LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After-school programs and activities help inspire kids, keep them safe, and provide working parents peace of mind, according to Afterschool Alliance, an advocacy organization that in part researches where U.S. children spend their time after school. 

In Kentucky, research by Afterschool Alliance shows for every one child in an after-school program, four more children are waiting to get in. They also found that 280,000 children in the Commonwealth would enroll in an after-school program if spots were available.

Recognizing the benefits of after-school programs, Sowing Seeds with Faith serves 583 K-12 students from 17 neighborhoods in Louisville, according to the nonprofit’s founder Da’Marrion Fleming.

At one of Sowing Seeds with Faith’s Punch and Paint events in March, 11-year-old DeWarren Dillard’s personality exploded during the TikTok dance challenge.

“I dance every day. I’ve been dancing since I was one-years-old. I love to dance,” he explained, after he won a Starbucks gift card for his excellent moves.

However, Dillard said he also won $100 and first place at a Sowing Seeds with Faith dance competition. 

Besides dancing at the March 19, 2022 event, dozens of elementary-aged-children painted, listened to a Louisville author read his self-published children’s book, ate pizza for dinner and played bingo.

Watch: Sowing Seeds with Faith's Sept. 2021 Punch and Paint event

The events outside of after-school programs are meant to reduce the amount of downtime kids have to promote social and emotional growth.

Fleming said one of the key components of the nonprofit’s mission is mentoring.

“Mentoring is used to keep kids engaged during COVID. We lost quite a few kids due to violence, crime, pregnancies, so we intentionally have these mentoring events to keep our kids actively engaged [and] in tune with everything that’s going on,” Fleming said.

Currently, many of the volunteers at Sowing Seeds with Faith events are UofL students studying in the medical field, from aspiring nurses to doctors and dentists. With Grow 502, a separate organization, the students create relationships to mentor attendees. 

“These small little conversations might one day get them to have a better relationship with medicine and their dentist,” Grow 502 Founder Onu Udoh said. “Maybe they will aspire to be a medical doctor.”

Fleming, a former schoolteacher and food truck owner, said Sowing Seeds with Faith events focus on exposing kids to all outlets of expression, such as dance, art and musical theatre.

“I want them to know they have many ways to express themselves in times of need, and times of excitement, and times of joy, and in times of hurt,” Fleming said.

Expressing emotions and learning how to handle and process them is very important within in the Black community, Fleming said, especially with young men.

“I think within the Black community, one of the things that’s being perpetuated is boys are supposed to be tough, and being able to express yourself and articulate is sometimes the difference between life and death,” Fleming explained. 

“It’s okay to have emotions. It’s okay to encounter hurt. It’s okay to encounter pain, and how do you deal with that? And then once you deal with that, how do you come out of it?” Fleming added. 

Sowing Seeds with Faith wants to normalize youth feeling comfortable to talk with somebody about what they are feeling or going through and to express themselves within what Fleming calls “trust circles.”

For Dillard, dancing isn’t just about winning competitions. It’s also a powerful way for the 11-year-old to express himself.

“Because it helps me calm down…and I like to dance in front of people. It’s not like a big deal, and, sometimes, I’m nervous, but, at the same time, I’m not,” Dillard said.

Dillard’s confidence was definitely more palpable and on display when he danced compared to when he painted at the event. That confidence is something Sowing Seeds with Faith aims to nurture and grow with every event Dillard attends. 

If you’re interested to learn more about how to enroll your child in the program, look at upcoming events, or even attend a parents’ only event, visit sowingseedswithfaith.org.