Leadership Grant Feature: Oakridge Neighborhood

Jan. 29, 2024

For over 50 years Oakridge Neighborhood has been operating under the mantra “children achieving and families thriving.” As the decades have gone by, what it takes to see children achieving and families thriving has evolved, and Oakridge has kept up with that change. The organization recently received a Leadership Grant to support the creation of the Oak Studio- A Best Buy Teen Tech Center at Mainframe- Powered by Wellpoint. 

The Oak Studio is a self-guided, free program for youth ages 13 to 21. At Oak Studio, young people can produce music, robotics, coding, gaming, 3d printing, photography, videography and more. The space is designed for participants to explore their passion projects and connect that interest with professional potential and other lifelong skillsets.  

“For Oakridge to have this, it shows how much the organization has evolved and continue to evolve for the whole community,” said Derek Frank, who leads Oak Studio. “The organization started out by providing housing and now there's so much more to what we do and what we offer. I think an organization like Oakridge is so important because it can continue to bring high-quality programming to the community.” 

Oak Studio has a variety of ways to bring the community together. The studio is open to any teen who wants to use the facilities. According to Frank, this is a key focus of the center to “let them interact with their peers from other schools they might not know and start to learn together.”  

Even the location of the center, Mainframe Studios, was chosen because of the networking opportunities it could provide teens. “We do so much networking with everybody in the building, and there are so many people excited to start working with the youth,” said Frank.  

As the youth use the studio to discover what they are interested in, Oak Studio can help build pathways for them to learn more about what they are passionate about. The studio will offer career pathways that involve mentors; through these connections, participants may also get the chance to work with local and national businesses with opportunities for internships, mentoring and other workforce connections. 

One of Frank’s favorite aspects of Oak Studio is how flexible it is: “There are a lot of predetermined things we can do, but nothing is set in stone. Every Tech Center I've seen is completely different,” said Frank. “There are ones that focus mostly on painting and art. And others that focus on robotics. The centers get to mold to the community and what the participants love.” 

Oak Studio is officially launched and funding support for programming is still being accepted. Donations can be made to the project through GIVEdsm. And of course, volunteers are also always welcome. 

“I think the biggest need, besides continual funding, is going to be people that want to volunteer and mentor,” said Frank. “You don't have to be tech savvy. We just need people who want to be present in the lives of the youth.”