INDIANAPOLIS — A local organization is getting a financial boost to extend its work with kids in vulnerable communities and bring a service learning program into two Indianapolis schools.
The Mind Trust, a non-profit organization, just awarded ProAct Indy $25,000 for the initiative. ProAct Indy will bring weekly leadership and social equality workshops to a group of students at Kindezi Academy and City Prep. They will also plan monthly service projects.
"One of the challenges that we are trying to solve for schools is that a lot of kids that come from vulnerable populations, they don't have access to programs like this. The National Honor Society, the Key Clubs, they all target a certain demographic and it's usually the kids that are already called leaders. ProAct doesn’t do that. We want kids that are in the margins. We want the kids that are in the margins that don’t really have anything to connect to," said Derrin Slack, ProAct Indy founder.
Students will get to connect with community leaders and learn how they can create change in their neighborhoods. Eventually, students will be tasked with planning their own service project to address a challenge they feel their community is facing.
“We want our kids to find themselves, discover who they are as individuals, discover where they see themselves and aligning with how they can address issues in the community and then find their passions and live out their passions through service,” said Slack.
