Heartbeats from the 'Hood

Coffee selling helps build work skills
Impact Coffee impacts West Palm Beach
By: Tania Rogers

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - More than 100 students spend their afternoon doing homework and being mentored at Urban Youth Impact in West Palm Beach. The faith-based organization reaches out to inner city children to provide them a safe learning environment.

There's something else brewing at Urban Youth impact. The organization also sells coffee through a division called Impact Coffee.

The older students, like Tamikka Robins and Daniel Battle, are learning business skills in selling the coffee to area customers. Daniel said, "I've learned a lot of things doing this. I think if I did not have Impact Coffee, the way the jobs are out there, I probably would not have a job. There are a lot of places, they are hiring but they are not looking for young people, they are looking for people who have a higher education."

Tamikka said, "I love coming here, it's a blessing, it's a great opportunity." Profits from selling the coffee go towards Urban Youth Impact programs.

Tamikka said the organization benefits from the sales. "It goes back to our community, goes back to children."

Daniel and Tamikka say business is good and they're excited about adding another flavor of coffee. Daniel said customers will like it. "Our newest blend comes from Hawaii and it's 100 Kona blend and a breakfast blend which comes from Gold Coffee Company in Jupiter."

Tamikka is more than willing to take more orders for the new flavor. "Sometimes we deliver the coffee, sometimes we mail them the coffee and sometimes they walk in and we sell them the coffee."

Impact Coffee
561-832-9220 ext. 103
www.impactcoffee.com

Urban Youth Impact
2823 North Australian Avenue in West Palm Beach

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/about_us/community_affairs/making_a_difference/impacting-young-lives

Thank you for making our
annual Christmas Store a success!

2010 Christmas Store
1,550 kids in 450 families served
5,000+ toys given away
$2,000 in grocery gift cards given away
800 bags of groceries provided to families
2,000 items of clothing distributed
1,700 hot dogs served

Because of your support of Urban Youth Impact, hundreds of children will wake up Christmas morning to find gifts under the tree!

Our Christmas Store was a huge success! Urban Youth Impact distributed 5,000+ gifts and toys to the Tamarind Avenue community, serving over 1,550 kids in 450 families. None of this would have been possible without your donations of toys, groceries, clothing and cash.

The need this year was greater than ever. Families in the community slept on the sidewalk the night before the event to be among the first in line to pick out gifts for their children. Thank you for helping us empower these parents and for sharing the love of God this Christmas season.

Please remember that all the work Urban Youth Impact does is supported by your giving. And we need your support! As you make your end of year donations, please prayerfully consider donating to Urban Youth Impact.

Donations can also be mailed to: 2823 N. Australian Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33407

or go to: https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=7520

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Donors Join Forces to Create Safe Outdoor Space for Inner-City Youth

Urban Youth Impact is the recipient of a $110,000 donation to build a fenced-in parking lot and recreational area on the south end of its Dream Center facility on North Australian Avenue.

The James and Claudine Kirkwood Fund of The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties and Mr. Mitchell Watson collaborated to offer a $55,000 ($25,000/$30,000) matching grant challenge to fund this construction project.  This month, The Batchelor Foundation committed $55,000 to finish the match.

This new recreational area will benefit the students involved in Urban Youth Impact's Leadership Academy after school program.  The Leadership Academy operates in the Dream Center, which neighbors the Tamarind Avenue corridor of West Palm Beach.  Located less than a mile from CityPlace, this neighborhood has one of the highest crime rates in the city.  The West Palm Beach Police Department identifies the Tamarind Avenue corridor as one of its most difficult, especially when it comes to extensive drug trafficking.  Approximately 50% of all homes in the neighborhood consist of single parent, female-headed households that operate below the poverty level.  Statistically, 32% of youth will not graduate from high school.

The Leadership Academy's goal is to break the negative cycle of poverty in this community by developing students academically, physically, socially, and spiritually.  The program provides 100 inner-city students with tutoring, computer-based literacy learning, life skills lessons and character building lessons, mentoring relationships, performing arts, field trips, and recreation.  In 2008-2009, The Leadership Academy's first year of operation, 73% of students improved their reading scores.  To date, The Leadership Academy is the only comprehensive youth development program of its kind in the community.

The new recreational area will offer the students a safe outdoor space to play basketball, unwind after school, and develop friendships in a part of the city where secure play spaces for children are limited. Construction will begin immediately upon receipt of the funds.    

