About Us
The YouthWorks initiative empowers more than 200 at-risk elementary school children in grades 1-5 who are failing or struggling in reading and math, and who live in low-income apartment complexes in a very high poverty, high crime area of North Tulsa.
Through our 10-week Summer Leadership Camp, 30-week After School Program and 3 school break camps (Fall, Winter and Spring Break Camp), children learn how to read, how to improve in math, how to run their own pizza business (through the YouthWorks Pizza Factory), how to take care of animals (at the YouthWorks Ranch), and how to become physically fit (through the YouthWorks ThunderCourt Basketball Outreach built by the OKC Thunder NBA team).
There are 3 important things to know about YouthWorks:
1. YouthWorks was formed to help North Tulsa children live out their life dreams.
There are an estimated 4,000 children in North Tulsa who live in low-income families and who struggle with school and life issues. The statistics of North Tulsa children are heart-breaking:
Through the YouthWorks Pizza Factory entrepreneurial training initiative, the children learn how to run their own pizza business to serve others, learn 15 business topics, develop leadership and teamwork skills, and sell pizzas to earn college scholarship funds. Through our 10-week summer leadership camp, the children improve their reading by an average of 1.48 grade levels. We have 4 reading rotations lasting 40 minutes each 4 days a week during the summer.
2. YouthWorks is celebrating its 11th year in action!
YouthWorks began in 2008 to pull as many children out of those statistics as possible. Since that time, YouthWorks has impacted nearly 1400 children through its 204-days-a-year of programming.
We celebrate the fact that these 5 main components that have been envisioned for the development of North Tulsa children have been established:
Together, these 5 comprehensive components provide the key ingredients to helping North Tulsa children from low income families who struggle in school to overcome life challenges to live out their life dreams.
3. YouthWorks needs YOUR support!
Everything YouthWorks does every day to bless the children of North Tulsa comes from small, medium and large donations from people like you. Every single donation helps big time! People like you make one-time or monthly donations individually, they encourage their company and church to give, and they connect us to foundations and other sources for finances.
We have learned how to make dollars really stretch to make sure we can comprehensively help North Tulsa children with all the services, training and empowerment they need to live out their life calling.
Please help us today either by sponsoring a camper, buying pizzas, or by making a donation of any amount. And if you would like to talk to us about volunteering, meeting with your church or company, or connecting us to a foundation you know about, please contact us at 918-734-0471. Thank you and God bless.
Through our 10-week Summer Leadership Camp, 30-week After School Program and 3 school break camps (Fall, Winter and Spring Break Camp), children learn how to read, how to improve in math, how to run their own pizza business (through the YouthWorks Pizza Factory), how to take care of animals (at the YouthWorks Ranch), and how to become physically fit (through the YouthWorks ThunderCourt Basketball Outreach built by the OKC Thunder NBA team).
There are 3 important things to know about YouthWorks:
1. YouthWorks was formed to help North Tulsa children live out their life dreams.
There are an estimated 4,000 children in North Tulsa who live in low-income families and who struggle with school and life issues. The statistics of North Tulsa children are heart-breaking:
- 25% go to bed hungry every night (children need dinner).
- 8 of 9 have no dad in the home (children need positive male role models).
- 33% is the passing reading percentile of the 3rd graders in our community (children need help improving reading),
- 58% of the children drop out before graduation (children need an encouraging team to keep them in the game).
- 58.7% drop out of school.
- 99% do not go to college/trade school (children need to be encouraged in their dreams and in the education needed to achieve them).
- 66% of those age 16-65 are unemployed in community (children need to know how to be employable and how to run their own business when they grow up).
Through the YouthWorks Pizza Factory entrepreneurial training initiative, the children learn how to run their own pizza business to serve others, learn 15 business topics, develop leadership and teamwork skills, and sell pizzas to earn college scholarship funds. Through our 10-week summer leadership camp, the children improve their reading by an average of 1.48 grade levels. We have 4 reading rotations lasting 40 minutes each 4 days a week during the summer.
2. YouthWorks is celebrating its 11th year in action!
YouthWorks began in 2008 to pull as many children out of those statistics as possible. Since that time, YouthWorks has impacted nearly 1400 children through its 204-days-a-year of programming.
We celebrate the fact that these 5 main components that have been envisioned for the development of North Tulsa children have been established:
- The 10-Week YouthWorks Summer Leadership Camp — for 11 years, children from North Tulsa have been treated to a special summer-long camp that for 10 weeks provides daily breakfast and lunch, reading & math tutoring, daily fun and educational field trips, physical fitness through recreation, character development, leadership training, service opportunities, creativity encouragement through arts and crafts, and specialized help for family and home issues.
- The 30-Week YouthWorks After School Program – each day after school the children are picked up by YouthWorks to work on their homework, receive reading and math tutoring, have nutritious snacks and dinner, become physically fit through recreation, and address life issues in a fun learning environment.
- The YouthWorks Pizza Factory empowers elementary school children and teens to learn how to run their own pizza business, serve free pizzas to the homeless, and sell pizzas at churches, companies and civic groups to earn money to someday go to college to live out their life dreams. This youth entrepreneurial initiative helps the children learn how to read, do math, serve others, plan, and market their product in a very hands on learning setting.
- The New YouthWorks Oklahoma City Thunder Basketball Court was built during the Summer of 2018 and dedicated in August thanks to the OKC Thunder NBA team, U.S. Cellular, Crossland Construction, Empire Fence and others. Dedicated by Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, this basketball court was built on the YouthWorks site (see https://youtu.be/JP_Yevu19e4) to help North Tulsa children become physically fit, encourage team play, and reach children and teens in a whole new venue through tournaments, basketball camps and leagues for all age groups and abilities.
- The New YouthWorks Ranch began the Summer of 2018 as a pilot program to provide children with an opportunity to step out of their normal environment, bond with and take care of ranch animals, and have loads of stress-relieving fun at the same time. The children learn how to take care of a ranch, ride horses, and encounter and learn about all sorts of animals from sheep and ducks to pigs and rabbits. There are also other activities for the children to make memories and learn at the same time: a swimming pool, trampoline, swings and fun outdoor games.
Together, these 5 comprehensive components provide the key ingredients to helping North Tulsa children from low income families who struggle in school to overcome life challenges to live out their life dreams.
3. YouthWorks needs YOUR support!
Everything YouthWorks does every day to bless the children of North Tulsa comes from small, medium and large donations from people like you. Every single donation helps big time! People like you make one-time or monthly donations individually, they encourage their company and church to give, and they connect us to foundations and other sources for finances.
We have learned how to make dollars really stretch to make sure we can comprehensively help North Tulsa children with all the services, training and empowerment they need to live out their life calling.
Please help us today either by sponsoring a camper, buying pizzas, or by making a donation of any amount. And if you would like to talk to us about volunteering, meeting with your church or company, or connecting us to a foundation you know about, please contact us at 918-734-0471. Thank you and God bless.