Healthy Minds
Students need healthy minds to navigate the complex emotional and social challenges of adolescence effectively. Mental health is crucial for developing critical thinking, decision-making skills, and emotional resilience, which help young people manage stress, cope with peer pressure, and build healthy relationships. A healthy mind also supports academic performance by improving focus, motivation, and the ability to handle setbacks. Prioritizing mental well-being during these formative years lays the groundwork for lifelong emotional health and well-being, enabling teens to grow into balanced and capable adults. The HTF helps students improve their minds primarily through its Leadership Academy (HLA). The Academy aims not only to get students into college or trade school but also to ensure that they graduate. Program components include:
Academic Support
STEM Programs: We encourage interest and proficiency in science, technology, engineering, and math through hands-on projects, experiments, and panel discussions.
Scholarships: We offer scholarships to students for college and/or trade school.
Parent Outreach Program: We provide sessions for the parents of our students to help their children succeed.
Mentorship Programs
Professional Mentoring: We connect students with professionals for career advice and networking opportunities.
Literacy Programs
Reading Clubs: We encourage a love of reading through book clubs and reading challenges.
College and Career Readiness
College Preparation Workshops: We provide information on college applications, scholarships, and financial aid.
Career Exploration: We offer job shadowing opportunities, internships, and career panels.
Life Skills Training
Financial Literacy: We teach students about budgeting, saving, and managing money.
Health and Wellness: We promote mental and physical health through nutrition education, stress management workshops, and fitness activities.
Leadership and Empowerment Development
Youth Leadership Programs: We develop leadership skills through service projects, leadership workshops, and public speaking opportunities.
Student Government: We encourage students to take part in community governance to learn about civic engagement and responsibility, as well as to form a student-led student government for the Leadership Academy.
Public Speaking Training: We help students build confidence and communication skills through public speaking practice.
Empowerment Seminars: We host events that inspire and empower students to believe in their potential.
Community and Service Projects
Community Volunteering: We involve students in local clean-up efforts, combining physical activity with community service.Service
Learning Projects: We empower students to solve real problems in our community.
Personal Development Workshops
Self-Esteem Building: We offer workshops focused on building confidence and self-worth.
Goal Setting and Achievement: We teach students how to set personal goals and develop plans to achieve them.
Resilience Training: We provide tools and strategies for overcoming adversity and building mental toughness.
Cultural Awareness and Appreciation
Cultural Exchange Programs: We expose students to different cultures through exchange programs, guest speakers, and cultural events.
Heritage Celebrations: We celebrate the diverse backgrounds of students through events and activities that honor their cultures.
Healthy Bodies
Students need healthy bodies because physical health is fundamental to their overall development and well-being. This period of rapid growth and change requires proper nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate rest to support their developing bodies and minds. A healthy body enhances energy levels, improves concentration, and boosts mood, all of which are critical for academic success and emotional resilience. Furthermore, establishing healthy habits during these formative years sets the foundation for a lifetime of well-being, reducing the risk of chronic illnesses and fostering a positive self-image. The HTF helps students improve their physical bodies through the program Happy Athletes (HA) by engaging students with fitness, healthy living, and overall well-being. This is promoted by:
Sports and Physical Activities
Supporting Youth Sports Leagues: We encourage students to join teams for basketball, soccer, baseball, and other sports and to explore playing for teams in higher education.
Fitness Boot Camps: We offer structured workouts focused on strength, endurance, and flexibility.
Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Cooking Classes: We teach students how to prepare healthy, balanced meals.
Nutrition Education: We offer workshops on healthy eating habits, reading nutrition labels, and understanding dietary needs.
Healthy Snacks: We provide nutritious snacks during our programs and events.
Improving Teeth/Smiles: We offer free braces for 25 students each year through our Happy Smile (HS) program.
Outdoor and Adventure Activities
Hiking and Nature Walks: We organize regular hikes or nature walks to promote outdoor activity and appreciation for nature.
Adventure Camps: We provide short summer day camps with activities like rock climbing, kayaking, and zip-lining.
Gardening Programs: We teach students how to grow their own fruits and vegetables, promoting physical activity and healthy eating.
