Inspire Young Minds 2016
Event Information
Description
In 2016, we celebrate 18 years of opening doors of opportunity for children in San José. Be a part of our work and join us as we celebrate another year!
Inspire Young Minds will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2016 and feature a reception with California wines, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, a silent auction, and a brief program. Plus, you have an opportunity to mingle and meet others in our community who value children’s education.
Downtown favorite Mezcal Restaurant will cater a special menu that you won’t want to miss! This year, prepare yourself for handmade tortillas. Yes, we’ll have someone making tortillas fresh on the spot for you! Our chef will also give a brief presentation on the culinary history and traditions of Oaxaca. To start, we’ll have fresh guacamole and salsa, a Tricolor salad with cilantro vinaigrette, and assorted fresh vegetables and seasonal fruit. For the main course, you won't want to miss Mezcal’s famous Oaxacan Chicken Mole with sides of Oaxacan style black beans and rice.
Our event will be held in the main hall of the historic First Unitarian Church of San Jose. We will be offering tours of our classroom and computer lab. Third Street staff and children will be present to share their experiences of our programs.
Each year, we rely on the generosity of individuals and businesses to keep our own doors open. If you are not yet familiar with our work, please visit our website at www.3street.org and view our latest video highlighting the impact of our work in our community. We also have a great video regarding our impact on youth (45th Playmaker drafted by Levi’s/50 Fund).
Your attendance at this event will support our work to bridge the achievement gap, promote STEM education, and create a college going culture for disadvantaged children in San José. Proceeds raised from this event will provide 550 hours of educational, enrichment, and mentoring opportunities to over 130 children in one school year.
Organizer Third Street Community Center
Organizer of Inspire Young Minds 2016
Opening Doors of Opportunity
“The Third Street Community Center (TSCC) is a place where people of all ages and backgrounds are actively engaged in enriching themselves and their community through education, arts, technology and service." To achieve this mission, we developed a whole child, whole family, whole community approach, and adopted project-based learning as our primary educational strategy.
Project-based learning engages youth through hands-on activities. In other words, youth learn by doing. This interactive approach helps youth make connections between complex math and science with everyday life. The use of this strategy has led to the creation of innovative programs such as our Young Engineers Program.
Our first year of operation relied entirely on volunteers and led to the creation of our whole child, whole family, and whole community approach.Our approach takes into account the importance of volunteers in youth education and has forged some amazing partnerships with anchor institution in our local area. Each year, we welcome over 300 volunteers who serve as mentors, tutors, positive role models, and more.
Our key programs include:
1) The After School Academic Program (ASAP) aims to close the achievement gap by providing tutoring, mentoring, STEM education, physical education, and more to elementary school children.
2) The Young Engineers Program provides career exploration in STEM. Youth learn about the engineering design process and compete in the annual Tech Challenge.
3) Our Summer of Learning Program keep children safe and learning during the summer. Youth focus on improving their literacy skills, explore STEM projects, participate in various art projects, and go on field trips.
We have various projects throughout the year that promote STEM and help academically at-risk children learn to be more competitive. This includes our STEM for Latina Girls Project and our annual Spelling Bee.
