Children

Breakthrough Enrichment Program

Each week, nearly 100 students attend the Breakthrough Enrichment Program hosted by CDC and an incredible team of nearly 25 volunteers! On Tuesdays from 6-8 pm, Breakthrough meets at Blessed Sacrament Community Center at 150 Belmont. Transportation is provided to and from the enrichment program for children in our service area. During their time there, the children are first served dinner, then go through a three-part rotation of creative arts, academic enrichment, and Bible time. The goal for the creative arts component is to give children exposure to a range of arts including visual arts, drama, dance, and music that have been cut from the Detroit Public Schools curriculum. The goal of the academic room is to reinforce the skills learned in the classroom and to help children maintain grade-level progress. The goal of Bible class is to give students a foundational understanding of Scripture as well as an introduction to the good news of Jesus Christ. The mission of the Breakthrough Enrichment Program overall is to create a safe haven where youth are equipped and empowered as well-rounded people, thereby building their community. In all that, some weeks it’s hard to tell who’s learning more, the children or their teachers!

Day: Tuesdays
Time: 6 – 8 pm
Location: Blessed Sacrament
LINK TO MAP

Tutoring

An incredibly successful program has been CDC’s Saturday Tutoring Program. CDC provides remedial educational tutoring for grades K-5th through one-on-one interaction with a volunteer tutor. Reading and math are the primary focus of the Tutoring program with other subjects to follow as we have knowledgeable volunteer tutors come on board.

Day: Saturdays
Time: 9 am – 12 noon
Location: Blessed Sacrament
LINK TO MAP

ADDITIONAL TUTORING
As a component of our Tuesday evening Breakthrough Enrichment Program, we have selected students who are in need of additional tutoring assistance. After the students have eaten a meal with their friends, they proceed to an individualized tutoring meeting.

Day: Tuesdays
Time: 6 – 8 pm

Karate

Karate meets two times a week Monday and Thursday evening | Blessed Sacrament

The Breakthrough Karate School opened in January of 2011. It is available to any young person over the age of 8.

Karate has many benefits – it teaches self-defense; it is an opportunity to exercise; it provides socialization and most important, it develops character and discipline. These are all very beneficial to young people in our community. It is our hope and desire that local leadership is trained and raised up so that the school can exist for years to come.

Mr. Alan Brace, a 4th degree black belt Master Instructor of the World Tang Soo Association and owner of Grand Tradition Martial Arts in Livonia, Michigan is the instructor of Breakthrough Karate. We are grateful for his commitment and willingness to develop a school here for the benefit of our community. He brings along high level students to assist him in the programming.

The ongoing outcome of this endeavor is a group of young people who are trained in the art and discipline of karate which reaps a variety of benefits for the community.

Day: Mondays & Thursdays
Time: 7 – 8 pm
Cost: $5 per class
Location: Blessed Sacrament

Summer Programs

A Summer Day Camp -Fun and Friends

What happens when 175 Kindergarten to 5th graders are invited to spend 5 weeks with CDC over the summer?

In the summer of 2011, day camp had the theme of knowing and experiencing Detroit and therefore included trips in small groups to the Riverwalk, the Renaissance Center, the People Mover, the Science Center, the Public Library along with weekly field trips to the Chandler Park Wave Pool, bowling, roller skating and a home-made carnival.

Each child also had the chance to work in our gardens and watch the seeds they planted grow into plants. We were able to feed the children breakfast, lunch and send them home with a bagged meal for their dinner. This was a big deal and kids looked forward to taking a meal home each evening. Crafts and Bible story time rounded out the day.

This summer we were able to employ 17 teens from our community and programs to help with Day Camp. We had budgeted in faith to hire 9 teens, but God opened the door to hire more teens through the YES program, which paid for their employment experience.

In 2012, we will hold a six week day camp for children ages 6-13 in the central Detroit community.

The goal with summer day camp is to provide quality programming that keeps children active physically, mentally, and spiritually all summer and their whole lives long! Integral partners for summer day camp include Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, which serves as a site for day camp, as well as church youth groups who come to help with Bible, craft, and recreation.

Summer Overnight Camp- Adventure outside the city

During each summer, children involved in CDC day camp have the opportunity to go to overnight camp for a week with CDC staff and volunteers. A week away from the city gives kids a time to let loose, and it is often a time of true breakthrough!

This past summer 45 children went to Spring Hill Camp for a fun time away from their “regular life.” The children had a chance to swim, hike, and spend time learning about Jesus. We are appreciative to have ministry partners that help us reach children with the Gospel. Summer Dreams funding made these camping trips a reality.

Recreation

Learning through Sports

Children learn valuable life skills and lessons through athletics. And they are often highly motivated to learn when their favorite sport is being taught with little to no cost, right in their neighborhood park or church building.

CDC has been offering varying recreational opportunities for children through the years. We’ve had basketball teams, soccer clinics, and a flag football league. Each of these opportunities might not otherwise be available to young people through their schools or community rec centers.

This past year we were able to offer Flag Football, Basketball, and Karate for children in the Central Detroit area.

All of these programs are primarily led by volunteers who desire to share their knowledge about a sport and teamwork with our school-aged children. If you would like to volunteer with one of these programs, please fill out a Volunteer Application and CONTACT US.

Be A Sponsor

CDC seeks to equip children in central Detroit by connecting them with sponsors. Sponsors are special volunteers who commit to attending three events each year to get to know the children, as well as provide financial support used for school uniforms and supplies. Many sponsors end up building long-term relationships with CDC kids. The sponsor events, such as the Christmas party and back-to-school rally, are some of the most exciting of the year for CDC!