Inspiring Minds of New York City

After-School and Summer Programming is offered weekly for students focusing on education, mentoring, leadership, arts, civic engagement, college and career readiness, internships, personal development and so much more. At Inspiring Minds, students work in a happy, safe and structured environment that encourages them to become the next generation of leaders.The Life Goal Labs curriculum is an emotional wellness and leadership program for high school students ages 13-20, inspired by the healing philosophies of indigenous cultures from around the world. The program uses nature as a thematic guide to support participants as they awaken their personal leadership style. It arms students with tools for emotional literacy, stress reduction, and body awareness so that they may access their inner compass for success. During the pandemic, this program became Coed due to an increasing demand of health and wellness for the boys. The Sankofa Young Mens Empowerment Program will provide students with a holistic educational experience designed to assist them in cultivating their leadership skills. This 10-week experience will draw on principles from West African rite of passage ceremonies that prepare boys to transition into manhood. Through multimedia presentations and engaging activities that challenge the group to work collectively, students will be provided a safe forum to assist them in their development. During the pandemic, this transitioned to being a coed program due to George Floyd and the rising popularity of Black Lives Matter. Girls needed the services from this program to provide a platform for them to discuss their concerns about the racial tension in this country. Internships Targeting seniors in high school, participants will receive 20 hours of training around professionalism, work etiquette and will explore different sectors in the field. Students will be assigned internships after they have completed their training and will go through a reflection and next step process with the Internship Coordinator. College Tours Inspiring Minds will set up 2 college tours each year for all students participating in IM programming. Students will learn about admissions, different areas of study, the life and journey of a college student from current students, fraternities/sororities and scholarship opportunities. The first tour will be local and the 2nd tour will be out of state. CIVICS In partnership with YeyeX, Inspiring Minds built a culturally responsive academic intervention that will include music videos, songs tailored to the content and a curriculum guide. The school will choose the academic area of focus and assign an educator from their staff to support the team with aligning the curriculum. We focus on the following activities under each Area of Impact:Education: We assist our youth with homework; tutoring; provide them with learning activities focusing on reading, language arts, STEM, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy; provide them frequent monitoring of each student's interim grades, report cards, and state test scores; and provide our youth with incentives for student academic and behavioral achievement. College & Career Readiness: We provide our youth with career guidance and exploration; take them on company tours (including The White House, Coca Cola, Warner Brothers & Universal Studios, Ohio State House, Cleveland Indians, Madison Square Garden, The Apollo, Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis Colts, General Motors, and BET Headquarters); provide them with college tours (colleges and universities visited include Penn State University, Purdue University, University of Southern California, Parsons School of Art & Design, The Art Institutes, University of Notre Dame, Thiel College, Duke University, The Ohio State University, and Bowling Green State University); and assist them with professional development such as resume writing, mock interviews, job shadowing, career camps, and internship opportunities. Exposure to New Experiences: We have provided our youth with week-long trips and day trips to various destinations across the county. Inspiring Minds youth have explored diverse communities, visited museums, embraced cultural tradition, and have been introduced to new foods. We've also introduced our youth to professional athletes, famous entertainers, and CEOs. Health & Wellness: We teach our youth about nutrition and cooking; sports education through exposure to traditional and non-traditional sports such as football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, track and field; help them find exercises they enjoy such as swimming, dancing, boxing, weightlifting, yoga, tai-chi and more; and teach them about personal hygiene. Personal Development: We require 100% participation in our activities to encourage students to try new things outside of their comfort zone. Inspiring Minds sets expectations for acceptable behaviors such as regular attendance, participation, respect for staff and peers, dress code adherence and transportation safety in order to develop character within our students. We also provide our youth with opportunities to plan, organize and participate in community service projects.THIS PROGRAM WAS ALSO SUPPORTED DURING THE YEAR BY IN KIND DONATIONS OF SERVICES INCLUDING OFFICE AND CLASSROOM SPACE USE VALUED AT $25,000 AND SERVICES VALUED AT $21,000 COVERED THE COST OF 20 INTERNS DURING SUMMER 2023.