how we began…
1997
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JUMP START
The first program incorporated into Seeds of Independence was Jump Start, founded in 1997 through the Freeport Police Department. Jump Start was a community-based court diversion program for first-time non-violent offending youth.
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REBOUND
To build on the success of Jump Start, Judge Field asked Director, Willo Wright, to start a program for re-offending youth based on a similar community mentor and facilitator model, known as Rebound. This program would serve as an alternative to incarceration for youth already engaged in the criminal justice system.
Dominican Republic Program
Thomas and Willo Wright, the founders of Seeds, got involved with a group of committed volunteers and mentors taking about twenty at-risk adolescents on a work service trip to the Dominican Republic.
The focus of these trips was to -
Help build a hospital for the poorest, primarily Haitian populations of the area
Participated in a medical clinic that made daily trips to villages where the Haitian cane cutters lived.
Our volunteers give over 75 hours of their time per week.
The work-service experience these trips provided changed the perspective and life direction of many of the youth involved
2008-2019
A team of community mentors and facilitators met in the Freeport Library and made commitments to founding Seeds of Independence as a community-based volunteer organization. The purpose of Seeds of Independence was to develop and enhance mentor-based programs that help youth become independent and productive members of the community.
2021
The New Seeds of Independence
Seeds of Independence is rejuvenated by an enthusiastic new board of trustees committed to supporting our community's youth's needs, restructuring Seeds to develop new programming, and reaffirming and expanding our commitments as a volunteer-based community organization. We are developing a collaborative network of non-profits, for-profits, and municipal and state organizations that offer our youth a wide range of social, educational, health, and nutritional services. We have settled into a new facility at Brunswick Landing.