Health Education and Awareness
Health Workshops: We conduct workshops on topics like personal hygiene, puberty, and sexual health.
First Aid Training: We offer certification courses in CPR and basic first aid.
Recreational Activities
Skating and Biking: We organize events or clubs focused on rollerblading, skateboarding, or cycling.
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Healthy Spirits
Having a healthy spirit is essential for students as it plays a crucial role in their overall well-being and development. A healthy spirit fosters resilience, helping young individuals navigate the challenges of adolescence with a positive outlook. This foundation not only enhances their mental and emotional health but also contributes to healthier relationships and better academic performance, setting them on a path to a well-rounded and fulfilling life. The HTF helps students improve their spirits primarily through its Leadership Academy (HLA).
Holistic Wellness Programs
Sleep Hygiene Workshops: We teach the importance of sleep and how to develop good sleep habits.
Dental Hygiene Workshops: We teach the importance of good dental health.
Stress Management: We provide techniques and activities for students to manage stress and maintain physical and mental well-being.
Nature and Outdoor Activities
Nature Retreats: We organize retreats or camping trips that allow students to connect with nature and reflect.
Gardening Programs: We teach students about planting and caring for gardens, providing a calming and nurturing activity.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness Workshops: We teach techniques for staying present and managing stress.
Meditation Classes: We offer sessions to help students develop regular meditation habits for mental clarity and relaxation.
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Leadership Academy (HLA)
A leadership academy for students is essential for cultivating the skills and qualities needed for effective leadership in various aspects of life. This critical developmental stage is a prime time for young people to learn and practice leadership skills such as communication, teamwork, decision-making, and problem-solving. By participating in a leadership academy, teens can build confidence, develop a strong sense of responsibility, and learn to inspire and motivate others. These experiences not only prepare them for future leadership roles in their communities, schools, and careers but also enhance their personal growth, empowering them to take initiative and make positive contributions to society.HLA’s objectives are to deliver quality leadership development programming to our students, who come from “at-risk”, low income backgrounds, and to support them so that they may complete a college degree or trade school. At its core, HLA’s mission is to propel its students towards college and towards success.
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Some of the services we provide to our students include check-in/intervention support for students struggling academically, community engagement, free practice SAT or ACT testing and analysis of the results, SAT review and help, service learning opportunities, volunteer opportunities, S.T.E.M. exposure, joint student and parent learning experiences, college tours, college counseling, college applications, scholarships and scholarship application help, FAFSA help, reviewing financial aid awards, and mentoring. We have partnered with local colleges and community organizations to provide support to our students who complete our program.
The Leadership Academy will be set up at the University of North Carolina or Duke University for students in Chapel Hill, Durham, Cary, and Raleigh, with limited virtual access for other areas as we expand. Students will meet 12-15 Saturdays in the school year for sessions while their parents will meet about 5-6 of those Saturdays. Sessions will typically start at 9:00 AM and finish at 12:00 PM. They will include college-ready preparation and leadership guidance, along with organization for service learning projects. There will be a Grade Focus for the curriculum, designed to negate the challenges students face against graduating from college. In addition, parents will have sessions of different varieties to help them in the families’ everyday lives.
Coming Soon
Happy Smile (HS)
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A healthy smile boosts confidence and self-esteem, which is particularly important during the formative years of adolescence and teens. Having straight teeth can improve social interactions and make children and teens feel more comfortable in social situations, causing them to smile more. When children smile, their brains release endorphins, which are natural painkillers and mood enhancers. This release makes them feel happier and more relaxed. In essence, the act of smiling sets off a cascade of positive physiological, psychological, and social effects that contribute to a child’s overall happiness and well-being. Health care is expensive, and many households do not have insurance to insure healthy smiles.
With the lead of the offices of MyOrthodontist, participating orthodontists will donate one or two orthodontist packages per year to help qualified disadvantaged children.
Requirements for participation:
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Patients must be a resident/refugee stationed in North Carolina.
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Patients must be between the ages of 10-22.
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Patients cannot already be in braces or be in between phases of orthodontic treatment.
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Patients must be receiving regular dental care and have good oral hygiene.
