WELLSPRING - Showing the world to our children -

Programs and Grants

Wellspring has been formed in order to initiate and implement hands-on programs for children whose parents or guardians feel that they could directly benefit from influences outside their normal encounters.
The Wellspring Foundation is working in a number of ways to accomplish its mission of giving children a chance to experience the world in which they live.

Since its inception, Wellspring has raised over $100,000.

Because of generous donations, we become part of organizations that have been thoroughly evaluated to assure that their programs are directly inline with Wellspring's principles.

In 2007, a grant was made to Community Tampa Bay.

1) Community Tampa Bay
Community Tampa Bay, formerly known as the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), promotes dialogue and respect among all cultures, religions, and races, through education, advocacy and conflict mediation. Community Tampa Bay envisions a community free from discrimination in which every individual is treated with dignity and respect. A wealth of information about their agency and programs is available on their website at www.communitytampabay.org.

The Tampa Bay region of NCCJ opened in 1949. Building on their long history and solid reputation, they started operating as an independent not-for-profit in 2005, under the new name Community Tampa Bay. Almost 60 years of hands-on experience has allowed them to become the expert in youth leadership, cross-cultural communication, diversity training, facilitative dialogue, and multicultural curriculum development in Tampa Bay. They operate nine (9) programs, broadly categorized as youth leadership programs, school-based programs and community programs.

• The Wellspring Foundation grant supported the operations that enable Community Tampa Bay to organize the Anytown program, a 5-day, 4-night residential youth leadership and diversity awareness program for high school students. Anytown is an educational program that hosts up to 60 high school students, is directed by one or two employees of Community Tampa Bay, and co-facilitated by up to 30 trained volunteers of diverse backgrounds and ages. All materials, transportation to and from, room and board are provided at no charge to participants.

Students participate in a variety of workshops and discussion groups designed to help them understand they have much more in common than what makes them different. The students create individual action plans that help them discover their social responsibility and potential in our community as they commit to civic engagement, continued learning, and volunteer service.

Upon their return, the students feel more confident to assume leadership roles and to advocate for a community that is inclusive for all. Anytown graduates are empowered with the tools and skills that allow them to reduce bullying, discrimination, name-calling, stereotyping, intolerance and hate speech wherever they go.

An independent study, concluded in the fall of 2005 by the University of South Florida demonstrated that Anytown graduates show significantly greater acceptance of diversity and social competence, and dedicate significantly more time to community service when compared to a peer group that did not attend the program.

While each Anytown session directly transforms up to 60 students and up to 30 volunteers (primarily high school age), indirectly many more are touched by the program. Through the Culture Night evening at Anytown, family members are exposed to the program, and through the students and volunteers trained by Community Tampa Bay, the impact spreads to their peers, siblings, teachers and parents, which improves the overall school and community climate.

Community Tampa Bay has a dedicated and very involved Board of Directors. They are a mission and volunteer driven organization. They are held to high standards of integrity, professionalism, transparency and accountability. An independent, external financial audit is conducted annually.

______________________________________________________________

In 2006, a grant was made to All Sports Community.

2) All Sports Community
At All Sports, students earn an opportunity to pursue higher education through community service and mentoring. All Sports Community Service, Inc. was created to ensure students contribute to their communities through volunteerism, community service and mentoring. In return, these students are supported financially and emotionally towards their goal of obtaining a college education, with the assistance of committed adults.

All Sports offers first generation college-bound students and student athletes the opportunity to attend college or successfully pursue other career options with the assistance of mentors. As the first of their families with such an opportunity, they can often better their economic status and become mentors themselves for future generations.

The All Sports program aims to deliver a "high-five experience." The sense of teamwork and accomplishment gives the student the capability to build momentum towards achieving one's goals; in this case, a college degree. The program is developed around the concept of two tiers and four quarters of an individual's educational process.

• The Wellspring Foundation grant supported All Sports after school tutoring and mentoring program at Academy Prep in Tampa, Florida. The middle-school boys in the program are mentored by a group that meets twice weekly and consists of a paid part-time graduate mentor and a team of four volunteers.

