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The Jump Start Initiatives provide recreational learning programs and supplemental health and wellness exercises services that help
youth meet the challenges of their adolescence years through a structured, progressive series of activities and experiences. Students
develop their social, emotional, ethical, physical, and cognitive competencies through recreation and sports activities, career and
leadership training, mentoring, community service and civic participation events.
Our programs & service providers include a wide variety of sports training and recreational activities:
Learn more
youth meet the challenges of their adolescence years through a structured, progressive series of activities and experiences. Students
develop their social, emotional, ethical, physical, and cognitive competencies through recreation and sports activities, career and
leadership training, mentoring, community service and civic participation events.
Our programs & service providers include a wide variety of sports training and recreational activities:
- US Tennis Association & Atlanta Youth Tennis Foundation
- Kids With Sticks (Golf)
- Soccer In The Streets
- Atlanta Track Club
- Manga African Dance & Drumming Company
- Envision After School Tutoring & Mentoring
- Supplemental Education Services
- The Maryland School of Photography
- Keep Me Alive, Inc.
Learn more
| Jump Start Teen Initiative |
| Jump Start Youth Initiative |
| Jump Start Adult Initiative |
| Jump Start Senior Initiative |
Health & Wellness
The Vigor Consortium
The Vigor Consortium offers supplemental health
and wellness programs and services we offer to
combat childhood obesity. Through our Operation
Nurture with Nature program, we offer youth and their
families after school and weekend physical fitness
learning activities that help identify, understand, addresses
and measure their success in overcoming their current health challenges.
Through the Nukidtrition Program, we will teach children the basics of nutrition and how to
become nutritionally aware of their lives and their health. Their Food Pyramid Guide takes
us thru each food group including fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy and carbohydrates: Kids
will also participate in “The Science Behind Our Food” outdoor garden experiments and
cooking demonstrations that help introduce kids to careers opportunities in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics and the broader impact the food industry has on
a global scale.
Learn more
The Vigor Consortium offers supplemental health
and wellness programs and services we offer to
combat childhood obesity. Through our Operation
Nurture with Nature program, we offer youth and their
families after school and weekend physical fitness
learning activities that help identify, understand, addresses
and measure their success in overcoming their current health challenges.
Through the Nukidtrition Program, we will teach children the basics of nutrition and how to
become nutritionally aware of their lives and their health. Their Food Pyramid Guide takes
us thru each food group including fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy and carbohydrates: Kids
will also participate in “The Science Behind Our Food” outdoor garden experiments and
cooking demonstrations that help introduce kids to careers opportunities in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics and the broader impact the food industry has on
a global scale.
Learn more
| The Vigor Consortium |
Using The Garden As Our Children's Learning Lab
Excerpt From The Center for Ecoliteracy: A Guide For Creating School
Gardens as Outdoor Download
"The Life Lab idea for a living laboratory began in 1978 in a small garden
developed by students and teachers at Green Acres Elementary School in
Santa Cruz, California. Teachers there soon discovered that their students
were learning science from gardening and enjoying it thoroughly. The idea
grew and developed rapidly, attracting attention from other school districts,
parents, universities, and community leaders. Since creating this first school
garden, Life Lab has advocated the use of gardens as outdoor learning
environments and as a means to create a sense of season and place for all
children. A school garden puts the natural world at students’ fingertips. This
living laboratory— whether a planter box, an outdoor garden, or an indoor
growing area—offers a rich context for exploring science, nutrition, social
studies, math, art, language arts, and more. Together teachers and students
using the original living laboratory experienced the joy of gardening. With the
contagious enthusiasm of the students and the steady support and leadership
of the principal, soon all of the classes were participating in the program. Many
discoveries took place that year: the discovery of watching a spider spin its
web; the discovery that spinach could taste good; the discovery that a soil
ecosystem is alive. But one of the greatest discoveries was that the school
garden was much more than a garden. It was a powerful learning tool. The
garden lab provided a much-needed context in which to investigate the world
we live in."
