(Excerpted from Wave3.com)
Building successful young adults is at the forefront of one of Louisville’s nonprofits, Sowing Seeds with Faith. The organization works to give them the tools to be successful academically and socially.
The organization serves youth all over the city in more than 100 different schools and 35 different zip codes.
This weekend, they held their All Kings Retreat, three full days of tough but important conversations for teens aged 13-18.
“We just pour into them, we empower them, we enrich them, we engage them.” Da’Marrion Fleming, the president of the organization said.
Since the organization’s inception, Fleming has made it his mission to instill confidence, knowledge, and resiliency in Louisville’s youth, helping them grow into young adults.
“You get a little push back initially, they come in guarded,” Fleming said. “We do some team building, ice breakers, and then you get a lot of buy in and a lot of good questions, a lot of people trying to understand who I am. We deal a lot with identity and self motivation.”
One of those tough conversations dealt with the topic of sexual health in regards to the spread of sexually transmitted infections.
“We first teach abstinence and then we say if you’re doing it let’s protect each other, lets protect one another, and then if you’re not let’s be accountable for what happens.” Fleming said. “The percentages are high for black and brown youth and we want to make sure they know what they’re getting themselves into.”
Fleming said what’s talked about during this retreat goes beyond the three days spent together.
“We use a program called Track Solutions, so every kid here has been tracked for four to five years even after high school to see if anything we did has any kind of long term effect.” Fleming said.
Last weekend, the same type of retreat was held for girls aged 13-18. Both give youth an opportunity to learn from others and share their own experiences where they otherwise may not be able.
“This is a safe space so you can be vulnerable, you can be transparent you can be real and you can let your guard down and we’re going to protect you.” Fleming said.
The non-profit also holds tutoring and mentoring sessions. They also host college tours of HBCU’s. For more information click or tap here.
Watch the story at Wave3.com HERE.
Learn more about Sowing Seeds with Faith at their website HERE.
To offer financial support, click HERE.
To learn more about how you can provide financial assistance to Louisville non-profits, visit HERE.