LaBrawn Saffold is the graduate mentor and founder of this group. LaBrawn is at Academy Prep three days a week, making sure that everyone stays on track. He began his work at Academy Prep with a student who was just a couple of days from flunking out of the school. Encouraged and tutored by LaBrawn, the young man is now on the Honor Roll.

The team of volunteers includes Buccaneer Will Allen who attends on Tuesday afternoons and has provided game tickets for 12 of the students. (If a student raises his grades, he gets to go to a football game. This is a powerful reward for young people.) The second member of the team is high school student Charles George. Until recently, Charles lived with his family in a homeless shelter. In the summer he had the opportunity to participate in a leadership conference in Washington, DC, and one in Sacramento. He learned many new skills that he utilizes at Academy Prep. The third member of the team is Ovie Esaloni, a college student and football player, as well as tutor to the kids. Many of the Academy Prep kids aspire to play sports, so they love talking with Ovie.

______________________________________________________________

In 2005, we distributed grants to Operation Understanding DC (OUDC) and Youth Action Research Group (YARG).

3) Operation Understanding DC (OUDC)
OUDC is a leadership development program for Washington-area African American and Jewish high school students. Their mission is to build a future generation of community leaders who will work to eradiate racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, and to promote respect, understanding and cooperation within their communities. OUDC works with high school juniors, engaging them in a variety of training and experiences. During the first six months of the program, students participate in workshops, meetings, lectures and activities, learning about the religion, history and culture of African Americans and Jews in the United States.

• The Wellspring Foundation grant supported OUDC’s Class 11’s Civil Rights Journey. Class 11’s civil rights journey consisted of a 25 day trip visiting places like the Lower East Side of New York, “Sweet” Auburn in Atlanta, and Beale Street in Memphis, which are historic urban centers that were home to pioneers in both the Jewish and African American communities.

The students met with a diverse speaker list that included social justice advocates, clergy men and women, university professors and trailblazers for change, which helped them more fully developed their own leadership styles and social consciousness. OUDC’s Class 11 students shared with us some of their inspirational evaluations from their trip:

“I have become much more motivated about changing things that I see wrong in my school and neighborhood.”

“I feel ready to go out and do great things. Instead of thinking that I am too young to make a real change or too shy to attempt to do so, I am imbued with the spirit of justice and empowered by the promise of my peers.”

“I am a better leader, listener and more interested in current events. The trip taught me to truly appreciate history and understand its value.”

______________________________________________________________

4) Youth Action Research Group (YARG)
The mission of the Youth Action Research Group (YARG) is to build the capacity of Washington, DC youth to critically analyze the problems facing their communities and to engage in organizing, advocacy, and civic education to affect concrete social and policy change around issues that directly impact their lives. YARG's youth members are high school and out of
school young women and men of color age 13 to 21. They are all low and very low income. About half of YARG's youth members are African American, a quarter are Latino and Latino immigrants, and a quarter are African immigrants. YARG's youth run media projects, a monthly youth produced radio broadcast on Radio CPR, 97.5, and a youth written blog www.yargdc.blogspot.com, enable both new and veteran members to plug into concrete projects and reach out to more young people to build membership and adult allies to support their organizing campaigns. YARG youth members conduct classroom presentations, street outreach, and tabling at area schools to educate more DC youth about YARG's work and build their membership. YARG members help move their organizing campaign forward and receive intensive training and education around social justice issues, organizing, writing, and media. YARG fosters leadership, literacy and language development among its participants and provides them an enriching experience that prepares them for college and for careers in community organizing, advocacy and service delivery.

• The Wellspring Foundation grant supported YARG's youth members in conducting research on the issue of youth jobs and job training in Washington, DC. Their research specifically targeted youth participants from DC's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) as well as employers from several different SYEP job sites. SYEP is a six-week summer program that DC provides for low to moderate-income youth between the ages of 14 to 21.

Over the next year, YARG's youth members will work to carry out and win their organizing campaign to restructure and fully fund DC's youth employment programming so that DC youth have year round access to inspiring, fulfilling, and challenging career training programs that support their development as competitive candidates for well paying jobs within DC's leading industries.

