Program Changes

By Todd Bowman-Program Director


In February of 2006 the Impact Learning Center opened its doors for the first time. Overall the quality of the work, activities, and programs which happened there each day after school was outstanding. To give you a visual framework, the Impact Learning Center focused primarily on three areas:Literacy, Leadership, & Fun.

There was, however, a fundamental problem with this program, which was transportation. Despite being creative with van routes, we were only able to pick-up and transport about thirty students to the ILC. This meant the majority of students involved in other City Impact programs would never have the opportunity to participate in this wonderful program.

The major way in which we decided to solve this dilemma was to move the Strengths-Based Leadership component from the ILC to our Tuesday night Bible Club program which currently involves between 100 – 150 students. Not only will all City Impact students now have the opportunity to learn how to use their God-given strengths to make a positive and powerful impact in their communities, but this Leadership piece also fits well within the Bible Club framework. While the Biblical teaching at Bible Club allows youth to grow in their knowledge of God, the Leadership component, with its emphasis on service, provides a framework within which youth can live out their faith.

In contrast, the Impact Learning Center is now exclusively a reading program designed to produce rapid reading gains. Between thirty and forty students from four different schools will enroll in the ILC for nine week sessions. Students will receive eighty minutes of reading instruction each day with the goal being that all first, second, and third grade students will receive one-on-one tutoring every day. To meet this one-on-one tutoring goal, we will need approximately one hundred volunteers to contribute forty minutes of time each week.

In the coming weeks and months, this blog will detail stories that happen in both Bible Club and the Impact Learning Center.

This is an exciting time at City Impact. God is moving powerfully in our organization and the curriculum and materials we’ve developed over the past year are just the tip of the iceberg. Thank you for your faithful reading of this blog and your investment in youth in Lincoln’s urban communities. I pray that each of you will not only continue to stay connected through stories, but will also consider joining us as a volunteer or a financial supporter.