DINOMIGHTS

Programs: The organization served 360 youth including 120 year round ages 518 with a minimum of 7-10 hours of programming per week. Another 240 other students participate over the course of six weeks each spring, in an annual community service project called greg carroll learn 2 skate. The overall goal of the program is encompassed in the mission statement: to equip our urban youth to develop physical, academic, social, and spiritual excellence. Physical excellence: the ice hockey program is where students develop their potential for physical strength, agility, and coordination. It incorporates practices and games during hockey season (skating 23 hours/week from october through march); hockey camps (1-2 weeks in june/july and 1-2 weeks in august. About 20 hours programming each), street hockey, and other physical activities in the summer. One hour of weekly practice is held on wednesday or thursday mornings before school. Getting up early and keeping the commitment to practicing with the team, teaches students responsibility. Dinomights is part of the minneapolis park and recreation league as well as usa hockey and minnesota hockey. The hockey program is also recognized by the nhl as one of only a handful diversity programs in north america. Hockey players are given skills tests at the beginning and end of the hockey season. We updated our skills testing in 2012-13 and plan to use the improved data to continue implementing the american development model. Academic excellence: the tutoring program meets once a week at richard green elementary during the school year (tuesdays, october through april). Individualized lessons are prepared for every tutoring student. Reading instruction is provided for youth who are reading at or below grade level. Homework help and supplemental academic activities are provided after the reading lesson. Technology learning: each student is taught the basics of html web design and build their own personal pages that can be viewed on the dinomights site. The web class is taught by sport ngin. Power camp is an intensive weeklong academic program during the summer (august) built around a discovery theme. Youth have the opportunity to participate in discovery time, drop-everything-and-read (dear) time, and computer time. Last year 65 youth participated in power camp, featuring the theme, team building. The theme was conceived by the dinomights high schol staff students. Social and spiritual excellence: community service is encouraged and required for participants. Each year, we offer the greg carroll learn 2 skate program. Students volunteer in partnership with richard green elementary school, andersen united school, and hope academy to teach first graders to ice skate. In 2010 we expanded our learn 2 skate partnership with andersen elementary, which increased our seasonal participants to 220. We have gone from serving 80 in 2008 to 240 in 2014 with prospects to increase this number. In addition, groups have served at feed my starving children, packing over 20,000 meals for developing countries. Middle school teams have served overnight at simpson homeless shelter. Alumni students are encouraged to develop strong leadership skills by serving as tutors, camp counselors, and coaches. Mentoring, coaching, and peer relationships encourage spiritual development. Positive adult volunteers and staff, motivated by their own personal faith, understand and model positive behaviors in all program activities and life situations. In addition, youth have the choice to attend other optional opportunities such as summer camps and/or bible studies. Accomplishments: 100% of the dinomights class of 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 graduated from high school. 90%+ per year of tutoring students increased their reading grade level for 8 straight years. 240 students were taught ice-skating through our community service project greg carroll learn 2 skate. 95% respond positively when asked if dinomights has helped them make friends that are different from them and helped them to motivate others. One student wrote, i have made a lot of friends on the dinomight team and it has helped me motivate others like when we taught richard green elementary school first graders to skate. When asked what they value most about dinomights many students speak of the strong relationships with positive mentoring adults. One student says, ive probably valued the relationships with some friends and coaches the most; even with some very different diverse people.