Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincent Vandiegriff.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Learn To Grow, Inc. was founded in 1997 with a strong commitment to empowering the disadvantaged, low income, high-risk population. This organization embarked on profound norms of mutual trust, respect, honesty, effective and healthy communication, professionalism and integrity, continued unity, and mindful representation of the organization. These elements initiated and propagated a unique promising heritage and prosperity for this organization and the communities it serves.
Has it been a smooth road?
As of current (2019), Learn To Grow, Inc. is working on a state grant initiative (Alcohol Substance Abuse Prevention Project) to reduce the onset of early alcohol use and to further enforce alcohol compliance checks in South Fulton, Georgia. Nonetheless, one of our major challenges in fulfilling the alcohol compliance checks includes the low staff in law enforcement to further make this a priority concern in targeted communities. Another major challenge is identifying funding sources to continue our services in a specific community and in some cases expand our activities because of other identified risk factors such as STI’s, teen pregnancy, and asthma.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Learn To Grow, Inc. story. Tell us more about it.
The purpose of this non-profit organization is to serve disadvantaged low-income, high-risk population. We base our choice of targeting this group on three premises: first, we strongly believe and envision that any efforts of prevention of high-risk behavior among youth must be initiated before they are involved in unhealthy lifestyles and/or the criminal justice system (by demonstrating such undesirable behavior); second, a large portion of high-risk behavior is attributable to the socialization and the environment within which young generations grow (since their childhood); and finally, these high-risk behaviors can be rectified with proper and effective intervention strategies geared toward children as well as members of their socio-cultural milieu; i.e., their family members, peers, and the infrastructural environment.
This organization particularly focuses on certain major aspects of high-risk behavior: prevention of alcohol, tobacco, and other substance abuse, teen pregnancy, delinquency, school drop-out, violence, crime, HIV/STD/AIDS, and unemployment. We constantly strive for excellence in terms of knowledge gaining including needs and environmental assessments of these issues especially in reference to the communities we serve and systematically adopting such knowledge to attain behavior modification among the members of these communities. Specific activities include:
1) Organizing and participating in periodic seminars, workshops, and conferences to update and exchange pertinent information;
2) provide technical assistance to other community-based organizations and other entities with similar interest in designing, implementing, and evaluation of intervention and outreach strategies;
3) Direct involvement with the communities by conducting demonstration, research, and service delivery programs.
These activities facilitate to develop appropriate modalities for specific population segments; maximize the effectiveness of resources and efficiency of performance; and, to generate self-empowerment, accelerated mobilization, and long-lasting results within the target communities–thereby attaining the ultimate goal of effective planned social change.
Learn To Grow, Inc. provides alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use prevention strategies for youths and adults residing in Atlanta, Fulton County Georgia through Information Dissemination, Education, Alternatives, Environmental, and Community based Process.
The Organization addresses the following risks factors: Community, Family, School, Individual, and Peer i.e. Availability of Drugs; Family Management; Community Laws and Norms Favorable toward Drug Use, Firearms, and Crime.
These protective factors are addressed: Communities that care; Support; Positive Values; Empowerment; Boundaries and Expectations; and Constructive use of time; Commitment to learning; Competencies; and Positive Identity.
Contact Info:
- Address: 859 Cascade Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30311 - Website: https://www.learntogrow.org/
- Phone: 4047558788
- Email: vv@learntogrow.org
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