About Us
The Strand Village Project #thrive is a community development project of LEDD and is funded in part by a Substance and Alcohol Abuse Program Prevention Grant from The Rapides Foundation. The components of this grant are rooted in the research of the Search Institute. This project has two components: an afterschool program for youth grades 6-12 and the Strengthening Families Program, a fun family makeover for families with children ages 7 – 17.
The afterschool program will begin in February 2022 and consists of two tracks- #thrive Arts and #thrive Tech. This series of workshops will be held in both the Jena and Olla areas. The hope is to help youth in this age group find a “spark.” Research shows that when youth find a “spark” and develop a passion in which they learn to apply themselves, it can have secondary benefits of positively affecting student achievement, discipline issues and prosocial skills. Possession of these assets also equips them to become responsible, employable adults and engaged citizens. Afterschool programs will meet in the spring and fall for two sessions per week for 8-12 weeks. Summer workshops will be conducted on a half day schedule for two weeks.
The Strengthening Families Program (strengtheningfamiliesprogram.org) is an internationally recognized curriculum that contains research proven skills that create loving marriages, well-behaved children, happy family relationships and help to keep our kids safe from alcohol and drugs. Strengthening Families has been shown to reduce youth alcohol and drug use, family conflict and youth depression as well as increase family bonding and school performance—all of which are important when striving for A Greater LaSalle! There is a Christian manual available with this curriculum if it is sponsored by local churches. This 11-week series will be offered three times a year in both the Jena and Olla areas.