Education and Youth Empowerment Initiative

The purpose of Bates Community Development Centers (BCDC) through the Education and Youth Empowerment program is to increase youth achievement and school engagement by providing a caring community to reduce engagement in high-risk behaviors. BCDC will serve 5-18 year old youth and children in the Smoketown and Shelby Park neighborhoods of Louisville, KY. BCDC will engage in the Bates Academic Summer Enrichment Program (BASE) which will provide an 8-week summer camp experience for 150 youth and children with instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, and computers to decrease the amount of skill loss over the summer months. It will also provide a caring atmosphere in which interpersonal skills are improved. The Reaching Academic Potential (RAP) program will provide after-school tutoring and homework assistance for 60 youth and children in an effort to increase academic achievement and school engagement; and the Phenomena Women and Men of Perception will mentor 35 youth primarily attending Atherton High School. NCA/NCF