ACT-SO PROGRAM PROGRESS REPORT 2015 On their way to the 2015 National ACT-SO Awards Ceremony in Philadelphia, PA NAACP Collier County Branch 5117
October 2, 2015 The NAACP Collier County Branch 5117 2015 ACT-SO program recruitment of participants began in January and the coaching and mentoring phase of the program in February with fourteen (14) high school students participating in Collier County. The program was chaired by Akita Cannon under the direction of NAACP Collier County President, Mr. Harold Weeks. Mr. Wynn Watkins played a pivotal role in the implementation of the program as co-chair. The ACT-SO program was restructured in 2012 to develop a viable youth-oriented program to the Collier County community. COLLABORATION EFFORTS 2015 was our third year in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Collier County (BGCCC), a viable resource that provided us the opportunity to reach a wider and more diverse student population. In addition, the BGCCC provided the physical space needed to meet with the participants, provided administrative assistance and financial support. NAACP Collier County has established a win-win relationship with the Boys and Girls Club of Collier County and received a commitment to continue for the upcoming ACT-SO program year. PROGRAM SCOPE On the national level, the ACT-SO program implemented the following changes this year---original Essay which was dropped last year was added back to the program. The poetry category under the Humanities classification was expanded to include Poetry Performance under the Performing Arts classification. With the addition of Short Story last year, this brought the total categories for competition from twenty-six (26) to twenty-nine (29). The local ACT-SO program solicited student participation through contact with various high-schools, community programs and the Boys and Girls Club of Collier County. We had nine (9) students from the 2015 Local Competitors prior year returning to the program to compete again in 2015 and five (5) new students. The program implemented regular weekly meeting dates with competitors to coach, develop craft and provide resources and feedback. The local competition was held on April 18, 2015 at the BGCCC with a total of nine (9) competing in: Dance, Dramatics, Drawing, Engineering, Music Vocal Classical, Music Vocal-Contemporary, Painting, Poetry-Written, Poetry-Performance and Short Story. Performance and Music Vocal-Classical. This was our first year for entry into Poetry- Using the NAACP National ACT-SO program s established procedures for scoring, the judges scored eight (8) of the local competitors a score of 95 and greater qualifying them to participate in the national ACT-SO competition held in Philadelphia, PA in July 2015. Page 1 of 4
In July 2015, the eight (8) finalists competed in Philadelphia in the following categories at the National ACT-SO Competition: Dramatics, Drawing, Engineering, Music Vocal Classical, Music Vocal Contemporary, Poetry Written and Performance and Short Story. Dance was the only competition that advanced to nationals, but was unable to attend the national competition. Our Collier County competitors gave great performances, toured the city and met other like-minded youth who are serious about their craft. This year s national competition gave our competitors a resolve to work harder and to take seriously the development of their talent. One student stated, This was the most important experience in my life so far. I ve never been to a big city or seen so many kids come together in such a beautiful spirit. This was awesome! IMPACT AND ASSESSMENT We expanded our coaching team to include Nancy Swartz who is an actress and singer, she also does artwork, Howard Hawkins with a music background and Bill McCormick has engineering/inventing background. We worked to add new coaches in order to provide better resources for our competitors. Two scientists from a local bio-medical company, met with our engineering student and provided some feedback on her project that was invaluable. The most notable impact this year was our young poetry entrant, James Wright, who as a ninth grader wrote an awesome poem, but learned lessons to lead him in life. Lessons such as, how to properly introduce himself, how first impressions matter, the need to work hard and practice and how the horizons are broader than his neighborhood. He now has a new outlook on life and came back from nationals with the resolve to become a better person all around. Our four emerging college students, who are no longer eligible to participate in ACT-SO felt a sense of losing an important resource and support for them, but resolved to help ACT-SO in any way they could. They are now the first ACT-SO Ambassadors for the Collier County ACT-SO program. Overall, ACT-SO is a well-established community program that not only let the students hone their craft, compete and gain experience, but also taught them how to become a team, support one another and encourage each other to achieve their greatest potential. This year this group of students leaned on one another, supported each other and became a group of better defined individuals willing to step into the community more prepared to serve than ever before. We met our goals stated in last year s impact and assessment and will continue to build a strong ACT-SO program for Collier County. One of the students stated, I want my children and my children s children to be a part of ACT-SO. ACT- SO will always be an important part of my life. Another student stated, You don t understand how much ACT-SO changed our lives and when I said I do, she said, No, you don t. It saved us. This is what ACT- SO is to many of our youth. Page 2 of 4
CHALLENGES With several of our competitors graduating high school this year, we will face new challenges with a mostly new group of students in the upcoming year. The challenges we continue to face is continuing to find coaches in specific categories and financing. We have a need for more volunteers with particular skillsets to our categories to mentor, coach and judge. This must be a priority for the upcoming year to solidify an even stronger program. Financially, we continue to build our resources to fund the program. We need to establish on-going funding from year to year. We are working on plans to involve companies in the funding of the ACT-SO program on an annual basis. EVALUATION AND LESSONS LEARNED We need to include the community as a whole more and let them know about the program. We developed a more professional local awards ceremony with community involvement, better presentation and awards program this year. We increased our presence within the community with ACT-SO competitors presenting with local community churches and organizations and will work to increase our exposure in this arena. NAACP Collier County is committed to supporting and strengthening the program to increase its effectiveness. FUNDING AND FINANCES Our 2015 funding was from corporate donations through the Tides Foundation, various sources through our annual Freedom Fund Gala fundraiser and individual donations. 01/01/2015 Beginning Balance: 1,139.00 Income Tides Foundation Grants 5,000.00 Donations/Fundraising 18,400.00 Total Income: 23,400.00 Expenses Local 7,248.00 National 13,105.00 Total Expenses: 20,353.00 11/01/2015 Account Balance 4,186.00 Notes; Revenue for Tides Foundation Grant in 2014 ($5,000) Expense paid for by BGCCC ($2,445) AVAILABLE REPORTS: Profit and Loss Balance Sheet Transaction Detail Report for Income and Expenses The Collier County NAACP s Local ACT-SO Program accepts donations as follows. You can make your donation online at naacpcolliercounty.com or by mail to NAACP Collier County, P O Box 990727, Naples, FL, 34116: Donations under $2,500.00 Payable to: MHASWFL - ACT-SO or Donation $2,500 and above Payable to: NAACP Collective Action Foundation at the Tides Foundation Thank you in advance for your support. Page 3 of 4
2015 Local Awards Ceremony Traveling to Philadelphia, PA to compete in the 2015 National ACT-SO Competition!!! At The National Competition Rally! Getting ready to compete in the 2015 National ACT-SO Competition!!! Page 4 of 4
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ACT-SO PROGRAM NAACP COLLIER COUNTY * P.O. BOX 990727 * NAPLES, FL 34116 PRESIDENT ACT-SO CHAIR ACT-SO CO-CHAIR EMAIL WEBSITE HAROLD WEEKS AKITA CANNON WYNN WATKINS ACTSO@NAACPCOLLIERCOUNTY.COM WWW.NAACPCOLLIERCOUNTY