Minneapolis Mayor, Local Leaders to Attend Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for New Cornwell Early Learning Center Serving Low-Income Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – October 6, 2022 — A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Wednesday, October 12, to celebrate the grand opening of Urban Ventures’ Cornwell Early Learning Center in South Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley, and other local leaders including principals, business leaders, and families, will be in attendance to recognize the important addition to the South Minneapolis Community.
Urban Ventures is a faith-based non-profit that has served the Philips, Central, and surrounding neighborhoods in south Minneapolis for nearly 30 years. Urban Ventures offers “cradle-to-career” programming to support children and families at every stage of life, with the goal of sending every child in the neighborhood to college or another form of postsecondary education. The Cornwell Early Learning Center is one of the most significant expansions of UV’s “pipeline of support.”
“Most kids in our neighborhood arrive at kindergarten without the basic skills they need,” said David Hawn, President and CEO of Urban Ventures. “Kids who start behind often stay behind. This center is another way of demonstrating our commitment to helping prepare kids in our neighborhood to succeed.”
Located in the Colin Powell Center, Urban Ventures main building and community center, the Cornwell Early Learning Center (CELC) is a state-of-the-art early childhood education hub. The CELC can serve up to 84 students and their families. Children’s ages range from six weeks old through preschool. The center began accepting students last fall, earning a four-star Parent Aware rating in its first year of operation.
The center specializes in helping low-income families gain access to high-quality childcare. Research shows that children who experience the greatest gains from quality, stable early childhood education – lower income and BIPOC children – also experience the most barriers to affording and accessing that care. Urban Ventures mitigates these barriers by helping families navigate the complicated process of applying for county aid and offering scholarships to make enrollment affordable. The entire family benefits from this model.
MaryBeth Stotts, Director of the CELC, extolled the benefits of having a center within Urban Ventures. “We know that to serve kids well we need to serve their families well. Because we are a part of Urban Ventures, we can offer programs to parents and older siblings that most centers don’t have. It’s not just that your child is getting important developmental support, but you can also join a class on parenting or financial literacy. Your older kids can take music lessons, receive intensive reading support, or get after-school homework help. We’re able to come alongside the entire family.”
The final piece of construction, an outdoor play area, was added in front of the Urban Ventures building this summer. The space provides a safe and secure place for children to play outdoors. Key to the design was leaving the existing trees intact. “It’s unique to have a small, wooded area for kids to play in the city. And after all that’s happened in our community these last few years,” shared Hawn, “it’s a joy to see kids playing outside near Lake Street.”
The ribbon-cutting celebration will take place on Wednesday, October 12, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm at the Colin Powell Center (2924 Fourth Ave South). The event will include remarks from local officials, a story time and song by the children, and a testimonial from a parent of children in the center.
CONTACT:
Luke Trouten
Associate Director, Advancement – Urban Ventures
612.545.9874 | luketrouten@urbanventures.org
Urban Ventures Outdoors
Urban Ventures’ Newest Program
We believe that nature—and its power to foster community, self-discovery, and personal development—should be open and available to everyone. This summer, Urban Ventures is launching a new program: Urban Ventures Outdoors. The program will provide access to wilderness experiences for students and young adults in our community.
Urban Ventures Outdoors is an expansion of a pilot trip taken last summer: a five-day wilderness canoe trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). The trip, which included UV staff, college students from UV’s Act Six College Scholarship Program, along with adult mentors was a big success, and left us excited to expand our programming. This summer Urban Ventures will send four separate student/mentor groups on similar BWCA canoe trips.
How it Works
Each BWCA canoe trip will pair UV supported college students with adult mentors from the Twin Cities area on a six-day wilderness expedition. The trips have a twofold mission:
provide students with a wilderness expedition that can boost their confidence, promote mental and physical wellness, develop new skills, and foster self-discovery;
use the trip as a catalyst for the students to build durable relationships with the adult mentors that can serve as a continued resource for them as they move into their adulthood and professional careers.
The trips will be outfitted by the non-profit Wilderness Canoe Base, which operates a camp and outfitter service at the end of the Gunflint Trail on Seagull Lake at the edge of the BWCA wilderness. Wilderness Canoe Base will be providing us with professional guides, equipment and meals, as well as lodging at their Island base camp at the beginning and end of each trip.
Each of the four trips this summer will be gender specific, and include the following nine members:
1 Professional Guide from Wilderness Canoe Base
1 Adult Staff Member from Urban Ventures
2 Adult Volunteer Mentors
5 College Students from the Act Six Scholarship Program
Based on the success of last year, Urban Ventures is excited for what this summer’s expansion will bring. You can help make these trips possible by making a donation today.
Students react to receiving Act Six 2022 college scholarships
Our big goal is to send every child in our neighborhood to college or another form of postsecondary education. One of the greatest barriers to a college education is cost. Through the Act Six program, students receive full-need, full-tuition scholarships to one of our six parter colleges and universities.
One of the highlights of our year is sharing the news with applicants that they have emerged from hundreds of applicants to become one of the 50+ scholars chosen to receive the scholarship. The Act Six scholarship is a full-need, full-tuition scholarship made possible through incredible partnerships at Augsburg University, Bethany Lutheran College, Bethel University, Concordia College, North Central University, and University of Northwestern - St. Paul.
