Statements
Mission
On a foundation of Christian faith, Martha O'Bryan Center empowers children, youth, and adults in poverty to transform their lives through work, education, employment, and fellowship.
Background
Martha O'Bryan Center exists to help families leave poverty in a single generation. Through client-driven family-centered coaching, integrated two-generational programming, and collaboration among multi-sector partners, we build inclusive and equitable environments where children are educated, caregivers are socially and economically mobile, and families are healthy, stable, and able to thrive. At this center of this work lies our Family Success Network and K-16 Education Continuum, through which we connect families and schools, service providers and policy makers, and community members and corporate volunteers to serve more than 12,000 clients each year.
Our Family Success Network is built from three pillars: (1) free, high-quality early childhood education programming, (2) access to jobs with living wages and pathways up, and (3) practical resources that stabilize and strengthen families. Family-centered coaching and trauma-informed care coordination are central to this structure, as staff serves each family as an interconnected unit, facilitating a holistic understanding of family needs, challenges, and strengths in pursuit of resiliency, equity, and stability.
Our K-16 Education Continuum provides academic, social-emotional, college access/success, and enrichment programming to more than 3,000 students each year, beginning the first day of kindergarten and continuing through college graduation. This work starts with our two public charter schools (East End Prep and Explore! Community School), continues with our K-12 in-school and after-school programming, and culminates with intensive college coaching for low-income, first-generation students.
Simply put, there is no other organization in Nashville offering our depth and breadth of services. Our work transcends that of other area resource centers and elevates the nonprofit service delivery model at large, shifting focus from individuals to families and measuring impact through a family-centered lens.
Impact
Recent Accomplishments:
In June 2019, Kresge Foundation chose Martha O'Bryan Center as one of ten national NextGen organizations committed to advancing the social and economic mobility of families. In addition to $500,000 in grant funding, our Leadership Team will participate in a two-year learning and collaboration program focused on person-centered, outcomes-based, data-driven work that advances racial equity using two-generation, whole-family approaches.
In November 2019, the TN Department of Human Services awarded Martha O'Bryan Center a three-year contract to scale Family Success Network programming in Cayce Place, measuring outcomes regarding education, employment, wellbeing, and social capital.
In December 2019, the Aspen Institute chose Martha O'Bryan Center to participate in its Fatherhood Learning and Action Community, through which our CEO and Chaplain are learning strategies for re-engaging absent fathers.
Needs
In Cayce Place, Martha O'Bryan Center's primary service area, median income is $9,442, nearly $20,000 below the national poverty level for a family of four (U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, 2020). Furthermore, unemployment stands at 25%, ten times higher than the Davidson County rate (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). The population is 91% African-American, 90% of households are headed by a single parent, and 60% of residents are under 18. Cayce Place families live just across the Cumberland River from a thriving downtown lined with luxury condos, a bevy of new businesses, and iconic government buildings, yet they are isolated by poverty, without access to quality schools, reliable transportation, healthy food, affordable medical care, and other basic necessities.
CEO Statement
Serving all who come to our door, Martha O'Bryan Center has been a Nashville leader in bringing innovative solutions to the issues of poverty. We continue to believe in the power of work and education to transform lives and that every family can be successful. Known for our empowering approach to assisting families, Martha O'Bryan Center has helped thousands of families move beyond government assistance and into the world of jobs and opportunity. We also know from sixty years in Cayce Place that the transformation of a life requires us to serve with unconditional love, abiding faith, and joyous encouragement. We are proud to be a resource in East Nashville for dynamic youth programs and education/work opportunities for families ready to move forward in their lives.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Personal Social Services |
| Secondary Category: | Community Improvement, Capacity Building - Community & Neighborhood Development |
| Tertiary Category: | Education - Educational Services |
Areas Served
Martha O'Bryan Center serves Davidson County residents, with emphasis on the Cayce Place public housing community and surrounding 37206 and 37216 zip codes.
| TN - Davidson |
