Caught Up Organization after school program

Project Information

School Name : Caught Up Org

School Type : High School

Initiator : Venkat Aekka

Funded By : SPREAD International

Year : 2021

Academic Year : 2020-2021

Status : Completed

Cost : $ 5000

Start Date : Jan 01, 2021

End Date : May 31, 2021

Village : Detroit

Mandal : Detroit

District : Detroit

State : Michigan

Caught Up Organization after school program

Description

We at Caught Up organization provide a space for young men between the ages of 12-18 years old to study, learn, and play after school. Three days a week, we keep our center open from 5PM-9PM. Students work on their homework, have group discussions on the challenges they are facing, and play sports in the gym. Our goal with this program is to provide a safe, fun space for the kids after school and also provide them with resources to achieve their personal and academic goals. In terms of academic resources, many students don’t have well-functioning computers at home, making it difficult to complete school work. For this reason, we purchased 10 computers which the students can use at the center. In addition they receive academic help from fellow students and from Caught Up volunteers. We also bring in speakers to expose the students to different topics and career paths. Past topics include personal finance, proper decision making, and college preparation.

Notes

Spread International donated $5,000 to Caught Up organization. These funds would be applied to the items that are most pressing. This includes purchasing additional laptops, video conferencing equipment, and additional PPE. COVID-19 has made the technological barriers our students face even greater and currently we do not have enough laptops to serve our kids efficiently. We are planning to purchase 5 additional laptops to alleviate this issue. Secondly, we are planning to purchase video conferencing equipment so that it is easier for us to bring in speakers virtually during the pandemic. We have found that the poor audio and video equipment we currently use makes it difficult for students to stay engaged when we virtually bring in speakers. Third, we are continuing to purchase PPE (including masks, sanitizer, gloves, and disinfectant) to make our center safe for students and volunteers when they do physically visit. Lastly, we would use the remaining of your funds to offset our