Atwood Community Gardens will offer S.T.E.M. training through:
Learn more
Excerpt From The Center for Ecoliteracy: A Guide For Creating School
Gardens as Outdoor Download
"The Life Lab idea for a living laboratory began in 1978 in a small garden
developed by students and teachers at Green Acres Elementary School in
Santa Cruz, California. Teachers there soon discovered that their students
were learning science from gardening and enjoying it thoroughly. The idea
grew and developed rapidly, attracting attention from other school districts,
parents, universities, and community leaders. Since creating this first school
garden, Life Lab has advocated the use of gardens as outdoor learning
environments and as a means to create a sense of season and place for all
children. A school garden puts the natural world at students’ fingertips. This
living laboratory— whether a planter box, an outdoor garden, or an indoor
growing area—offers a rich context for exploring science, nutrition, social
studies, math, art, language arts, and more. Together teachers and students
using the original living laboratory experienced the joy of gardening. With the
contagious enthusiasm of the students and the steady support and leadership
of the principal, soon all of the classes were participating in the program. Many
discoveries took place that year: the discovery of watching a spider spin its
web; the discovery that spinach could taste good; the discovery that a soil
ecosystem is alive. But one of the greatest discoveries was that the school
garden was much more than a garden. It was a powerful learning tool. The
garden lab provided a much-needed context in which to investigate the world
we live in."
Atwood Community Gardens will offer S.T.E.M. training through:
- Herb & Farm Urban Garden Saturday Training & Summer Internships
- Research and Discovery Activities
- S.T.E.M. Career Pathways
- Community Impact Assessment Projects
- Conservation Programs
Learn more
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (S.T.E.M.)
The Art of Science
What if you could go back into time and have a conversation or conduct an
experiment with your favorite inventor? What would you say? How would you
help?
That's the whole point of the cultural arts and live interactive garden scenes
programs at Atwood Community Gardens. Similar to larger than life
characters at theme parks, we wanted to have artists embody the spirit and
presence of remarkable people from the past that have whose innovative
ideas and inventions have made significant contributions to society.
Our cultural arts program include the:
Learn more
What if you could go back into time and have a conversation or conduct an
experiment with your favorite inventor? What would you say? How would you
help?
That's the whole point of the cultural arts and live interactive garden scenes
programs at Atwood Community Gardens. Similar to larger than life
characters at theme parks, we wanted to have artists embody the spirit and
presence of remarkable people from the past that have whose innovative
ideas and inventions have made significant contributions to society.
Our cultural arts program include the:
- Sankofa Ashe Storytellers Series
- The Intergenerational Egg Hunt & Message Exchange Program
- The Garden Art Display Series
- Multi-Purpose Event Areas
Learn more
Cultural Arts & Live Interactive Garden Scenes
Teaching Students How to Solve Problems Using What's "In Their Own
Backyard"
The common socio-economic factor among most at-risk kids is the lack of
disposable income. However, that doesn't make them any less powerful to
creating solutions that can help them identify, address, reduce and/or eliminate
conditions that are negatively impacting their community.
Our signature training model called The Community Involvement Growth Strategy
(CIGS) Organizational Management & Communications Model, teaches students
how to develop their mission and a plan of action. This includes teaching them
how to assess resources that are available to them "in their own backyards".
Once students learn how to organize themselves into project management
teams, they receive training in strategic planning, presentation development, and
special events coordination. Our CIGS training model has been proven to equip
students with the tools they need to successfully compete in a 21st Century
global market.
The CIGS Model includes training opportunities through our:
Learn more
Backyard"
The common socio-economic factor among most at-risk kids is the lack of
disposable income. However, that doesn't make them any less powerful to
creating solutions that can help them identify, address, reduce and/or eliminate
conditions that are negatively impacting their community.
Our signature training model called The Community Involvement Growth Strategy
(CIGS) Organizational Management & Communications Model, teaches students
how to develop their mission and a plan of action. This includes teaching them
how to assess resources that are available to them "in their own backyards".
