PROJECT TRANSFORMATION - North Texas

Project Transformation’s summer program provides an eight-week day camp and an overnight skills development camp for underserved children and youth. The eight-week summer day camps, which serve approximately 900 children and youth, are located at ten site churches in south and east Dallas, Oak Cliff, Mesquite, Farmers Branch, and Denison, TX. Programming takes place Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, and highlights of the daily program for children include:• Reading one-on-one with a volunteer to improve fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension• Daily Bible lessons• Arts and crafts enrichment activities• Daily physical activity • Nutritious lunch in partnership with the North Texas Food Bank• Afternoon enrichment activities such as sports, music, and games which provide opportunities for fun, fellowship, and friendships to form and be nurtured. The program for youth (grades 6-9) is designed specifically for their unique needs.  The following are successful components of our youth programming:• Training in team-building, leadership development, and conflict resolution• Bible study focusing on application of scriptures to daily living • “Focus time” concentrating on teen culture issues and struggles in their lives• Opportunities for direct leadership experience by assisting interns with reading, games, and arts and crafts activities for the younger children• Book clubs and literary discussion groups• Career exploration through presentations by a variety of professionals• Awareness of community need and empowerment to address needs through service projects• Weekly mountain biking trips providing the opportunity to spend a day enjoying nature while engaged in physical activity. Family Fun Nights are also an important component of the summer day camps.  Family Fun Nights, which are held each month, serve to connect the site churches to their surrounding communities through Project Transformation.  At these evening events, family members of Project Transformation participants come together to share a meal, engage in family games and activities, and participate in a family talent show.  The children are involved in planning and preparing for these much-anticipated evenings.  These events provide opportunities for the families of Project Transformation participants to meet and form friendships and neighborhood connections.  Additionally, families become connected with the site churches in their neighborhoods.

Urban Camp provides a unique opportunity for 170 youth from low-income families, grades 6th-9th, to experience an overnight skills development camp, where they challenge themselves, form strong friendships, and build self-confidence. We include our high school LITE participants (Leaders in Training Experience) to attend camp as junior counselors, who participate in a leadership course throughout the week. The youth are surrounded by caring, supportive, young adult role models who encourage the youth to challenge themselves and prepare them for their future as young adults. They engage in skill development activities that contribute to their confidence in assuming responsibility for their own economic, physical, and mental well-being. Exercise and sports participation offer opportunities for positive feelings about body image, improved self-esteem, tangible experiences of competency and success, and increased self-confidence.  The physical activities are especially crucial, whose socioeconomic status otherwise limits their access to sports. Urban Camp strengthens the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of youth by allowing them to experience success and adventure, and it encourages them to challenge themselves while having fun in a safe environment.

Project Transformation provides leadership training and ministry exploration service terms for college-age young adults in partnership with AmeriCorps.