INDIANAPOLIS — "Everything I do will be positive. Today is my day. No excuses!"
Young scholars are often reciting daily affirmations in their open classrooms on the second floor at HIM by HER Collegiate School for the Arts on the northeast side of Indianapolis.
Former IMPD homicide detective Harry Dunn and his wife founded the school, which stands for "Helping Improve Mankind by Healing Every Race."
"We wanted to have an impactful program to have an effective generational change," Dunn said.
School staff created a village of sorts, inviting students to learn about everyday life.
"This is where we teach our young scholars to go the the bank and apply for a business loan, to open up a side shop, to open up a restaurant and to have that financial literacy component," Dunn said.
Principal Sondra Towne also showcased the newsroom, where students can come in and record the news for the week.
Towne also highlighted the school's museum, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches are on replay all month long.
"At a young age, children cannot read, so they can look at these images, and the images themselves tells a story," Towne said. "We want them to know that if they made it, you can make it."
Each day, students are making it in a neighborhood where crime meets them at the front door.
"In just the last three weeks, we've had over 12 people shot and murdered in a four-block radius of this building," Dunn said.
HIM by HER opened in May of last year and held their grand opening in August.
"We had no intentions of opening in the middle of a pandemic, but that was a challenge we faced, Dunn said, while affirming the school didn't qualify for PPE loans. "We had to fight our way through, and we still are."
Dunn said he needs more community support to keep the school operating.
"We believe it's important for the community to fight back and take charge of their destiny by partnering with people who have their best interest in mind," Dunn said.
HIM by HER currently has about 60 students enrolled from K through eighth grade. They're slated to host about 200, but with less students means less funding.
Dunn said Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay donated $100,000 to help get the school started. Now, more is needed to sustain the level of services, not only for students, but for the community.
Community services include STD and HIV testing, youth counseling, family counseling, a gymnasium and a nursing school inside the building called Sovereign Care.
"We have to teach each other that it takes a village to raise a child, but it takes other villages to come in to lift up a person, to help them live a more active, engaged and prosperous life," Dunn said.
Click here for more information on HIM by HER Collegiate School for the Arts. Donations can be made here.