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shares. he views the organization as an arc with the arts, education/
work
force development, and
community
reactivation all
work
ing together as a holistic
community
approach. it?s the education and
work
force development, though, that has
casey
most excited. he has dedicated many of the fundraising resources to ?e futures fund, an initiative designed with the mission to create digital, literary, visual, and performing-arts based entrepreneurial opportunities for 12-18 year-old baton rougeans. ?e program began with 36 kids the first semester and has grown to 262 kids. ?e futures fund
work
s in a semester format. ?e kids commit to 10 weeks in the fall and if they re-enroll, 10 weeks in the spring. ?e students meet at southern and brcc campuses on saturdays to learn professional skills, coding, photography, marketing, and entrepreneurship. paid industry professionals teach the curriculum, and most of the learning happens out in the field, not inside a classroom. ?ere are three levels to the program, so the students can matriculate and actually be placed in jobs. ?we have a 90 percent retention rate because the kids know they can make good money and learn real-life skills,?
casey
says. ?e futures fund is empowering middle to high school students that live in high poverty areas to become future business owners and skilled contributors to baton rouge?s economy.
casey
sees the reactivation of the
community
in these students? committed
work
ethic: ??e futures fund is breeding and training the next wave of entrepreneurs that will be opening businesses on plank road. ?e most logical people to rebuild the
community
are the people that are already there.? when it comes to reactivating the economically-depressed communities of baton rouge, the walls project utilizes large-scale service days and volunteers. ?e mlk serve days have become a tradition, and this past event surpassed anything that has been done before. ?e crew included 4,000 volunteers and paid artists who
work
ed to paint 10 murals, plant two
community
gardens, clean up blight, fix houses, and
work
with other organizations on projects. ?it was a great catalyst for a lot of
work
to come. we have so much
work
to do, and we are so far from being done,?
casey
shares. ?e
work
will continue the next few years with the aggressive goals
casey
and his team have put together for 2020. ?ey plan to establish partnerships with more groups that have similar goals, increase their futures fund enrollment to 1,000 students, and expand into new orleans, lake charles, and lafayette. above all, the goal is
community
change, whether that comes from paint cans, young minds, or cleaning tools.
casey
passionately emphasizes, ?baton rouge has an opportunity to do something that very few cities have done. we can revitalize our city without gentrifying it. it can happen if we
work
shoulder to shoulder with the
community
and develop opportunities. we have to have monster amounts of people
work
ing together to make change. you?re about to see it.? ? wall #9: ?art project redon-louisiana? february 2017 | brparents.com 47
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