Children in Poverty grant builds leadership skills in Indianapolis youth
Edna Martin Christian Center in Indianapolis, Ind., developed a new initiative, The Leadership and Legacy Summer Program Ministry, with help from a National Ministries' Children in Poverty grant.
National Ministries, American Baptist Home Mission Societies, awarded grants totaling $50,000 in 2009 to American Baptist congregations and organizations to support programs for children in their communities.
One of the 15 grants—awarded to Edna Martin Christian Center in Indianapolis, Ind.—supported the development of a new initiative, The Leadership and Legacy Summer Program Ministry. As a result of aggressive recruitment and selective partnership, the center exceeded its recruitment goals, serving 115 students in two sites.
The program, which combined the tenets of faith and mission with an intense focus on summer academics, was created to provide inner-city youth with tools that would foster their effectiveness as community leaders.
The Leadership and Legacy Summer Program Ministry was a more proactive approach to youth leadership development than the family-oriented programming the center has been providing for a long time. Ultimately, this new ministry will yield great benefits both individually and for the overall community, say center leaders, Deputy Director Barato Britt and Executive Director Tysha Sellers.
In their report about the ministry, Britt and Sellers wrote: “Throughout the summer, we stressed to our young people the importance of working hard, maintaining positive lifestyles and contributing to the overall well-being of the community. Through our devotional and spiritual components, we reminded our youth that, for all we expect of them as our future leaders, they must put God first and foremost.”
A 9-year-old, Madonna, who participated in the program, clearly got the message. When asked what she learned, she responded, “Being a leader means to love God and my family and to work hard in school.”
Applications for 2010 grants are being accepted now through April 30. Those that support initiatives promoting education, health care or developing higher parent income will receive the most attention. Last year’s grant recipients included grassroots projects staffed by volunteers as well as more established, institutional projects complete with budgets and paid staff.
National Ministries’ grant program is part of the Children in Poverty initiative, established in 2006.
