The Neighborhood Enrichment Project Incorporated (NEPINC) is a non-profit organization founded in April 2010. We are using my (Scott Speed) Blog site as a temporary landing place for you to gather information about our organization while our official site is under construction. Thanks for visiting and after you read the info below about “The Bridge Youth Leadership Movement” feel free to take a look around!
The Neighborhood Enrichment Project Incorporated
Presents
The Bridge: Youth Leadership Movement
Mission Statement
The Bridge Youth Leadership Movement (BYLM) is a program designed to eliminate the gaps in achievement that plague high needs youth in inner city and rural communities across America. The program is designed to enrich the whole child by providing “Intelligent Inspirations” in the areas of academic, cultural, financial, health, social, and emotional intelligence. An increase in intelligence, the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills, in these areas for our children will assist them in crossing the bridge that leads to success.
“Intelligent Inspirations” Model
There are six “Intelligent Inspirations” that will serve as a framework for the program:
Multiple Intelligence
Cultural Intelligence
Social Intelligence
Financial Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence
Health Intelligence
The “Intelligent Inspirations” model is an intelligent approach to bridging the gap in achievement that plagues low socio-economic communities and schools. We created this model with the intent of transcending youth mentorship, as we now know it. Rather than focusing on the problems and behaviors that we want to eliminate in our youth we must focus on the type of people that we want them to become. We believe that a failing child is an adult problem and we are radical in our belief that all children posses the seeds of intelligence necessary to succeed in life. With the proper nurturing and guidance all children can prosper.
It’s been said that knowledge is power. However it is our belief that knowledge in itself has limits. Our stance is that Intelligence, defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills, produces an individual who is capable of acquiring and adapting knowledge to the several challenges that accompany the pursuit of success into the next decade and beyond.
“Intelligent Inspirations” Objectives
- Multiple Intelligence
- Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence argues that intelligence, particularly as it is traditionally defined, does not sufficiently encompass the wide variety of abilities humans display.
- We believe that providing children with an awareness of their Multiple Intelligence’s (strengths and passions) will build their self-esteem and feelings of self worth. We will nurture each child and provide growth opportunities through their strengths and passions. We will provide college tours, career awareness, and exposure to professionals who share the same strengths and passions.
- Cultural Intelligence
- An important ingredient to enriching the whole child is providing them opportunities to gain awareness of their cultural roots, while also exposing them to cultural diversity.
- Positive cultural awareness activities, trips, and discussions that challenge youths beliefs will eliminate the negative stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophecies that feed poverty and hopelessness in inner city and rural communities.
- Social Intelligence
- Will provide youth with a consciousness and awareness of, their impact on and the needs of, the people and community around them.
- Group activities, rigorous discussions, community service projects, and case studies will develop the consciousness our youth need to be agents for positive change in their communities.
- Economic Intelligence
- Will provide youth with the financial literacy skills needed to build wealth that empowers families and sustains communities.
- Youth will be trained in the basics of financial budgeting and savings and progress to learn about interest, investments, real estate, credit etc.
- Emotional Intelligence
- Will provide youth with the awareness that they have the power to control their emotions. Our youth will be exposed to the mental toughness techniques that successful people use to persevere in the face of life’s inevitable challenges.
- Discussions, readings, speakers, workshops, and group activities will provide our youth with opportunities for growth in this area.
- Health Intelligence
- Will provide youth with an awareness of the proper nutritional and lifestyle choices that lead to a long healthy prosperous life.
- Discussions, readings, speakers, workshops, and group activities will provide our youth with opportunities for growth in this area.
Program Culture
- The program is designed for youth between the ages of 8-18. The youth will be called VIP’s (Very Intelligent People).
- The program will be held two days weekly on Wednesdays from 3-5pm and Saturdays from 9am – 12pm.
- We will utilize a group-mentoring model. Each team of 5-10 youth will have 2 Intelligence Mentors (Teachers, community members, professionals, and/or college student volunteers). The culture of the program will be one of respect, camaraderie, and teamwork.
- We will create a document (VIP Card) that the youth will take to school with them to obtain a weekly accountability reports from their teachers. The report will measure academic effort (not grades), social & emotional behavior, and respect for teachers and classmates.
Recognition Plan and Incentives
We have created an exciting rewards and a recognition model that will create a buzz around the program and will encourage our youth to make positive choices that will lead to their success.
Our model requires youth to recruit other youth into the program and provide leadership to them throughout the program. A youth participants’ long-term success is contingent on their own personal growth as well as how many other youth they recruit and help achieve success.
The students will earn points for doing things like attending mentoring sessions and activities, doing good deeds, displaying good academic effort, having good behavior in school and at home, community service, reading books, etc.
The incentive plan will include prizes and rewards like movie tickets, video games, gift cards, clothing, amusement park tickets, I-pods, lap tops, video game consoles, parties, cash, Disney World trip, etc.
Get Involved!
Please join us for our fund raising event on Thursday July 1st at 6:30 pm. Serpas True Food, voted one of America’s top ten best new restaurants by GQ Magazine, has offered to host our event. You will love the food, the signature cocktails, the networking, and learning about our wonderful new non-profit organization with innovative ideas to save our youth!
Serpas True Food
659 Auburn Ave Northeast
Atlanta Ga.
If you are unable to attend but would like to give a donation please send to
The Neighborhood Enrichment Project Inc.
835 Autumn Bluffs
Fairburn Ga. 30213
Thank you,
Co-founder/Executive Director
Scott Speed
