Year: 2004

Partner

Community-supported initiative

(Team Revolution's first official storefront)

Location

Canarsie, Brooklyn, NY

Context / Challenge

After the home-based center grew beyond capacity and proved its model, we needed a larger, more permanent Powerhouse Community Arts Center to serve 500+ participants and expand our reach beyond the immediate neighborhood.

Role

Founder, Program director, and experience designer (Civic Leader and Social Entrepreneur) — overseeing the operational scaling and formalization of our youth development programs.

What We Built

Opened a dedicated storefront community center offering structured programs like the Leadership Academy (L.E.A.D.), Economic literacy workshops (The Bank), creative outlets, access to professional mentorship, and a safe space for programming designed to counteract negative social pressures.

Approach / Methods

Grassroots organizing and fundraising, volunteer mobilization, and collaborative design. Our success rapidly established the center as a model for urban youth development that began attracting attention from external partners.

Impact / Outcomes

Expanded our reach to hundreds more youth, solidifying the center as a vital hub for positive alternative programming. It became a recognized model for community and youth-led innovation, laying the groundwork for partnerships with institutions like Ralph Lauren and corporations like Pepsi.

Story

“When the doors opened, the community knew something new had arrived—a testament to what young people can accomplish when they create the future they want to see.”

Tags

Grassroots, Youth Development, Education, Community Center, Scaling Innovation, Model Program