MILWAUKEE — Cherise Myers spent much of July getting ready for Journey House’s back-to-school supply drive to help students start the year off with the proper essentials.

What You Need To Know

  • Journey House was founded in Milwaukee in 1969

  • The nonprofit helps with adult education, youth athletics and leadership, workforce development and family engagement

  • It offers ASL classes, U.S. Citizenship classes, G.E.D. help and more

“Those essential items like notebooks, pencils, glue, crayons, things they need just to get started in school," said Myers, who is the director of community partnerships with Journey House.

Myers said the organization is looking to help several hundred students this year.

“We’re looking to secure anywhere between 200 to 400 backpacks; [that] would be awesome," Myers said. 

The school supply drive is just one of many different ways Journey House helps the community. 

Journey House is a nonprofit that has been in Milwaukee since 1969. It has "built and re-imagined high performance programs in the Clarke Square neighborhood — from Adult Education, Youth Leadership and Athletics, THRIVE Workforce Development, and Family Engagement," according to Myers. 

“We use these four core programs to help us help give the neighborhood and the neighborhood vital resources that are much needed," she added. 

Those programs run throughout the entire year. In July, it hosted a summer academy for construction and design.

Tucker Sander, 17, is one of the students in that academy. On Wednesday, he worked to clear space for new development for planting. 

He's been involved with this program for just six weeks. He learned about it during a presentation in school. 

“I was super interested, and it’s paid, and it’s a whole lot of fun and great experience, and probably the most hands on thing I’ve done throughout the summer," Sander said. 

While he and his friends completed more hands on work, Journey House provides a lot of educational opportunities too. 

Veronica Sanchez took English as a Second Language classes and a U.S. Citizenship classes; her husband completed G.E.D. classes and her daughter takes dance class at Journey House. 

She said she’s grateful for the opportunities. 

“The opportunities are [a] better life, [to be a] better person, and get a better life," Sanchez said. 

And that is something Journey House set out to do more than 50 years ago, and hopes to continue for years to come.

To learn more about Journey House, click here.

 

Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum News, partnered with Journey House via its Spectrum Community Center Assist philanthropic program.