Create Your Dreams
Create Your Dreams (CYD) is a long-term youth development program dedicated to nurturing the talents and dreams of children living in underserved areas of Atlanta. We provide the resources, relationships, and opportunities necessary to break the cycle of generational poverty. Unlike traditional short-term interventions, CYD utilizes a “Fourteen-Year Promise” approach, supporting the same young people from elementary school through post-secondary completion and early adulthood.
CYD’s purpose is for every child to graduate high school, earn a post-secondary degree, and become a self-sufficient adult who gives back to their community. Our goals center around academic achievement, social and emotional growth to ensure students have the foundational education necessary to support our purpose.
We are proud of the success of our students who have completed our program over the past three decades:
100% have graduated from high school
98% enrolled in college or a post-secondary degree program
75% are either still enrolled or have earned their degrees
35% of our alumni who earned their bachelor’s, earned their master’s degree
The needs we address are the root causes of generational poverty. We recognize that a student cannot focus on literacy or algebra if their basic needs – housing, nutrition, and healthcare are in jeopardy. In our target community, the average family income is just $13,500, and the area remains one of the most under-resourced in Atlanta. By providing a stable “safety net” alongside high-quality academics, we allow children to move from a mindset of survival to a mindset of achievement.
CYD intentionally serves legacy community members on Atlanta’s Westside – Black families who have lived in the Bankhead neighborhood for generations but have been historically excluded from economic growth. We must ensure vulnerable children are not overlooked. Despite changing demographics, this community continues to be under-resourced, with community-wide poverty rooted in systemic economic inequality. Our families experience extreme poverty, with an average income of $13,500 and live in communities with one of the highest crime rates in Atlanta.
The primary outcome we seek is economic mobility. Research from the Equality of Opportunity Project shows that Atlanta has some of the lowest mobility rates in the nation: only 4% of children born into poverty will ever reach the upper-income bracket. CYD is shattering these odds. Since 2018, our alumni data continues to show:
80% of CYD graduates have moved out of poverty (70% into the middle class; 10% into the upper class).
Only 20% remain below the poverty line, compared to the 96% community average.
These statistics demonstrate the transformative power of our “Fourteen-Year Promise” and its life-changing impact it has on students and their families. All CYD programming is free of charge to students, and all activities include meals and transportation.
To view a pdf version of the logic model, please click here.
CYD is located inside the King Plow Arts Center. There are several parking lots, the closest to our studio is Entrance Three. There is a gate code, please contact us prior to visiting since it can change.
Create Your Dreams
981 Joseph E Lowery Blvd, NW Suite 110
Atlanta, GA 30318
Elementary Schools
Middle Schools
High Schools