Once students learn how to organize themselves into project management
teams, they receive training in strategic planning, presentation development, and
special events coordination. Our CIGS training model has been proven to equip
students with the tools they need to successfully compete in a 21st Century
global market.
The CIGS Model includes training opportunities through our:
- Market Analysis Activities
- Science Fairs
- Capacity-Building Initiatives
- Agri-tourism Ventures
- Honors Programs
- Special Event Coordination
Learn more
Social Entrepreneurism
| The Community Involvement Growth Strategy (CIGS) Model |
| Market Analysis, Science Fairs & Economic Development |
Urban Agriculture Organic Gardening & Farming Certification Programs
Model: Michigan State University Organic Farmer Training Program
Our larger goal has been to create an Atlanta Regional Food Center (Intervale
Farms, VT). By creating an urban agriculture organic gardening and farming
certification program, Atwood Community Gardens can partner with local urban
farmers in Fulton and Dekalb Counties to create a workforce and support
structure to strengthen Georgia's urban agriculture industry.
Learn more
Model: Michigan State University Organic Farmer Training Program
Our larger goal has been to create an Atlanta Regional Food Center (Intervale
Farms, VT). By creating an urban agriculture organic gardening and farming
certification program, Atwood Community Gardens can partner with local urban
farmers in Fulton and Dekalb Counties to create a workforce and support
structure to strengthen Georgia's urban agriculture industry.
Learn more
Urban Agriculture
| Intervale Farms Model |
Atwood Community Gardens
779 Atwood Street SW
Atlanta, GA 30310
779 Atwood Street SW
Atlanta, GA 30310
NSYEP Headquarters
1890-A Briarcliff Circle NE
1890-A Briarcliff Circle NE
Contact: Events@nextstepsyep.org
678.570.0398
www.nextstepsyep.org
678.570.0398
www.nextstepsyep.org
| Using the transferable skills within the urban agriculture industry to introduce at-risk students to career pathways in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (S.T.E.M.) |
| "Embracing Empowerment" |
| Atwood Community Gardens |
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| Share: |
| Our Program Specialties |
Click on the VolunteerMatch and Hands On Atlanta logos to visit
our volunteer registration pages.
To schedule a group or youth training activity, click here.
To become a Friend of Atwood Garden Member, click here.
Our Combined Federal Campaign Donor# 97485
our volunteer registration pages.
To schedule a group or youth training activity, click here.
To become a Friend of Atwood Garden Member, click here.
Our Combined Federal Campaign Donor# 97485
NSYEP is a 501c3 tax exempt non-profit organization and a service
program of the Richard Basil Foundation, the Vigor Consortium and the
National Black Men's Health Network
program of the Richard Basil Foundation, the Vigor Consortium and the
National Black Men's Health Network
Follow us on Twitter
2011: Our Year In Review
| Email: events@nextstepsyep.org 678-570-00398 ph www.nextstepsyep.org |
| YOUR CALL TO ACTION! |
Join our Facebook Page
Join our growing group of
supporters that share your love
of outdoor activities!
supporters that share your love
of outdoor activities!
Check out our timeline to see all the
fun stuff kids did with NEXT Steps
last year!
fun stuff kids did with NEXT Steps
last year!
| DONATE NOW |
| VOLUNTEER TODAY |
| FUND A PROJECT |
| JOIN US NOW |
| CONTACT NSYEP |
| REGISTER NOW!!! For Saturday & Summer Sessions |
| REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!!! For 2012 Saturday & Summer Sessions |
| Registration Begins April 2012 For Jump Start Summer Camp |
| View our Photo Gallery From our First Sankofa Ashe Event with the Sadie G. Mays Rehabilitation Center, Morehouse College & Jack & Jill Atlanta Chapter |
| Download Our Proposal NEXT Steps Chapter: The Youth of Westview CSI: Westview Unit Case Study of The Westview Food Desert |