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About the Honoree
The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center is pleased to present our 25th annual Vision Award to Rick Shlemmer, principal of SAA interiors + architecture. Through his architectural design firm, Rick is currently providing pro bono services helping us develop plans to improve and expand our facilities. An afterschool program intern in college, Rick served as a volunteer teacher in our 2017 Summer Fun Camp (see pics). We appreciate this and other support building success for our students, providing a great role model in the fields of architectural and interior design.
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For more information on our honoree, visit www.saaia.com.
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About the Wooten Center
The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center is a nonprofit youth center founded in 1990 by Myrtle Faye Rumph in honor of her son, killed in a drive-by shooting. The center opened with four boys who used to hang out on the corner in front of Mrs. Rumph's moving business. She rented the building next door for the center.
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Today, the Wooten Center provides college readiness afterschool and summer programs for more than 350 students/year in grades 3-12 at our center at 91st and Western and other sites. Activities include homework assistance, assessments and tutoring, STEM classes, SAT-prep, piano, percussions, basketball and more.
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Click here for a Wall Street Journal article on our founding and Mrs. Rumph, who passed away in 2015. For more information, visit www.wootencenter.org. Thank you for your support!
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About the Dinner
Hosted by our board of directors, the Vision Awards Dinner is an annual recognition and fundraising event honoring Wooten supporters whose contributions made a significant impact at our youth center. We also present achievement awards to Wooten students for academic excellence and good citizenship.
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About the Theme
Our 2018 theme is “Building Success.2," marking year two in our capital campaign to improve our facilities. The project kicked off with last year's Vision Awards honoree real estate executive Tom McCarthy. Tom assembled a team of CEOs, including Rick and Paul McGunnigle of Howard Construction, who have donated time, resources and staff to help develop the project. Under Rick's guidance, we are nearing the close of phase 1, producing design plans and obtaining permits, quotes and funding.
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Special Activities
You can help provide scholarships for students to attend our six-week Summer Fun Camp,"Zoology: Animals in the sky, on the ground, under the sea." Guest mentors from the Natural History Museum and other sites will help expose our students to the world of animal science. Donations will be accepted at the dinner. You can also donate online at www.wootencenter.org/vision2018rsvp.
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WE LOVE STEAM!
Science, Technology, Engineering,
Arts and Math!
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