º Entrepreneur Aide Training Course - Regional Occupational Program: The Program would sponsor a 36 -week entrepreneurial training course at each school annually. Approved for academic credit, the course would be open to any student age 16 and older that meets class criteria.
