​History

The I Am Center began in 2021 as a summer trades program for middle school preteens in a luxury rehab in Olympia Fields, IL; originally called the “Henderson Summer Intern Program”. The program served 3 teens that first summer, who worked with instructors who were professional plumbers, carpenters, and computer repair technicians.

The brainchild of two, Dr. Amanda Henderson and her father Ray Henderson. The Henderson Summer Intern Program recruited and paid professional tradespeople to not only teach the trades but also instill in them the importance of showing up every day, on time and ready to work, in exchange for a monetary stipend and the chance to discover new skillsets and a form of crime prevention.

The team of tradespeople noticed that throughout the summer, the teens had grown tremendously in their confidence, speech, and carpentry skillset. They developed multiple transferable skills in those few short months. The team knew they had something great on their hands. Thus the I Am Youth Center was born.

Since its inception, we have conceptualized a center for children in and around the Chatham and Englewood community to have access to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) programming. We recruit and work closely with community organizations in need of a physical location and resources to expand their established programming.

Our team piloted a program by recruiting students from Wentworth Elementary in Englewood Chicago. The preteens were taught construction as a trade but left the program with so much more. The teens were able to leave the program with tangible life skills and lessons to carry with them for the rest of their lives. They were able to leave with a stipend too!
 
The program was incredibly popular and successful with preteens and teens eager to learn from experts who are passionate about their respective fields. Moreover, teens reported that the pilot program helped them express themselves, making them better communicators, and introduced them to new career opportunities. 

Today, we're continuing to grow our I Am Youth Center community and have expanded our program offerings.

I AM Center

Youth STEAM Programming