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				Programs and Grants Wellspring has been formed in order to initiate and implement hands-on programs for children whose parents or guardians feel that they could directly benefit from influences outside their normal encounters. The Wellspring Foundation is working in a number of ways to accomplish its mission of giving children a chance to experience the world in which they live. Since its inception, Wellspring has raised over $100,000. Because of generous donations, we become part of organizations that have been thoroughly evaluated to assure that their programs are directly inline with Wellspring's principles. In 2007, a grant was made to Community Tampa Bay. 1) Community Tampa Bay Community Tampa Bay, formerly known as the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), promotes dialogue and respect among all cultures, religions, and races, through education, advocacy and conflict mediation. Community Tampa Bay envisions a community free from discrimination in which every individual is treated with dignity and respect. A wealth of information about their agency and programs is available on their website at www.communitytampabay.org. The Tampa Bay region of NCCJ opened in 1949. Building on their long history and solid reputation, they started operating as an independent not-for-profit in 2005, under the new name Community Tampa Bay. Almost 60 years of hands-on experience has allowed them to become the expert in youth leadership, cross-cultural communication, diversity training, facilitative dialogue, and multicultural curriculum development in Tampa Bay. They operate nine (9) programs, broadly categorized as youth leadership programs, school-based programs and community programs. • The Wellspring Foundation grant supported the operations that enable Community Tampa Bay to organize the Anytown program, a 5-day, 4-night residential youth leadership and diversity awareness program for high school students. Anytown is an educational program that hosts up to 60 high school students, is directed by one or two employees of Community Tampa Bay, and co-facilitated by up to 30 trained volunteers of diverse backgrounds and ages. All materials, transportation to and from, room and board are provided at no charge to participants. Students participate in a variety of workshops and discussion groups designed to help them understand they have much more in common than what makes them different. The students create individual action plans that help them discover their social responsibility and potential in our community as they commit to civic engagement, continued learning, and volunteer service. Upon their return, the students feel more confident to assume leadership roles and to advocate for a community that is inclusive for all. Anytown graduates are empowered with the tools and skills that allow them to reduce bullying, discrimination, name-calling, stereotyping, intolerance and hate speech wherever they go. An independent study, concluded in the fall of 2005 by the University of South Florida demonstrated that Anytown graduates show significantly greater acceptance of diversity and social competence, and dedicate significantly more time to community service when compared to a peer group that did not attend the program. While each Anytown session directly transforms up to 60 students and up to 30 volunteers (primarily high school age), indirectly many more are touched by the program. Through the Culture Night evening at Anytown, family members are exposed to the program, and through the students and volunteers trained by Community Tampa Bay, the impact spreads to their peers, siblings, teachers and parents, which improves the overall school and community climate. Community Tampa Bay has a dedicated and very involved Board of Directors. They are a mission and volunteer driven organization. They are held to high standards of integrity, professionalism, transparency and accountability. An independent, external financial audit is conducted annually. ______________________________________________________________ In 2006, a grant was made to All Sports Community. 2) All Sports Community At All Sports, students earn an opportunity to pursue higher education through community service and mentoring. All Sports Community Service, Inc. was created to ensure students contribute to their communities through volunteerism, community service and mentoring. In return, these students are supported financially and emotionally towards their goal of obtaining a college education, with the assistance of committed adults. All Sports offers first generation college-bound students and student athletes the opportunity to attend college or successfully pursue other career options with the assistance of mentors. As the first of their families with such an opportunity, they can often better their economic status and become mentors themselves for future generations. The All Sports program aims to deliver a "high-five experience." The sense of teamwork and accomplishment gives the student the capability to build momentum towards achieving one's goals; in this case, a college degree. The program is developed around the concept of two tiers and four quarters of an individual's educational process. • The Wellspring Foundation grant supported All Sports after school tutoring and mentoring program at Academy Prep in Tampa, Florida. The middle-school boys in the program are mentored by a group that meets twice weekly and consists of a paid part-time graduate mentor and a team of four volunteers. LaBrawn