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Beyond Traditional Nonprofits : Building Villages For Students
Ronnie King and Tia Leathers reflect on the evolution of the MyVillage Project from a modest $10,000 fund into a community-designed and tech-driven initiative across Florida. What began as an effort to support Black-led nonprofits has blossomed into an innovative ecosystem reaching 10,000 students annually through partnerships with 350 organizations in five communities.
At the heart of the MyVillage Project mission lies a profound understanding of our rapidly changing technological landscape. "Work is going to look completely different. Life is going to be completely different," King explains, highlighting why the project focuses intensively on mathematics, culture, and artificial intelligence. Their approach isn't theoretical—it's deeply practical. They pay high-achieving students (ages 16-21) to work 15 hours weekly developing custom AI solutions and educational tools for their communities.
The students' work represents a fascinating intersection of cultural awareness and cutting-edge technology. They're training large language models to understand vernacular expressions and creating educational video games like "Eternal Equations" where players solve math problems while battling enemies in space. These aren't just cool projects—they're addressing a critical need for diversity in AI development. As King powerfully articulates, "I don't want to leave it up to somebody else's AI model to determine who's a criminal or not, who's guilty or not, who deserves the job or not." The stakes couldn't be higher.
MyVillage Project's vision extends beyond education to reinventing how nonprofits operate, challenging the sector to move from program-focused to outcome-based approaches. Looking ahead to 2025, King envisions the MyVillage Project as both "a trusted resource for parents and organizations" and "a revenue-generating engine that pours money back into the community." For parents, educators, or nonprofit leaders who recognize the urgency of this work, visit myvillageproject.com to connect with this groundbreaking initiative in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, or Gainesville. The future is being coded right now—who writes it matters.
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By Scratchwerk TechRonnie King and Tia Leathers reflect on the evolution of the MyVillage Project from a modest $10,000 fund into a community-designed and tech-driven initiative across Florida. What began as an effort to support Black-led nonprofits has blossomed into an innovative ecosystem reaching 10,000 students annually through partnerships with 350 organizations in five communities.
At the heart of the MyVillage Project mission lies a profound understanding of our rapidly changing technological landscape. "Work is going to look completely different. Life is going to be completely different," King explains, highlighting why the project focuses intensively on mathematics, culture, and artificial intelligence. Their approach isn't theoretical—it's deeply practical. They pay high-achieving students (ages 16-21) to work 15 hours weekly developing custom AI solutions and educational tools for their communities.
The students' work represents a fascinating intersection of cultural awareness and cutting-edge technology. They're training large language models to understand vernacular expressions and creating educational video games like "Eternal Equations" where players solve math problems while battling enemies in space. These aren't just cool projects—they're addressing a critical need for diversity in AI development. As King powerfully articulates, "I don't want to leave it up to somebody else's AI model to determine who's a criminal or not, who's guilty or not, who deserves the job or not." The stakes couldn't be higher.
MyVillage Project's vision extends beyond education to reinventing how nonprofits operate, challenging the sector to move from program-focused to outcome-based approaches. Looking ahead to 2025, King envisions the MyVillage Project as both "a trusted resource for parents and organizations" and "a revenue-generating engine that pours money back into the community." For parents, educators, or nonprofit leaders who recognize the urgency of this work, visit myvillageproject.com to connect with this groundbreaking initiative in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, or Gainesville. The future is being coded right now—who writes it matters.
Send us a text