Jason Taylor Foundation Inc

RAISE FUNDS FOR CHILDRENS PROGRAMS THE FOUNDATION SUPPORTS AND CREATES PROGRAMS THAT FACILITATE THE PERSONAL GROWTH AND EMPOWERMENT OF SOUTH FLORIDA'S CHILDREN

JASON TAYLOR READING ROOM IN CONJUNCTION WITH EACH OF THE PAST FIFTHTEEN SCHOOL YEARS, THE JASON TAYLOR FOUNDATION HAS HELD CLASSES FOR THE JASON TAYLOR READING ROOM. TYPICALLY LOCATED WITHIN NEW RENAISSANCE MIDDLE SCHOOL IN MIRAMAR, THE JASON TAYLOR READING ROOM IS A COMPREHENSIVE AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM DESIGNED TO ADDRESS ACADEMIC CHALLENGES AMONG INNER-CITY YOUTH, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS OF LITERACY. NORMALLY, STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM FOR TWO HOURS PER DAY THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND ARE NAVIGATED THROUGH A ROTATING ACADEMIC FOCUS CALENDAR WITH ASSISTANCE FROM A FULL-TIME EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR, CERTIFIED TEACHERS AND TEACHERS' AIDS. IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19, THE READING ROOM STAFF PROVIDED ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE VIRTUALLY. THE PROGRAM'S CURRICULUM ADDRESSES VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT, READING COMPREHENSION, LANGUAGE ARTS, CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS, ORAL READING FLUENCY AND NOVEL STUDY, AS WELL AS NINETY MINUTES OF WEEKLY MATH INSTRUCTION PER GRADE LEVEL. A VIRTUAL CODING COMPONENT WAS ADDED THIS PAST YEAR AS WELL.

COOL GEAR FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR THE SEVENTEENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR, JASON TAYLOR HELD HIS COOL GEAR FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOPPING PROGRAM, WHICH SERVES TO HELP BUILD A CHILD'S SELF-ESTEEM AND ELIMINATE AN UNNECESSARY DISTRACTION, ALLOWING THE CHILD TO FOCUS ON THEIR STUDIES AND NOT THEIR ATTIRE WHILE AT SCHOOL. IN 2020, THE JASON TAYLOR FOUNDATION HOSTED 40 UNDERSERVED CHILDREN AT A LOCAL OLD NAVY STORE, PROVIDING EACH CHILD WITH $300 TO PURCHASE SCHOOL CLOTHES. ONCE ALL CHILDREN HAD SELECTED THEIR CLOTHES, A "DRIVE BY" PICK UP DAY WAS ORGANIZED FEATURING MUSIC FROM A LIVE DJ, A BOXED LUNCH, SUPPORT FROM JASON TAYLOR, AND OF COURSE, RECEIVING THEIR NEW CLOTHES. SINCE ESTABLISHING THIS PROGRAM IN 2005, THE FOUNDATION HAS GIVEN OUT NEARLY $300,000 IN CLOTHES.

BLUAPPLE POETRY NETWORK & LOUDER THAN A BOMB THE OMARI HARDWICK BLUAPPLE POETRY NETWORK, IS A MULTI-FACETED, AFTER-SCHOOL SPOKEN WORD POETRY PROGRAM AVAILABLE FREE TO STUDENTS ACTIVELY ATTENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT SOUTH FLORIDA AND BEYOND. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES AN ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS TO FOCUS ON LITERACY, PREVENTION ISSUES AND SOCIAL AWARENESS AS VEHICLES FOR SELF EXPRESSION, BOTH WRITTEN AND THROUGH PERFORMANCE, ULTIMATELY EMPOWERING YOUNG PEOPLE, THE SCHOOLS THEY ATTEND AND THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY LIVE. IN ADDITION, BY RECOGNIZING EACH POETRY GROUP AS A MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S OVERALL NETWORK, RATHER THAN SIMPLY AS AN INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM, A GREATER SENSE OF COMMUNITY IS DEVELOPED WITH IDEAS, CREATIVITY AND UNDERSTANDING BEING SHARED ACROSS DISTRICT BOUNDARIES. DURING THE 2019-20 SCHOOL YEAR, NEARLY 60 SCHOOLS ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN THE NETWORK. LOUDER THAN A BOMB FLORIDA BUILDING UPON THE IMPACT THE OMARI HARDWICK BLUAPPLE POETRY NETWORK HAS HAD ON AREA YOUTH, THE JASON TAYLOR FOUNDATION TOOK BLUAPPLE TO NEW HEIGHTS BY BRINGING THE "SUPER BOWL OF POETRY" TO BROWARD COUNTY. IN APRIL, 2020, THE FOUNDATION HELD THE SIXTH ANNUAL LOUDER THAN A BOMB FLORIDA (LTAB FLORIDA) FESTIVAL, EMPOWERING AND UNITING SOUTH FLORIDA'S YOUTH AND COMMUNITY THROUGH THE ART OF THE SPOKEN WORD. LTAB FLORIDA FEATURED SCHOOL-BASED POETRY TEAMS FROM WITHIN THE BLUAPPLE POETRY NETWORK, AS WELL AS FROM MIAMI-DADE, PALM BEACH AND BEYOND, SHOWCASING THIS ART FORM THROUGH A FRIENDLY COMPETITION, WHILE PROVIDING TEENS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS A PLATFORM TO COME TOGETHER VIRTUALLY AND FIND A COMMON GROUND THROUGH SHARING THEIR STORIES. IN OCTOBER, 2019, PLANNING, PREPARATION, RECRUITMENT, WORKSHOPS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR THE SIXTH ANNUAL LTABFLA TOOK PLACE. THIS POWERFUL, YOUTH INITIATIVE ACCOMPLISHED THE FOLLOWING: UTILIZED THE POETRY SLAM AS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZING TOOL, UNIFYING OUR WONDERFULLY DIVERSE, EXTREMELY SPREAD OUT SOUTH FLORIDA POPULATION - LTABFLA BRIDGES GAPS BETWEEN COMMUNITY BORDERS AND INTRODUCES TEENS WHO WOULD NOT OTHERWISE MEET. THE FESTIVAL BROUGHT TOGETHER STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, BUSINESS LEADERS AND OTHERS FROM THE TRI-COUNTY AREA AND BEYOND. MADE THE STUDENT THE CENTER OF THEIR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE - LTABFLA INVERTS THE TRADITIONAL EDUCATIONAL PARADIGM BY ASKING STUDENTS WHAT THEY THINK, SEE AND EXPERIENCE IN THEIR WORLDS, OFTEN RE-ENGAGING STUDENTS AT SCHOOLS, WHILE STILL MEETING EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS. EMPOWERED YOUNG PEOPLE WITH TOOLS NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS - LTABFLA PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH A PLATFORM FOR THEIR VOICES TO BE HEARD. THESE STUDENTS REALIZE THE STRENGTH THEY POSSESS AND ARE VALIDATED THROUGH THE STORIES THEY TELL AND EXPERIENCES THEY SHARE.

EXPENSES RELATED TO PROGRAM SERVICES COMMUNITY EDUCATION- EDUCATING THE SOUTH FLORIDA COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT THE JASON TAYLOR FOUNDATION DOES AND WHO IT IMPACTS. THE PURPOSE IS TO EDUCATE AND INFORM THE PUBLIC OF SOUTH FLORIDA AND BEYOND, AND DISTUNGUISHED BUSINESS MEMBERS, ABOUT THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION.