Mission

The mission of the Center for Leadership Development is to foster the advancement of minority youth in Central Indiana as future professional, business and community leaders by providing experiences that encourage personal and educational attainment.

Overview

For 45 years, CLD has increased educational equity in central Indiana by empowering Black youth to achieve their academic and career goals. Black students face gaps in academic achievement and college preparation. In central Indiana, only 16.8% of Black people hold a bachelor’s degree or higher than 36.7% of White people (SAVI). This gap is higher in areas that have been identified as having the greatest need for CLD services which provide students, families, and schools with 18 unique, free, or low-cost programs that address specific gaps in holistic college preparation. CLD offers a continuum of support from 4th grade through college, ensuring that students graduate from our programs prepared for future college and career success. CLD’s tiered program pathway keeps students engaged with new programs and builds competencies yearly. Through CLD’s programs, youth 1) Develop the academic skills needed to succeed in high school and post-secondary programs, 2) Acquire life skills and real-world exposure to careers, leaders, and community institutions that will guide their future careers; and 3) Develop the social and emotional skills needed to succeed in life (as seen in CLD’s Principles for Success: Character Development, Educational Excellence, Leadership Effectiveness, Community Service, and Career Achievement).

Previous Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2022: Support for the Self Discovery/Career Exploration program.

Mission

Building long-term, life-changing relationships with Indianapolis urban youth, equipping them to thrive and contribute to their community.

Overview

Elevate Indianapolis, a teaching and mentoring program grounded in Elevate USA’s nearly 40-year relational model, builds on students’ inherent strengths and potential. With its year-round, holistic approach, Elevate connects Indianapolis Public Schools [IPS] students to a comprehensive pipeline of support through its teacher-mentors beginning in elementary school, continuing into middle school, flowing through high school and into post-secondary pursuits. Elevate invests early, consistently, and long-term in the lives of its students. Elevate’s Eastside Pipeline links Arsenal Technical High School, H.L. Harshman Middle School, and Theodore Potter Elementary School #74, while its Westside Pipeline engages George Washington High School and Matchbook Learning at Wendell Phillips School #63, kindergarten to 8th grade.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Core Operating/Unrestricted Funding
• 2020: Program support for expansion of the Pathways to Purpose program

Mission

To help deserving but underserved youth develop the social and emotional qualities to be successful.

Overview

Fight for Life Foundation (FFLF) is rooted in its flagship program, Building Dreams, an evidence-based educational program that uses students’ experiences to help them develop the social-emotional skills necessary for success. Building Dreams is aligned with Indiana state educational standards and integrates Common Core Reading, Writing, Language, and Speaking and Listening skills with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) core competencies. Building Dreams provides a teacher-implemented curriculum designed to teach SEL concepts, with a behavior management system that tracks and rewards student’s behavior and class participation, as well as communicates with families to ensure the student’s wellbeing and academic success.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Program support for Building Dreams

Mission

YAP takes a holistic approach to supporting youth 3-17 by coordinating Hamilton County’s vast array of talents, services and resources to help youth and empower parents and caregivers.

Overview

YAP was formed in 2009 to help strengthen youth and families through educational, mental health, community involvement, and basic needs services that are focused on providing prevention-based programs within Hamilton County. Through YAP, staff and local volunteers develop and provide access to resources and services that promote positive-growth experiences and enhance home and community relationships for youth and their families. Across present-day services, YAP works in collaboration with the six school systems (Carmel, Fishers, Hamilton Heights, Noblesville, Sheridan, Westfield) as well as private, charter and home-school programs within Hamilton County to serve students and their families with professional, family-centered casework, advocacy and referral services.

Previous Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2022: Program support across Hamilton County YAP’s six service providers to bolster academic tutoring and mental health services for youth

Mission

The mission of the Indiana Center for Prevention of Youth Abuse and Suicide (ICPYAS) is clear – to prevent youth abuse and save lives.

Overview

ICPYAS’ focus has always been on preventing abuse and suicide through evidence-based curriculum that educates and empowers both youth and adults alike. Through its core programs in child sexual abuse prevention, child and teen safety, and suicide prevention – ICPYAS served more than 42,000 children and youth in the 2020-2021 school year. Thus far in the 2021-2022 school year, the organization has served nearly 22,000 children and youth in Hamilton County alone. Additionally, ICPYAS trains, on average, 300 adults per year with comprehensive sexual abuse and suicide prevention curriculum.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Program support for the Circles of Safety youth and adult education program
• 2020: Program support for body safety programming for children and child sexual abuse and suicide prevention training to adults

Mission

To strengthen Central Indiana by advocating for and preparing Latino students for educational success and by connecting Latino families to health and social services.

Overview

Overview: La Plaza has two areas of focus: educational success of Latino students and access to essential health and social services for Latino families. Our education programs and services address the disproportionately high dropout risks experienced by Latinos, and the under-representation of Latinos in postsecondary institutions by incorporating components of academic readiness and support, college and career exploration, leadership development, community service, advocacy, and technology training. Our four premier academic programs include: 1) Tu Futuro; 2) Leadership Institute for Latino Youth (LILY); 3) Summer Discovery; and 4) The La Plaza Scholarship Fund. Our health and social services programs for Latino families include
emergency assistance with rent and utilities, WIC Clinic, services for female victims of domestic violence, healthcare enrollment, holiday assistance, enrollment in income supports, and the Latino Opportunity Center (financial coaching, entrepreneurship support, employment training and placement).

Previous Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2022: Program support for Tu Futuro

Mission

Building transformative, Christ-centered partnerships with neighbors through which economic, relational, and spiritual poverty are alleviated.

Overview

LYN House’s primary focus is providing services to children and youth through several programs throughout the year, including summer art enrichment camps, a winter basketball league, youth leadership/employment programming, and on-site academic and tutoring support at IPS #14, URBAN ACT Academy. The organization works with smaller groups of children & youth so that they may build intentional, deep relationships with all of the kids and their families. While many of the youth and their families have moved out of their catchment area on Indianapolis’ Near Eastside, due to the strength of services and the relationships forged, these families continue to come back to LYN House to access its services.

Previous Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2022: Program expansion support

Mission

To create a meaningful impact on the lives of those served, through quality, multi-generational programs that build community, invest in youth, empower families, advocate for neighbors, and provide a peaceful space to connect.

Overview

MLK Center is the designated community center serving the Mid-North area of Indianapolis, including Crown Hill, Butler-Tarkington, Meridian-Kessler, and Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhoods. The organization offers a holistic continuum of programs to engage the community and address the systemic barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential. MLK Center’s core program is a two-generation Family Success program which integrates after-school and summer programming into a whole-family approach that helps parents first meet the family’s basic needs, address personal and family trauma, set and attain education and employment goals, and enhance their sense of community and network of social supports. The program addresses academic underachievement with an emphasis on literacy and disrupts systemic academic underachievement at Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) School #43. With a two-generation approach, older siblings and parents receive ongoing mental health services and employment coaching to achieve their education, employment, financial, and health and well-being goals.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Program support for the two-generational educational and household stability, Family Engagement Program
• 2020: Capital Support, Program support for the two-generational educational and household stability, Family Engagement Program

Mission

Playworks’ mission is to improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

Overview

Playworks helps kids stay active and build valuable social and emotional skills through play. The organization provides a continuum of services to provide support for schools, educators, and youth professionals to sustain Playworks strategies and programs over time so that partners are not reliant on intensive interventions long-term. Current services include direct services of Coach and TeamUp, and Playworks Pro. Playworks also provides consultation and professional development and facilitation services for school and youth-serving organizations.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Core Operating/Unrestricted Funding
• 2020: Organizational support to enhance sustainability, increase capacity and expand strategic partnerships

Mission

RFY provides second chances for Central Indiana’s youth and teens through prevention, intervention and counseling.

Overview

For over 47 years, RFY has been a leader in providing family-focused services. Mental health counseling is at the core of all services and offered in conjunction with a continuum of positive youth development and prevention services that provide academic support, engagement, restorative justice, and promote resilience. RFY services take a two-generation approach to engage both youth and parents in developing more effective and improved relationships.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Program support to increase mental health services and individual and family therapy sessions
• 2020: Program support to increase access to mental health counseling and positive youth development services

Mission

SOW’s mission is to provide one-on-one tutoring and educational advocacy for school-aged children impacted by homelessness. SOW’s vision is to equip these children with the educational tools necessary to achieve success in life and break the cycle of homelessness.