Saffold is the graduate mentor and founder of this group. LaBrawn is at Academy Prep three days a week, making sure that everyone stays on track. He began his work at Academy Prep with a student who was just a couple of days from flunking out of the school. Encouraged and tutored by LaBrawn, the young man is now on the Honor Roll. The team of volunteers includes Buccaneer Will Allen who attends on Tuesday afternoons and has provided game tickets for 12 of the students. (If a student raises his grades, he gets to go to a football game. This is a powerful reward for young people.) The second member of the team is high school student Charles George. Until recently, Charles lived with his family in a homeless shelter. In the summer he had the opportunity to participate in a leadership conference in Washington, DC, and one in Sacramento. He learned many new skills that he utilizes at Academy Prep. The third member of the team is Ovie Esaloni, a college student and football player, as well as tutor to the kids. Many of the Academy Prep kids aspire to play sports, so they love talking with Ovie. . ______________________________________________________________ In 2005, we distributed grants to Operation Understanding DC (OUDC) and Youth Action Research Group (YARG). 3) Operation Understanding DC (OUDC) OUDC is a leadership development program for Washington-area African American and Jewish high school students. Their mission is to build a future generation of community leaders who will work to eradiate racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, and to promote respect, understanding and cooperation within their communities. OUDC works with high school juniors, engaging them in a variety of training and experiences. During the first six months of the program, students participate in workshops, meetings, lectures and activities, learning about the religion, history and culture of African Americans and Jews in the United States. • The Wellspring Foundation grant supported OUDC’s Class 11’s Civil Rights Journey. Class 11’s civil rights journey consisted of a 25 day trip visiting places like the Lower East Side of New York, “Sweet” Auburn in Atlanta, and Beale Street in Memphis, which are historic urban centers that were home to pioneers in both the Jewish and African American communities. The students met with a diverse speaker list that included social justice advocates, clergy men and women, university professors and trailblazers for change, which helped them more fully developed their own leadership styles and social consciousness. OUDC’s Class 11 students shared with us some of their inspirational evaluations from their trip: “I have become much more motivated about changing things that I see wrong in my school and neighborhood.” “I feel ready to go out and do great things. Instead of thinking that I am too young to make a real change or too shy to attempt to do so, I am imbued with the spirit of justice and empowered by the promise of my peers.” “I am a better leader, listener and more interested in current events. The trip taught me to truly appreciate history and understand its value.” . ______________________________________________________________ 4) Youth Action Research Group (YARG) The mission of the Youth Action Research Group (YARG) is to build the capacity of Washington, DC youth to critically analyze the problems facing their communities and to engage in organizing, advocacy, and civic education to affect concrete social and policy change around issues that directly impact their lives. YARG's youth members are high school and out of school young women and men of color age 13 to 21. They are all low and very low income. About half of YARG's youth members are African American, a quarter are Latino and Latino immigrants, and a quarter are African immigrants. YARG's youth run media projects, a monthly youth produced radio broadcast on Radio CPR, 97.5, and a youth written blog www.yargdc.blogspot.com, enable both new and veteran members to plug into concrete projects and reach out to more young people to build membership and adult allies to support their organizing campaigns. YARG youth members conduct classroom presentations, street outreach, and tabling at area schools to educate more DC youth about YARG's work and build their membership. YARG members help move their organizing campaign forward and receive intensive training and education around social justice issues, organizing, writing, and media. YARG fosters leadership, literacy and language development among its participants and provides them an enriching experience that prepares them for college and for careers in community organizing, advocacy and service delivery. • The Wellspring Foundation grant supported YARG's youth members in conducting research on the issue of youth jobs and job training in Washington, DC. Their research specifically targeted youth participants from DC's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) as well as employers from several different SYEP job sites. SYEP is a six-week summer program that DC provides for low to moderate-income youth between the ages of 14 to 21. Over the next year, YARG's youth members will work to carry out and win their organizing campaign to restructure and fully fund DC's youth employment programming so that DC youth have year round access to inspiring, fulfilling, and challenging career training programs that support their development as competitive candidates for well paying jobs within DC's leading industries. .

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