Center 360

Center 360 is a grassroots non-profit organization that provides a holistic approach to career development. We create a safe space where youth can learn self-awareness and resilience, develop academic persistence, and be exposed to various career opportunities. 

Our organization was formed to address a lack of programs, specifically at the middle-school level, that teach students the necessary skills to become gainfully employed upon graduation. Without these programs, youth risk withdrawing from school, getting involved in negative behaviors, and eventually becoming perpetually unemployed.

The aim of Center 360 is to empower middle school students who are at-risk of disengaging from school by providing them with life skills training, personal development, and career enrichment activities. 

1. The personal development component strengthens and enhances self-esteem, leadership, social responsibility, and community engagement. 
2. The life skills training component targets areas such as money management, nutrition, professional etiquette, and time management. 
3. The career exposure and development component provide hands-on training and applied skills development in the fields of Music, Arts, Athletics, and Technology. 

Our vision is that youth will be exposed to various career opportunities to broaden their occupational aspirations and realize their economic potential. While there is a multitude of youth programs in West Charlotte, very few of them focus on middle-schoolers and even fewer are geared towards connecting middle-schoolers to career paths in the creative fields. Additionally, we are unique in that our program is completely free. We pride ourselves on providing a holistic approach by working with the entire village - not only focusing on the student, but also working while actively engaging their family, friends, school, faith places, and support villages involved in their lives. 

An intentional focus on mental health and wellbeing along with social-emotional development weaves all of these pieces together because we know that if a student is struggling with depression, for example, he or she will be less likely to get involved in the remainder of our programming.