Dear Community Friends,

Culture Incorporated has recently celebrated our one year anniversary. With that celebration we also look back on the youth who have crossed our paths and wedged their way into our hearts, the opportunities that have been opened to both the youth and this organization, and the changes and challenges that we have confronted together. As you can imagine it has not been easy for a new non-profit organization to survive- yet alone thrive given the current economic situation we all are facing. To maintain we must focus on our victories; over 100 youth representing over 17 Polk County schools have been served with free tutoring available to all, 2 summer camp sessions, a summer music internship, Culture Inc.’s Back to School Blast with over 10 local performers, ACTSO mentoring, yoga workshops, vocal workshops and a very special night with Culture Inc. participants at The Color Purple.

We are looking forward to another fantastic year. Culture Inc. has created a plan that will expand our mentoring and tutoring capacity. We are excited to measure the impact of some “girl power” focused programming that is being implementing and are especially thrilled to have Drake Education Students completing their practicum hours here with our youth! However, none of this can happen without the support of our community.

Did you know that two out of five of the National Dropout Prevention Centers Basic Core Strategies are as follows?

1. Mentoring /Tuturing
Mentoring is a one-to-one caring, supportive relationship between a mentor and a mentee that is based on trust. Tutoring, also a one-to-one activity, focuses on academics and is an effective practice when addressing specific needs such as reading, writing, or math competencies

2. After-School and Summer Enrichment Programs-that eliminate information loss and inspire interest in a variety of areas. Such experiences are especially important for students at risk of school failure because they fill the afternoon "gap time" with constructive and engaging activities.

Please show your commitment to the youth of Des Moines by sponsoring a child in our after-school programming providing these services. The easiest way to sponsor a child is by visiting our website and selecting the youth sponsorship link where PayPal will safely and securely process your tax deductable donation. Sponsorship amounts range from as little as $15 for one week up to $720 for a full year.

If you are unable to show your support financially we are recruiting mentors who will make a minimum of 1 year and a preferred 2 year commitment to mentoring a Culture Inc. youth. Please email us at cultureincorporated@gmail.com with your contact information to find out more about our mentoring program.