Life Pieces to Masterpieces

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR BOYS AND YOUNG MEN LIVING IN LOW-INCOME AND PUBLIC HOUSING.

LPTM youth succeed in their own lives, set positive examples for their peers and communities, and he

Goal One: Increase the number of youth served in our OST programs by 10% annually over the next five years.

Goal Two: Solidify LPTM’s “Color Me Community” in-school program as a model for shifting a school’s culture of environment towards a more holistic, relationship-driven social-emotional approach.

Goal Three: Secure the financial future of LPTM, including building adequate operating reserves and establishing a new facility fund.

LPTM develops leaders through Color Me Community (CMC) workshops, using the same Human Development System framework that assists LPTM youth in their own self-development. The result of LPTM’s 25 years of experience in human development, CMC provides a nurturing and nonjudgmental environment for people of all races and identities to safely grapple with issues that deeply divide and separate us from one another. 15 LPTM staff members and 40 volunteers participated in three CMC’s this year, guiding them through the internal work necessary to participate in the positive development of youth. LPTM sent three members of the leadership team to the Beyond School Hours conference, contributing to their growth as educators and leaders. Two LPTM leaders participated in the National Convening of the Justice Arts Coalition, experiencing three days of workshops on creative expression and storytelling. They also facilitated a Color Me Community workshop for more than 50 attendees at the Convening.

Through deep connections with our young men and their families, the resiliency and dedication of our staff and board, strong community partnerships, and COVID-19 emergency funding from DC’s philanthropic community, LPTM was able to maintain full programming and staffing from the onset of the pandemic to the present. Using the same problem-solving practices we teach our apprentices (Connect – Create – Contribute – Celebrate), we connected immediately with our entire universe of youth, families, community partners, staff, board, investors, and volunteers to come together to develop responses to COVID-19’s countless challenges. While the vast majority of youth-serving and arts organizations were closing their doors at the start of the pandemic, Life Pieces remained open – successfully adapting and expanding our services to meet the needs of our community. From the day DC public schools shut down on March 13th, LPTM immediately responded to restructure and transform our programming to a virtual space and then to rapidly develop a combination of virtual and in-person platforms. LPTM was unique among out-of-school academic and arts programming in sustaining a level of in-person learning for all but a few weeks through the use of tents and outdoor venues while also pivoting in response to family feedback to meet urgent needs for groceries, personal protective equipment and transportation. This minimized both academic and social learning loss for most of our Apprentices. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Life Pieces to use our programming creativity and resources to the fullest. Despite the challenges it posed, we have maintained intentional connection and engagement with our families and apprentices. All of our programs are active and have been adapted to either virtual, hybrid, or outdoor settings. We are now in a position to pivot nimbly from virtual to in-person, to hybrid learning depending on the needs and safety of our apprentices.