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Total family income must be below 250% of the federal poverty level.
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Patients must be ineligible for orthodontic treatment through insurance or public aid.If determined eligible after the initial visit with the volunteer orthodontist, a coordination fee of $200 will apply to complete the program, which could be achieved in 4 installments within the first 4 months of treatment.
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Patients must provide a rejection letter from the state Medicaid office.
Happy Athletes (HA)
Sports and Physical Activities
We support youth sports leagues, encouraging students to join teams for basketball, soccer, baseball, and other sports, and to explore playing for teams in higher education. Our fitness boot camps offer structured workouts focused on strength, endurance, and flexibility. In addition to physical activities, we provide cooking classes that teach students how to prepare healthy, balanced meals, along with workshops on nutrition education, including reading nutrition labels and understanding dietary needs. To reinforce healthy eating habits, we provide nutritious snacks during our programs and events. Outdoor and
Adventure Activities
We organize regular hikes and nature walks to promote outdoor activity and an appreciation for nature. Our adventure camps offer short summer day camps with activities like rock climbing, kayaking, and zip-lining. We also have gardening programs where students learn to grow their own fruits and vegetables, promoting both physical activity and healthy eating. Our health education and awareness initiatives include workshops on personal hygiene, puberty, and sexual health, along with certification courses in CPR and basic first aid. Additionally, we organize recreational activities like skating and biking events or clubs focused on rollerblading, skateboarding, or cycling.
Grade Focus
7th Grade – Finding your GiftsSelf-Awareness ∙ Talents ∙ Gifts ∙ Personalities ∙
The focus here is on the exploration of talents and skills, as well as on helping our cadets understand their personalities, beliefs and values so that they can make positive decisions, decipher emotions and plan their future. The qualities learned here would be developed throughout YLA years, as the cadets mature and learn to become independent. Our mentors play a key part as realistic role models that encourage self-confidence, and focus on cadets’ values and how to both handle stress and understand where it comes from.
8th Grade – Finding your PeaceCultural Tolerance ∙ Cultural Awareness ∙
DiversityWith today’s globalization, and in a world that has become connected multiculturally through the far-reaching powers of the Internet, establishing tolerance and harmony has become very crucial and important. Our students must learn to live with people of different backgrounds, cultures and religions in an environment where fostering mutual tolerance and affection has become vital. YLA aims at helping our cadets counter influences that lead to fear and exclusion of others.
9th Grade – Finding your VoicePublic Speaking ∙ Branding ∙ Social Media ∙
The focus here is for our cadets to be able to speak persuasively - a skill that is vital not only for our future politicians, business leaders and teachers, but also for everyone in general, because almost everyone will, at some point in their lives, have to persuade others. Our focus goes beyond just speaking; it also includes teaching our cadets to build positive brands of themselves. We guide our cadets to ask, “What do others think of when they see me, based on their perception of me?” We teach them positive ways to interact with people, and how to carry themselves publicly in a variety of different situations, along with different social platforms and media.10th Grade – Finding Your FutureCareer Ready ∙ Work Skills The skills our YLA cadets learn are skills that successful people have in any career. Being ready for a career means that by now, our cadets have a good sense of self and are willing to have conversations about the world of work. This is the grade where we focus on expanding our cadets’ visions of the future.
11th Grade – Finding your Path College Knowledge ∙
From applications to dorm drop-off, we are there to help our cadets make the important decisions within the college process. We realize that choosing the universities our cadets will attend for about half a decade is not an easy task. We thus help our students navigate the academic programs, locations, social atmospheres, sizes and types of colleges they want to have their crucial early adult memories associated with.
12th Grade – Finding your IndependenceCollege Transition ∙ Life Skills ∙ Professionalism ∙
Just because our cadets will be going to college does not mean that they are ready to live on their own. Life skills are essential for our students to succeed and master their college experience. Keeping themselves safe, knowing the options for asking for help, handling finances and budgets, and keeping track of personal and professional records are just a few essential skills for our cadets to survive on their own. This last year of YLA focuses on allowing our cadets to succeed in accomplishing college completion and getting ready for independence in the world.