Paint Club
Paint Club is an afterschool youth development program that engages students in transforming their own school, turning a cold, institutional environment into a warm, welcoming, safe space. Students learn strong, transferrable work skills through commercial painting, while building confidence and self-esteem during and after their school’s transformation. Students paint bright, inviting colors onto the walls of their school that are proven to increase productivity, attendance and retention. Paint Club, which runs after school Tuesday through Friday and all day Saturday, teaches students creative problem-solving, leadership and teamwork skills, and gives them a sense of pride and ownership in their environment. Paint Club brings students, teachers, school faculty and volunteers together in a community service-based transformation process with a lasting impact on the environment.
Milestones
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12 middle and high schools per year are selected on the basis of low attendance rates, low graduation rates (for high school), and a high percentage of students in poverty, and a physical environment that is drab and institutional looking and conveys a message of neglect and disrespect.
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Paint Club recruits up to 100 students per school to participate with an emphasis on the most at-risk students as identified by the teachers and the administration.
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10-12 weeks, 5 days per week (including all-day Saturdays) with a curriculum that gives Paint Club students an opportunity to learn: project management, engaging in high-level conversations with adults from diverse backgrounds, leadership skills, community service, color/visual design basics, commercial painting techniques, creative problem solving, self advocacy, team-work.
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c14,000 square feet of public space is painted in each school, each semester.
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Delicious, healthy, and colorful snacks and meals are served to Paint Club students every day, along with healthy breakfast and lunch on Saturdays.
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100% of students and teachers vote on the colors for their school, giving each a voice and empowering them to take ownership and develop a sense of pride in their newly transformed space..
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62% of students attend Paint Club multiple times throughout the semester.
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An average of 20 teachers and parents paint alongside the students each semester creating a culture of collaboration and community engagement.
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20 students from Paint Club are inducted into the paid apprenticeship program each semester resulting in a 4-6 year involvement, empowering them to plan and prepare for college and career.
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Average of 120 volunteers per school, (including corporate groups in the fields of finance, PR, design, architecture, law and college alumni groups) per semester painting alongside Paint Club students, informally mentoring them about college and career.
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