Phyllis Wheatley Community Center

The Mary T. Wellcome Child Development Center (MTW) of PWCC prepares children from low-income working families for success in school by providing a safe, affordable, quality, pre0academic program for children ages six weeks to five years old. Our research-based curriculum ensures kids are ahead of the curve, teaching developmentally appropriate math, language, literacy, creative arts, social and emotional development, and cultural awareness skills. Staff work closely with parents to e3nsure each child achieves important milestones for development. Our DigitalTechWorks Academy programs offer options for all age groups, and include coding courses and esports for kids and teens and basic digital literacy as well as training for advanced certifications that open career opportunities in the quickly explaining tech industry. Community Resource Services provides wrap-around services to clients in any of our programs to connect them to needed resources and support. By partnering with other nonprofits, this program allows PWCC staff to assess the holistic needs of clients on an individual basis and ensure they are able to access everything they need in order to maintain success after completion of our programming.

Family Strengthening: HOPE for Men, HOPE for Women, and HOPE for Youth groups provide networks of support to help people heal from trauma and give people a second chance and a stronger skill set for managing anger after they've been involved in domestic violence, as perpetrators or as victims. The Quality Parenting Academy works to help families involved with Child Protection Services to prevent legal separation from occurring and to reunite families after it has. Participants identify personal and family aspirations, and work toward achieving realistic personal and family stability goals. Activities help participants strengthen their parenting skills, learn ways to resolve conflict, and build family and community leadership skills. Our Covid Community Connection program provides free testing and vaccinations to all people who need them and serves as a trustworthy source of information on Covid-19 and vaccine hesitance. The program also provides mental health support for those whose recovery from the pandemic has been difficult due to depression and other mental illnesses.

Youth Programming: Be@School - Year-round activities, during and after school and during the summer months provide school-age children and youth with stable, positive role models and mentors who build and reinforce academic and life skills by providing mentorship and working with families to address a child's trouble areas at school. The programs focus on strengthening family and community to accelerate kids' learning, build developmental assets, promote leadership skills, divert them from engaging in high-risk activities , and work with low-performing students to get them back on track in school. Our youth programs include Be@Schol, our truancy diversion partnership with Hennepin County; RISE: Building Bridges Through Basketball, which gives youth and teens a safe space to have important conversations and learn about themselves while creating a dialogue between Black youth and police officers; our early childhood development center; and our newest project which will restore the 100-acre camp that was donated to PWCC in 1956 to serve as a place for our inner city kids to experience the numerous benefits of spending time outdoors.