News & Events

Upcoming Events


Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser: Sowing Seeds of Change

Confirming Date Soon - October 4, 2025

Orchard Knob Missionary Baptist Church

1734 East Third Street, 37404

Admission donation: $30/person; $50/couple; $180/table (6 people)

Interested in donating auctionable items? Email us at cds.h1316@gmail.com


Year-End Christmas Gala with Mentees and Families

Saturday, December 13, 2025

Further details TBA

Details of Events

Camp 180

Camp 180 is a summer camp we have for 16 kids ranging from 11-16 years old. This camp's mission is to CHANGE kids' perspectives on literacy. In Camp 180, students learn photography and how to create music. They also learn digital literacy, reading literacy, and child evangelism, to name a few. We are super excited to announce that in our first year, 2024, two young men accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior!!!!!

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

Importance of Summer Programs

  • Group of kids and a man in a park, some with face paint, holding drinks. They are smiling outdoors near trees and a small building.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • A group of children pose by a monument with a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. by a lake, blue sky overhead.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Group of children and an adult pose on a wooden dock by a lake on a sunny day. They smile and wear various colorful outfits.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Man in uniform gestures near pond with two people and a truck parked on grassy area.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

Fall Retreat

Fall Retreat is a retreat we have every year during the week of fall break. It's held at Booker T Washington State Park. It is a wonderful event where students can spend the night or get picked up and dropped off daily. We spend the week fishing, playing sports, and hiking, among many others. We partner with other local nonprofits focusing on mentoring, so we have had 50-plus kids camping all week. We invite community leaders to speak to and motivate our students.

Act Like Men Retreat 

The Act Like Men Retreat is a powerful multi-day gathering designed to help men and young men grow in faith, brotherhood, and purpose. Through dynamic messages, heartfelt prayer, outdoor challenges, and genuine fellowship, participants are called to stop chasing distractions, drop their burdens before God, and pray with boldness. This life-changing experience builds lasting bonds across generations and equips men to rise up and live out their calling.

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • A group of people poses outdoors, with many children and some adults, in front of a brick building with dark windows.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Group of diverse young people smiling while eating at a Chick-fil-A table. They appear to be enjoying a meal with food and drinks.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Group of people playing mini golf on a sunny day. Some are wearing white t-shirts with

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Three people posing near a miniature golf course statue. A person in a white shirt holds a golf club. Two children stand next to the statue.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Group of children in a van, making hand gestures. They are smiling and looking at the camera.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

Accountability and Enrichment 

Mentees are held accountable in bi-weekly Zoom meetings that provide an opportunity for spiritual and mental health check-ins.


Regularly scheduled face-to-face fellowship and community service are also key components of our mentorship program.

Other Activities

CDS (Changing Direction for Success) offers a dynamic range of activities to foster personal growth and create pathways to lasting success.

  • A group of students huddled around a computer in a classroom, focused on the screen. One student wears a yellow shirt.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Group of kids and adults pose in a classroom, in front of a whiteboard. Most wear matching blue shirts.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • A teacher presents a document to students in a classroom. Students sit at desks, facing forward. The room is painted light green.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

News and Past Events

Charles Deval Sledge Scholar Awards Program

December 30, 2024
In honor of the younger brother of our Executive Director and his accomplishments as a straight-A student, we host a Charles DeVal Sledge Scholar Awards Program every nine weeks in each school we visit. In these exciting events, we highlight the top-performing male and female students and those who showed great strides in improving their grades, behavior, and leadership skills. We had the pleasure of welcoming Tony Walliser as a guest speaker for our ceremony at Woodmore Elementary, where the students were all given goodie bags containing snacks and small gifts. Each award ceremony winner received gift cards for local restaurants, where they would be blessed with the opportunity to engage in family dinners. Alongside the gift cards, t-shirts, and certificates, winners also had their pictures hung up in the hallway of the school for the following nine weeks to help them feel even more accomplished and proud of themselves  Look for future blog posts highlighting students who participate and receive the Charles Deval Sledge Scholar Awards Program.