Summer Work Program Equips Students for Life

Highly Competitive Summer Work Program Employs 26 Students
Urban Youth Impact's Summer Work Program equips students to enter the work force through paid internships in professional settings.  Every summer the application process is highly competitive, and this year was no exception.  Urban Youth Impact received over 60 applications for 26 positions.  The following businesses and organizations provided job placements for the students:

• Cafe Joshua
• The Community Health Center
• Omnipotent Outreach Ministries
• Orthodox Zion Child Development Center
• Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller's Office
• Police Athletic League
• Rock Legal Services
• West Palm TV  

Meet Sheyla: Aspiring TV Producer
Sheyla Cornish, who interned at West Palm TV, was a new face in this year's Summer Work Program.  At just fifteen, she has already studied TV production, earned college credits, and articulates very clear goals about her future.  And on top of that, she took on a complex project in addition to her duties at the TV station.

Over the course of her six-week internship, Sheyla created a video about the Summer Work Program.  She interviewed and filmed other students, coaching them on how to look at the camera and speak clearly. She also recorded a voice-over of Summer Work Program Coordinator John O'Hara reading a script that she prepared. John observed, "While most fifteen-year-olds seem to be consumed with fashion, friends, and music, Sheyla is concerned with educating herself."

Successful Business Professionals Impact Students
In addition to their internships, the students attended trainings led by business professionals.  The youth enthusiastically embraced the speakers and the valuable lessons they shared.  Fifteen-year-old Virginia Carter summed it up the best: "The guest speakers were inspiring and helped us get to where we need to be in life."  The following guests shared several golden nuggets of professional wisdom:

Mr. Merrill Eastman  
Having managed 21,000 employees as the former President & CEO of Best Foods, Mr. Eastman (pictured here) knows what employers are looking for when it comes to excellent workers. He stressed the importance of education, integrity, loyalty, and perseverance, but reminded the students, "Success isn't about money. It's about adding value to yourself and those you love."

Mr. Bill Specce
Mr. Specce is a well-rounded man professionally, having been a pilot, chiropractor, and construction company owner. Speaking from personal experience, he reminded the students that two qualities of a good worker should never change, even if the job does: precision and passion.

Ms. Rebecca Williams
Ms. Williams co-founded Earth Elements, a home fragrance company, and has acted in plays and commercials for over 20 years.  Her two lines of work have taught her the value of persistence and innovation.  "There's nothing you can't do with faith and hard work," she said.

Dr. Bettye Knighton
Dr. Knighton, CEO of Emerge Publishing Group, is an author, a minister, and has over 30 years of experience as a Certified Professional Speaker.  She taught the students simple but powerful strategies for becoming dynamic public speakers.

Mr. Rick Schnur
Mr. Schnur is a teacher and boys' baseball coach.  In his extra time, he assists with his wife's business, which is a high-end pet food store.  The Schnurs have learned how significant it is to fully support each other in order to succeed, and he encouraged the students to do the same.           

Two UYI Children to be Adopted by Jupiter Family

"God sets the lonely in families..."

Psalm 68:6a

Well, I don't know how much longer Sam* is going to be around to water those plants.  You see, last Tuesday we found out that Sam and his 16-year-old sister would need to move to a new home.  Their mom's mental and physical disabilities have overcome her and she is being placed in a group home long-term.

A few volunteers and friends who have been involved in Sam and his sister's lives over the past two years began to pray about who could take the two kids and provide a stable, Christian home for them.  A pastor and his wife from a church in Jupiter stepped forward and are in the process of foster/adopting Sam and his sister!

Sam's new mom and dad are picking them up on Tuesday, and both kids are very excited.  "Mom and dad" are concerned about what the kids are going to do for the rest of the summer, as they live quite a distance from our facility and both work, but as a wise man often says to me, "This didn't catch God by surprise; He's already worked it out."

My purpose in writing is to update you, of course, but also to let you know how valuable you are to the Kingdom of God and how very much God loves you all.  It took more than one person to make this happen.  It took the Body of Christ -- arms, legs, eyes, and every part to make it happen!

There is still a long, hard road ahead for these two precious children and their new "mom and dad," but as I went out to water the plants today, I found these two flowers growing in a crack between the cement wall and sidewalk, behind one of the plants Sam has been watering.  I think this picture says it all.

-- Candace Eastling, Volunteer Coordinator

*Sam's name has been changed to protect his privacy.