Need Help?
Join Our Mailing ListCentral State University
P.O. Box 1004
Wilberforce , OH 45384
Phone: (937) 376-6419
Fax: (937) 376-6180
E-mail: jcunningham@centralstate.edu
Title: K.R.U.N.K.E.D (Keepin' it Real through Unity, Nonviolence, Kreativity, Education and Determination)
Project Director: Jimmy Cunningham
Project Amount Funded (FY 2006): $250,000
Target Population: African American Males, Grades 9-10
K.R.U.N.K.E.D employs a unique approach involving the use of the hip-hop culture to provide 25 youth with exciting programming designed to reduce risky behaviors such as violence, to increase resiliency, and to develop skills and behaviors leading to healthier lifestyle choices. Program partners include the Arise! Academy, the City of Dayton Department of Parks and Recreation, The Hip Hop Association, Lanakila Learning Center , and Montgomery Combined Health District. From Monday through Thursday, students receive homework assistance and take part in vocabulary and reading comprehension enrichment activities. Signature activities are composed of several workshops which encourage student creativity such as Word Up! Night (academic skill development), Off the Chain Night (hip-hop skills/cultural development), Representin' Night (recreational/career/personal/wellness seminar development) and Droppin' Science Night (healthy lifestyles workshops and personal development). Personal development and wellness activities are shaped around the theme “Makin' It” to teach life skills related to the transition from youth to adulthood and include anger management, dating violence, conflict resolution, leadership, character building, as well as an exchange program between youth and seniors in the area. Cultural enrichment activities are centered around one of the four performance elements of hip hop, including break dancing, rapping, graffiti/mural art, and deejaying. Career development activities include workshops in resume writing, interviewing skills, business dress, and professional decorum. The K.R.U.N.K.E.D summer program is broken up into two phases. Phase I of the summer component is a three-week program where students focus their efforts on improving their academic skills, particularly in language arts; and phase II is a two-month job shadowing and career development program. Community service activities include mural painting in areas affected by urban decay, rap history presentations in the local community, and a yearly seminar on the influences of music among young people and the elderly. Project staff work with parents in three primary areas: establishment of a support group to provide workshops regarding methods to help parents better understand the varied needs of their youth; establishment of workshops, training, and seminars related to areas of parent-identified personal development and wellness topics; and parental involvement in youth functions.