Overview

SOW provides in-school, shelter-based, and academic enrichment programs that address the unique educational needs of students impacted by homelessness and empower their parents to become educational advocates. Homelessness creates intense challenges and barriers for children and youth, which hinders their ability to find academic, social, and financial success. Children can exhibit various academic or social difficulties that result from the trauma of homelessness, mobility, and the lack of structural consistency and security. SOW supports these students in keeping them engaged and on-track to a high-school diploma and a future of financial stability and self-sufficiency.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

2020: Program support for both School & Shelter-Based tutoring and academic support services in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 school years

Mission

TFA finds, develops, and supports a diverse network of leaders who expand opportunity for children from classrooms, schools, and every sector and field that shapes the broader systems in which schools operate.

Overview

TFA recruits, develops, and supports equity-minded systems leaders so they can transform education and expand opportunity with children, starting in the classroom. TFA recruits outstanding individuals to make a life-long commitment that begins with two years of teaching in a high-need public school. During these two years in the classroom, corps members go beyond traditional expectations to advance the academic and personal growth of their students. In partnership with schools, families, universities, and community organizations, TFA provides initial training, ongoing professional development, and access to an unparalleled resource and support network. TFA presently supports 60,000 leaders across the country as they expand their perspectives, knowledge, and skills as educators, advocates, and systems-change leaders.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Program support to enhance the volume and diversity of the TFA teacher talent pipeline in Marion County.

Mission

Teachers’ Treasures obtains and distributes school supplies free to teachers of students in need.

Overview

Teachers’ Treasures, the “Free Store for Teachers,” helps at-risk children get the materials they need to succeed in school by providing teachers with donated educational supplies for use in their classroom. Teachers’ Treasures serves more than 5,900 teachers in Marion County who work in schools where 60% or more of the students receive free or reduced-price lunch. Teachers “shop” for free at the main 13,000 square-foot facility on the east side, the new store on the west side at Northwest Middle School, or through the Mobile Outreach events. Since its founding in 2000, Teachers’ Treasures has provided teachers more than $67 million in free school supplies. Thousands of products each year are donated to Teachers’ Treasures from businesses and individuals. Ensuring that it is consistently meeting the needs of teachers, Teachers’ Treasures also value-purchases and buys in bulk the most in-demand school supplies and stores them in their warehouse location.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Mobile Outreach Expansion Support

Mission

To provide the youth with the tools and education necessary to succeed. TROY would like to see all of the youth in the community receive an education.

Overview

TROY School is an accredited independent alternative school helping students gain an education and earn a diploma at their own pace. They believe that regardless of past behavior or current circumstances, everyone deserves the opportunity for an education. Students come to TROY for a variety of reasons but all students find themselves there because they have not been successful in a traditional school environment. What TROY offers students are small class sizes (typically a student to teacher ratio of 7:1), more 1:1 attention, a strong focus on building relationships between staff and students, on-site mental health counseling, a focus on trauma-informed care throughout all classrooms, and working individually with students to help them not only meet their academic needs but also challenges they may be facing in life outside of our building.

Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2021: Mental Health Counseling & Case Management Services Support
• 2020: Mental Health Counseling Support

Mission

YMI provides mentoring for students by building and sustaining a mentoring community with the highest level of service, integrity, encouragement, and empathy. Most importantly, we strive to continue cultivating our community by investing in our Youth.

Overview

YMI has been serving Hamilton Southeastern Schools (HSE) and the Fishers community since 2008. YMI partners with HSE schools to come alongside counselors, teachers and parents by providing another caring adult to support and encourage the success of each student. YMI achieves this through volunteer mentors that mentor once a week during the school day. Mentors meet one-on-one with students and provide them with a caring and consistent presence in their lives; become a reliable friend and someone that they can count on in their lives.

Previous Arthur Dean Family Foundation Funding

• 2020: Core Operations/Unrestricted Funding