In addition to financial support, each of these young leaders will receive leadership development training and academic support through Urban Ventures during their college career. It is a crucial step in our cradle-to-career pipeline.
You make moments like this possible when you donate to Urban Ventures.
Using Athletics To Teach Character
The Passing of Colin Powell
Gen. Powell at the opening of the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center in 2007.
Urban Ventures joins the nation in mourning the death of Colin Powell. Gen. Powell was the nation’s first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state. More than that, Colin Powell remained a friend of our South Minneapolis neighborhood for the last fifteen years.
The Colin Powell Center is the central hub of Urban Ventures’ work in the city, as well as home to the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. Opened in 2007, the building has become a mainstay at the intersection of Lake and 4th Avenue and provided a home base for the important work of supporting local kids as they work towards a better future.
The cause was close to Gen. Powell’s heart. He often described himself as “a Black kid of no early promise from an immigrant family of limited means.” In 1997 he founded America’s Promise, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting at-risk youth.
That commitment to supporting the underserved made Colin Powell a perfect namesake for the new center in South Minneapolis. In 2000, Gen. Powell agreed to lend his name to the building, saying, “I’ve received lots of awards and medals in the course of my career. But what could be a better award — a better recognition — than to have your name on a place where young people will be educated and get ready to be leaders in the future?”
Colin Powell remained a supporter and advocate for Urban Ventures’ work in Minneapolis. In one of his numerous visits to the Colin Powell Center he remarked, "The major challenge we have in the twenty-first century is to make sure that every child is pointed in the right direction and given the character and competence they need to be successful in life. It begins in places like this where children come and see adults who are caring about them, and believe in them, and who give them what they need to be successful in life."
Urban Ventures is grateful for the legacy of Gen. Colin Powell. Not only as a public figure and leader in our nation, but as an example of the great heights we believe each of our local youth are capable of no matter the challenging circumstances of their childhood.
If you wish to continue the legacy of Colin Powell’s work in South Minneapolis, you can make a donation in Gen. Powell’s memory.
Great Gains at Summer Ventures
Each summer, Urban Ventures provides daily programming for local students. The days are a mix of academic support, concentrated literacy initiatives, and various enrichment field trips.
The program is designed to fight against the “summer slide,” where students academically regress during the summer months, losing gains they’ve made during the school year. This year the program was more important than ever. Studies are showing that the Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected students of color and increased the achievement gap1.
Summer Ventures included a special focus on literacy training. Improved reading ability raises overall academic performance. Every subject in school requires reading, so when students are better at reading comprehension it removes barriers to becoming better at every other subject as well.
We are very happy to report that every student improved their reading scores over the summer. Not only did they avoid the summer slide, but they made gains over the summer break and will be better prepared as they head to the classroom this fall, and less likely to fall behind.
Students also participated in an at-home “read-a-thon” where they were encouraged to read in the evenings with family. Students tracked their time, racking up 46,267 minutes of on-their-own reading! That’s over 12 hours of reading per kid!
Beyond academic support, students also had the opportunity to choose from different electives. Activities included robotics with Create MPLS in our new Innovation Center, pottery at Northern Clay Center, tennis with Inner City Tennis, watersports with Inner City Surf, and trips to Mall of America, Valleyfair, the 3M Open, and Twins games. We’re grateful for the many partners who made the enrichment activities possible.
It was a great combination of work and play, and we’re eager to see how our students do this fall as they return to the classroom. We logged over 15,000 interaction hours with our Summer Ventures students. With 100% making academic gains over the summer, it was well worth it. And it wouldn’t be possible without donors and volunteers, people like you, who continue to support, encourage, and selflessly give to the people in our neighborhood. Thank you!
Work like this is only possible through donations from people like you. Make a donation today to keep programs like Summer Ventures going.
Statement Regarding Shooting Incident Near Urban Ventures
Yesterday evening (May 24) there was a shooting incident near the Urban Ventures soccer fields during soccer practice. While thankfully no players were hurt, one of our beloved coaches suffered a minor injury from a stray bullet. We are grateful that his injury did not require further medical attention.
The shooting took place on the corner of 5th Avenue and 29th Street. Two vehicles stopped near each other and exchanged gunfire. Coaches worked to quickly encourage students to seek cover. Some of the shooters ran away on foot while others drove away. The police arrived and are investigating the shooting. Urban Ventures has provided security footage and will work to help the investigation in any way possible.
Although this incident did not take place on Urban Ventures property—nor were UVA programs targeted—it is nonetheless a terrifying incident that was far too close to our students.
Due to the traumatic nature of this event, we have cancelled all soccer activities for Tuesday, May 25. On Wednesday, May 26 at 6pm, we are inviting soccer players and their families to meet in the Colin Powell Center auditorium to discuss this incident. In addition to the coaching staff and members of the Urban Ventures management team, we are working to have trauma counselors and members of the Minneapolis Police Department on hand to meet with players and parents.
As we remember the life of George Floyd, exactly one year after his life was taken in such a horrific way, I am reminded of how strong and resilient this community is—and how, even in the most difficult times, we support each other.
We will remain steadfast in our efforts to protect children when participating in Urban Ventures programming.
We thank God that nobody was seriously injured tonight, and we hope you will join us in praying for lasting peace in our city.
Sincerely,
Dave Hawn
President & CEO