We have history….
The people we help seek guidance and care to repurpose their lives. They all are competent and what's missing at times is peace of mind, employment and acceptance. Every one of them have contributions that can work towards improvement of our communities and we learned from the onset of our journey their testimonies are worth more than gold. Our concept created a nurturing environment to help develop character, leadership capabilities and life skills combined with something everyone enjoys.
Our founding board members have experienced some level of abuse that created the passion with our organization. Child maltreatment is a devastating social problem in American society. In 1990, over 2 million cases of child abuse and neglect were reported to social service agencies. In a survey conducted by The National Center on Elder Abuse, it was reported that elders who experience abuse had a 300% higher risk of death than those who had not been abused or neglected.
In recent years, we have delved into a major concern that may not be as much of a realization as it should. Human trafficking can happen to people of all ages and genders and any race or religious background. Women are often used for sexual exploitation, while men are usually used for forced labor. It is believed that one in five human trafficking victims are children, as early as the age of 5, exploited for begging, child pornography, or child labor.
It all started for us in 2008. We became an official 501(c) 3. Newbies in the game along with inexperience had us spinning our wheels. We took a few courses at the local library that hones in on the nonprofit sector and made a few connects that advised for a small fee they could help us in this lane. Those avenues became costly dead ends. It was then as board members we'd decided we would be our own financial providers
2009 our MUSICAL MINORS program was created. Music was being removed from the schools. After school programs didn't have activities for the kids and video games were taking over fiercely. Young adults and adolescents were beginning to struggle with their identity which heightened bullying in schools. Troubled students were misunderstood and getting into miscellaneous troubling circumstances and they needed an outlet that wasn't readily available. We chose then to speak the universal language realizing the importance of music being implemented during the formative years of a child's life. Therefore, in the absence of music as a curriculum in our educational system, we bring the opportunity to those individuals that have the desire to learn. Our program gave us access to the transitional housing that helps those that were in abusive environments. They needed more help than the entertainment outlet we were providing.
In 2012 we created our NEED TO FEED program. Partnerships with other organizations put forth efforts to aid in insuring those without food are able to receive it. This service is critical as many are struggling and are often overlooked. We endeavor to meet the needs of the at-risk and abused women and children. The program evolved to assist the elderly. These are some of the most vulnerable and we along with our partners have shouldered the commitment to accommodate them.
2015 we created the WISDOM WARRIORS program to align with the STOP THE BULLYING campaign. We reach out to the elderly that are dealing with the condition of loneliness, emptiness and despair. They are, too often, confined to the reality that social interaction is scarce if not absent altogether. Building a bridge with the elder and our youth was an experience like none other. A unique bond was discovered...
In 2018 the American Express Give2Gether campaign became a key source of assistance with these programs as our personal financial contributions became more difficult to continue. Today, there is a plethora of access to information and the assistance we need to continue that differs from when we began our journey.