MEMPHIS, Tenn— Every Tuesday, as part of our Community Changers series, we highlight organizations making a positive impact in our community.
This week, WREG caught up with a group that believes in consistency, showing up and following up.
“It’s something safe and fun for the kids and keep them out of trouble,” said Keondra Sasfrass, director of education and reading program developer at Red Door.
Red Door Urban Mission, a non-profit organization, worked with Bellevue Baptist church where they serviced adults and kids who have been left behind and overlooked.
The mission also offers a safe place for teenagers to hangout after school and during the summer months.
“We go into places that others won’t go in that are under resourced and under served to try and meet an unmet need,” said Eric Watkins, founder and executive director of Red Door.
The mission has centers strategically placed inside the New Horizon and Peppertree Apartments.
“We’re here to help you learn to read. If we need to work on blends that week, we need to work on blends. If we need to work on word sounds, how small words come together to make big words. That’s what we do,” said Watkins.
Shawanda Webster, a rising second grader, is part of the Red Door’s school program where her mother Shantel said, “She had perfect attendance for both June and July. She was here every day ready to learn and ready to get involved,”
An anonymous donor wanted to give the Red Door Urban Mission a thousand dollars because of their consistent effort to uplift and empower the community.
A true Community Changer.
