Programs

The primary goal of the Palmetto Youth Center is to reach Palmetto’s youth before they are introduced to drugs, crime and other unhealthy lifestyles.

By targeting youngsters at the early age of 3 and by serving these children and their older siblings in their own neighborhood, a foundation is laid for a brighter future for all of Manatee County.  Click here for Membership Application.

Foundations for Excellence Program – Before School, this program gives working parents a place to bring their children before work during the hours of 6:30-8:30 am.  Children are taken to school via the Palmetto Youth Center school bus.  This service is offered Monday through Friday throughout the school year.  At the end of each school day, Palmetto Youth Center buses pick up children from local schools and bring them to the center where a wide variety of educational and athletic activities take place.  Parents then pick up the children after work.  A description of some of the after-school activities is detailed below.

Bridge 2 Next Step – The “Bridge” Component  is a critical component part of the educational offerings at the Palmetto Youth Center.  The Hispanic/Latino population of Manatee County, and more specifically, North Manatee County, continues to rise.

It is important to introduce the importance of educational achievements and the importance of personal responsibility and good work habits to children at an early age. The Bridge to Next Step program is designed to provide children ages 5 to 17 with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college and ultimately, to succeed in a career. This Bridge To Next Step Program includes the following components:  Personal Wellness: Responsibility, Communication, Listening skills, teamwork, language skills and Self Esteem. Education: Reading skills, Writing skills, FCAT practice, ACT practice, SAT practice, College search and College applications. Career: Career exploration, Leadership development, Create an effective Resume, Interviews and Job applications. It also incorporates a curriculum which is based on ESOL principles and practices designed to provide students with information and skills necessary for English language learners, cross-cultural understanding, applied linguistics and testing and evaluation of students. This program is designed to help children ages 5 – 17 years old succeed in school and in the workplace, and to bridge cultural divides.

Positive Futures - All youth at the Palmetto Youth Center will have the opportunity to participate in our drug and alcohol education and prevention classes.  We have lectures and guest speakers, open discussions, videos and written materials to make the children knowledgeable of the dangers and effects of substance abuse.

Our program emphasizes the C.D. Mendez foundation’s prevention education programs.  “Too Good for Drugs™”, is a school-based (K-8) prevention program designed to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors related to alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among students.

It has a separate, developmentally appropriate curriculum for each grade level.  Each curriculum builds on earlier grade levels, an instructional design which enables students to learn important skills sequentially and retain them year after year.