We are excited to announce our new partnership with Trinity Academy! StepUp has been working alongside the school and Jessica Hughey from Vintage Church , and we are pleased that three StepUp children are now members of the Trinity Academy family! Jaida Ivy, Aamir Trapp and Ka’lah Trapp started at their new school on August 17, 2021.  

“I have had the privilege of knowing Jessica Hughey for several years now. We bonded over our love for service and over our love of children. Jessica has always gone over and beyond to support our StepUp children and our mission by making sure they had school supplies, backpacks, pajamas, socks, underwear, and even Christmas gifts!  Most recently, she delivered school work books so that our StepUp children can have some extra support as they navigate going to school virtually. Jessica didn’t stop there. She felt a deeper need in her heart to find a way to support our children and their futures that would serve the past their immediate needs. She approached me with the opportunity for our StepUp children to attend Trinity Academy. My jaw dropped and I stood still as she explained all the educational benefits our StepUp children would receive. I was almost in tears thinking about the wonderful children that we serve here, who only need an opportunity or access to resources. Jessica did not know how everything would turn out, but she was determined to ask the right questions and go as far as she needed to in order to make this happen. It is because of her heart, her drive, and her dedication to our StepUp mission that our families are experiencing great opportunities for educational and social advancement! She did it and she continues to advocate for our families at Trinity Academy. May God bless Jessica and her heart of service. We are so thankful for her support!” – Colisha C. Stanford, Director of Children and Young Adult Programs. 

Trinity Academy uses an innovative Classical curriculum that is “purposely designed to employ methods and materials that naturally align with brain development and aid in brain formation in ways that modern educational methods do not. The irreplaceable outcome of Classical education is a brain that can adapt to virtually anything it encounters.” 

James Ivy Jr., father of Jaida Ivy, said, “This is where God’s grace is leading us and we’re just riding along. When we got the call we thought wow this is an opportunity of a lifetime so we’re just going along.” 

Jaida Ivy (7th Grade) said, “I’m mostly excited about meeting new people and having a fresh start. I love my track team and I’m ready and optimistic about my new beginnings.” 

Aamir Trapp (Kindergarten) is excited to meet his teacher and paint, while Ka’Lah Trapp (1st Grade) can’t wait to go to math class and meet her teacher.  We are ready for this new adventure for all three StepUp participants.

StepUp is grateful to everyone who played a role in making this happen. We cannot wait to see the ways this partnership continues to grow!  

This month, our Middle Ground participants participated in the Museum at Home: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture creative writing program presented by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Each contestant chose a piece of art from the following options and wrote a poem or essay about it: Walking by Charles Alston, Arty by Nelson Stevens, or Rev. Martin Luther King by Charles Alston. See the submissions below: 

Christian C., 7th Grade 

Rev. Martin Luther King by Charles  

I think piece that I have chosen is show that the author is saying to hold your head up don’t give up. I say this because Martin Luther King never gave up. My favorite piece is walking. I say this piece is my favorite because they are walking as a family, staying by each other side. This artwork relates to my life because I have a quote “Stay up till you come up.” I still haven’t came up but I’m pushing to success one day at a time. “I have a dream.” 

Royality H., 4th Grade 

This artwork is beautiful. It shows how hard people work. This artwork shows justice for Martin Luther King Jr. The person who murdered Martin Luther King Jr. Was wrong because he needed to life a long life. I hope Martin Luther King Jr. Children pass away they are all buried in the same cemetery too.  

I like when he says in his “I had a dream” speech that all children, Black and white will get a chance to play together. It is not wrong for Black and white children to play together and Martin Luther King Jr. Wanted this for everyone. When I think of Martine Luther King Jr. I think of George Floyd because both men were murdered by white men and that wasn’t right. Martin Luther King Jr. Was alive, he would have made justice for George Floyd.  

I hope that Martin Luther King Jr. And George Floyd are dancing in heaven. I am glad they are both away from the pain in this world. Keep their spirit together.  

Samuel G., 4th Grade

This past month has been another busy one for our youngest participants in Baby and Little Steps! We continued our fun activities through virtual programs, with edible playdoh, make your own sensory bins, and lessons about the changing seasons.  

We also had a wonderful opportunity to partner with WAKE Up and Read, a local nonprofit committed to improve childhood literacy. They provided us with bags of activity books, picture books and other resources tailored to our youngest participants. Read more about WAKE Up and Read here: https://wakeupandread.org/

The young adults in our Real World program kicked off Music Month by expressing themselves through song, poetry, and art! We welcomed back E. Jones from Jamla Records/RocNation to judge the music competition and share his insights on being “dedicated to your craft.” Real World was so inspired by E. Jones and he encouraged each of them to submit any music or poetry for critique. We’re excited for E. Jones to return for our Virtual Career Panel in a few weeks!

“I like this!”  - Royality Hill, Children's Program participant

Royality has enjoyed all of the April activities from decorating Easter eggs to talking about empathy to planting a garden. 

This month in the Children's Program, we celebrated Easter with an egg hunt and a basket full of activities thanks to our amazing volunteers. We also focused on nutrition and learned how to grow our own food. StepUp children got to plant herbs and tomatoes with the help of a lesson created by one of our Life Skills alumni!

We have had a busy and exciting March in the Children’s Program! Our youngest kids learned about spring flowers and planting in the Pre-K class, and just like the Middle Ground group, they had an educational and fun class activity focused on St. Patrick’s Day.

We hosted our first ever Positive Parenting Program virtual event for families and community on March 24th alongside Project Enlightenment and trained Triple P practitioners. StepUp staff, volunteers and families were all able to benefit from the evidence-based training that supports parents in raising resilient children. The sense of unity and excitement from everyone in attendance was encouraging as we all looked to how we can grow as parents and as families.

“It was the coolest virtual atmosphere! I liked seeing other parents all logged on to get parenting support. It was great to know that I am not the only parent struggling at times and that it’s ok to reach out to get advice and support. Everything I heard was practical and made lots of sense. I feel like I have more parenting tools to work with now! ” - StepUp participant

Along with the virtual event, pizza, snacks, door prizes and activities were also offered to our participants safely in their homes. It was a wonderful night for over 30 families. What a great start to the spring season!

Middle Ground continues to grow, flourish, and thrive. We have just finished up our “I have a dream” clouds, where the children wrote down their dreams in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. To celebrate Black History Month, the children played a version of Guess Who with Black and POC leaders (mostly under the age of 12) that they had to guess. These leaders were the same age as our kids and had done some pretty amazing things.  The children could identify, discuss, and imagine themselves as a leader in the world. 

Every week, they showcase new talents, thoughts, and ideas that we would have never guessed children today were capable of, such as new inventions that could purify water in Flint, Michigan.

We are looking forward to continuing to celebrate this month and celebrate our children in every way possible.

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“In school, Nikenzie is shy and she doesn’t raise her hands often.  Her teachers could not get her to come out of her shell.  Here with StepUp, I see an entirely different side of her.  She’s opening up and I can’t thank you all enough.” – StepUp parent