Project Transformation

Project Transformation is a nonprofit, Christian organization that provides ministry exploration and leadership development opportunities to college-aged young adults, and community oriented programs for children and youth living in low-income neighborhoods of several Dallas and Sherman Texas communities.

Project Transformation in Dallas is affiliated with AmeriCorps. As Project Transformation interns return to their homes around the country they often bring the program with them. Thus the program is growing and likely to have a greater impact in the future.

Mission

To connect the energy of young adults, the strength of church-supported institutions, and the untapped resources of underserved neighborhoods to meet the evolving needs of children and youth. By fulfilling this mission, Project Transformation becomes a bridge builder – connecting young adults to their civic responsibility, their faith and their innate need to serve; connecting the inner city and underserved neighborhoods to the surrounding community; and connecting these neighbors to one another and to a vision of vital community life.

Purpose

Project Transformation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that:

• Provides community-oriented, safe and caring summer and after-school programs for children and youth

• Offers leadership training, career exposure, and ministry exploration opportunities for young adults through summer and year-round services internships.

History

In October 1997, Sarah Wilke and Dr. Leighton Farrell came together to create a program to address two main needs: the creation of programming for college students interested in pursuing various aspects of ministry, and a revitalization of urban United Methodist churches.

Project Transformation was created to meet these two needs by working with children in the inner-city communities surrounding the churches. Urban churches were utilized as sites for summer day-camp programs designed and implemented by college interns. The three main components of Project Transformation were brought together: children, churches, and communities.

In February 1998, Shawn Bakker began as the director of the program for its first year. That summer, 22 interns, several sponsoring partner churches, the Texas Methodist Foundation, and Southern Methodist University came together to make the vision materialize. The interns were divided into teams and placed in five inner-city Methodist churches in south, west, and east Dallas. They created programming for the 250 (K-6th) children they were serving which included singing, games, Bible lessons, and individual reading time with each child. This reading is done by 1,200 volunteers a year from Dallas area partner churches. These young adults worked closely with their site churches to develop a volunteer base to work with the children. In this way, bridges between church and community began to form. Living together in SMU's Service House, the interns formed a community of friendship and ministry. The interns arrange Family Fun Nights inviting parents and church members to share a night of community fun.

With a solid foundation of successful summer programs, the after-school program started informally in the fall of 1999. Interns living in the Dallas area initiated the after-school program at two site churches by voluntarily meeting with the children every Friday afternoon. These interns wanted to continue both the relationships that they had formed with the children at their summer sites and the relationships that had started between the site churches and their surrounding communities. As a result of these interns’ desire and commitment to serve these urban communities, Project Transformation began the formal after-school program in the fall of 2000, offering four-day per week programming incorporating one-on-one homework assistance, Bible lessons, nutrition lessons, computer skills, crafts, and other activities.

Again in 2003, Project Transformation interns saw the need for their programs to serve youth (grades 7 through 9) and created additional programs to serve youth. The youth program also includes a week long program at Bridgeport camp taking hundreds of kids out of the city to experience new activities.

Today Project Transformation Dallas is directed by Eric Lindh and is working in nine summer sites and five after-school sites, serving approximately 800 children and youth each year. Over 70 churches in the greater Dallas area support the programs of Project Transformation either through volunteer hours, meals for college interns, financial support, or afternoon programming with inner-city kids. The success of Project Transformation in connecting children, churches, and communities has become the model for four additional out-of-state programs located in Tulsa, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and Charlottesville, Virginia. Former interns took the initiative to export the model to start programs in other states.

Impact

Since the original Dallas program began in 1998:

• Approximately 800 children and youth participate in the eight-week summer program. Of those, more than 90 percent qualify for either free or reduced-price meals in public schools.

• Up to 200 children receive homework assistance, health and nutrition education, a hot meal and extracurricular activities in the after-school program each year.

• 345 young adults have served as interns in the summer and after-school programs; 37 percent have come from outside Texas, representing 24 states and eight foreign countries.

• 22 former interns have enrolled in seminary, eight currently serve as staff in United Methodist Churches.

• Over 75 percent of the interns either work or volunteer in some form of ministry.

• Over 138 United Methodist churches from the North Texas Conference, as well as churches from out of state, have offered in-kind, financial and/or volunteer support

Locations

External Links

[http://www.projecttransformation.org Dallas]

[http://wesleyku.org/phoenixproject/ Kansas City]

[http://www.okumc.org/ProjectTransformation/home.htm Oklahoma City]

[http://www.ptva.net/ Central Virginia]