LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A nonprofit in Louisville’s west end was in jeopardy of losing its building, but that’s no longer a problem after hundreds of thousands of dollars were donated to keep the doors open to help at-risk kids.
Jreeym Scrubb works with students after school as a tutor at the DELTA foundation. Along with teaching the kids through arts and crafts, another a big focus is reading.
“It’s all about just making them comfortable and knowing that everybody starts at a different place,” Scrubb said.
DELTA stands for Developing Educated Leaders Through Athletics, and once the kids get their work done upstairs, they get to have some fun down in the gym.
“It’s not like I’m stressful in school,” 5th grade student Carrie Jackson said.
“I get about 500 shots up a day and work on my form and play with some of the people in our little community here,” 7th grader Aricin Shackelford said.
Located in the Portland neighborhood, the DELTA foundation is a mentorship program focusing on helping at-risk kids succeed.
“Majority of our kids come from the most violent zip codes in Louisville,” Wes Hinton, the DELTA foundation founder, said.
The DELTA Foundation is a safe place for kids to learn, play and just be a kid.
“It feels like calm and easy,” Jackson said.
The foundation operates a gym, classrooms and a basketball court at the facility, allowing the kids an escape.
“The things that our kids face day-to-day, from not knowing where their next meal is coming from to bullying to just not feeling safe in their environment, the more times they’re with us and with my great staff, the safer they are and the better chance they have for making it out of their situation.”
But the 250 kids they serve were at risk of losing their safe space.
The DELTA Foundation was leasing the space and found out the owner was selling.
But thanks to a $250,000 grant from the James Graham Brown Foundation, they were able to buy the 35,000 sq. ft. building and create a permanent community hub of positive activity on Portland Avenue.
Several other nonprofits, like the Ace Project, Portland Avenue Community Trust, PACT Mobile Pantry and It Takes a Village 502, are on the campus, also making a difference in the community.
“We were in danger of losing this place,” Hinton said. “I don’t know where our 250 youth would have gone had we, but that coupled with giving other great nonprofits an opportunity really kind of lit a fire under us.”
Now, the DELTA Foundation can continue to make sure kids have a safe space to fit in.
“Very heartwarming, very heartwarming,” Shackelford said. “It’s like I’m in a whole different place, you know? I can be myself without being judged. I can communicate.”
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