Youth Thrive
About Us
We provide onsite youth educational and life enrichment programs to youth age 5-17 who reside in public housing. All Sarasota Housing Authority’s Youth Thrive programming is on public housing property and free-of-charge to Sarasota Housing Authority families.
The fact that we are always present onsite, our programs are in walking distance for our families, and we are able to build strong relationships with our youth and parents makes Sarasota Housing Authority’s Youth Thrive the main source of academic support and life-enrichment opportunities for public housing youth.
Our Purpose:
Financial Support:
Our Youth Thrive staffing and programming are made possible by the generous financial support of our major funding partners:
- Sarasota County – Contracted Human Services
- City of Sarasota – Newtown Community Redevelopment Agency
- Community Foundation of Sarasota County
- Charles & Marjery Barancik Foundation
- United Way Suncoast
- First Horizon Foundation
- Unitarian Universalists of Sarasota
- Valley Bank
Kids and Teens Love Us!
Our After-School Program
Sarasota Housing Authority’s After-School Program operates in Sarasota Housing Authority’s Youth Thrive Learning Center, in the Newtown community of Sarasota.
The program includes daily snacks, homework assistance, computer lab, reading and math practice, gardening in our Youth Thrive garden plot in Orange Blossom Community Garden, and a full calendar of partner-provided enrichment programs including but not limited to art with Ringling Museum, Character Development with SRQ Strong, experiential literacy with North Sarasota Library, Manasota ASALH Freedom School, leadership and character development with NAMI, Teen Financial Literacy with Bay First Bank, 4-H with University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, nature-based education with Big Waters Land Trust, marine science with Mote Aquarium, and more.
We also host field trips, cooking classes, and other youth programs during winter, spring and other school breaks.
Hands-on Learning
Our Garden
Sarasota Housing Authority’s public housing campus is bordered by the Orange Blossom Community Garden. The Youth Thrive garden is a powerful classroom for engaging and inspiring our students. There is no such thing as a child who does not light up when they pull a carrot or potato from the soil or eat the cabbage, broccoli, greens and blueberries grown, harvested and prepared with their own hands.
Gardening is an extremely hands-on learning opportunity that engages all children, regardless of their academic strengths or challenges. Gardening plays a significant role in our efforts to foster a sense of curiosity and accomplishment among our youth, as well as a sense of connection to their food and a taste for healthy, organic vegetables and fruits.
Full Day Program
Our Summer Enrichment Program
Our Youth Thrive Summer Enrichment Program is a full-day program offered Monday-Thursday to approximately 15 primary school-age SHA students.
The emphasis of the program is on preventing summer reading slide and instead improving reading skills. Students read daily, either independently, one-on-one with a reading tutor, or in book groups facilitated by an adult. Students participate in daily enrichment programs provided by community partners, including twice/weekly swim classes at the YMCA, multiple nature-based field trips hosted by Big Waters Land Trust, as well as other fun weekly field trips hosted by SHA, such as boating to Spanish Point, Children’s Garden, Beach Day, Bayfront Park, and Mote Aquarium.
The Youth Thrive Learning Center is also an All-Faiths Food Bank Summer Hotspot, providing free breakfast and lunch every weekday of summer vacation to our students and any SHA or Newtown youth looking for a meal.
Sarasota Housing Authority’s teen 4-H club members attend 4H summer statewide leadership conferences at the University of Florida in Gainesville, for which they spend multiple nights in University of Florida dormitories and participate in numerous University of Florida workshops
Explore in Nature
Our Youth in Nature
Contact with nature is important for children’s cognitive, emotional, social, and educational development. Youth growing up in Sarasota Housing Authority’s public housing will typically never get to visit and experience the natural wonders of our region but with valuable partnerships, we are working to change that.
Through a partnership with Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and Mote Aquarium, our teens experience morning kayaking on Sarasota Bay and afternoon admission to Mote Aquarium multiple times per year.
Big Waters Land Trust partners with SHA to offer SHA youth fun and educational field trips to our region’s previous parks and preserves.
Selby Gardens generously welcomes SHA youth both to both downtown Selby Gardens and Spanish Point.
Cocorootz works with SHA youth in the Orange Blossom Community Garden to build strength, joy, and grounded connection to community and the Earth through movement, affirmations, breathwork and play in nature.
Book Events
Book Rich Environment
Each summer, Sarasota Housing Authority partners with Sarasota County Libraries to hold three Book Rich Environment events:
- Summer Kickoff event
- Books & Badges street convoy event (in partnership with Sarasota Police Department)
- Back-to-school books and school supply event
At each event, Sarasota Housing Authority Youth Thrive and Sarasota County Libraries distribute new books to all youth in Housing. Sarasota Housing Authority is one of only 37 housing authorities nationwide to participate in the Book Rich Environment program.
Click the image to download and learn more about the program.
Click the image to download and learn more about the program.
Parents love us!
Early Head Start -
Children First
Sarasota Housing Authority partners with Children First to provide four onsite Early Head Start classrooms on public housing property to promote healthy development for our youngest children.
Children First
1723 N. Orange Ave.
Sarasota, Florida 34234
Call: (941) 953-3877
Fax: (941) 954-8047
Police Partnership
Shop with a Cop:
The Sarasota Housing Funding Corp, Sarasota Housing Authority’s 501(c)3 affiliate, partners with the City of Sarasota Police Department and Target each year to provide underprivileged youth with a unique holiday experience. This December the Sarasota Housing Authority will be hosting our 15th Annual “Shop with a Cop” event at the local Target.
The Annual “Shop with a Cop” event is an initiative designed to help build positive and respectful relationships between law enforcement and children living in Sarasota Housing Authority communities.
The Sarasota Housing Funding Corporation through grants/donations received from local business organizations and individuals. This past year’s event was made possible through donations by Community Foundation of Sarasota County, First Horizon Foundation, Target, Communities Unified and other private donors. 100% of all Shop with a Cop donations are utilized to purchase Target gift cards ($150 per Child) for the event. Our goal again this coming year is for 125 plus children, so in order to do that we must raise over $18,000.
Donations can be made at our Sarasota Housing Funding Corporation’s donation page. We hope you are willing to sponsor this special event. Should you have questions and/or concerns regarding the event, or sponsorship opportunities, please feel free to contact us at (941) 361-6210 ext. 221 or email us at info@sarasotahousing.org.
Get In Touch
Contact Us
General Inquiries
Sarasota Youth Thrive
1912 N. Orange Ave
Sarasota, FL 34234
Phone: (941) 361-6210 ext. 252
Fax: (941) 366-4661
