Mission

The mission of DinoMights is "to equip our urban youth to develop physical, academic, social, and spiritual excellence."

History

  • 1995 DinoMights Founded by John Foley

    Phillips, Powderhorn, and Central are Minneapolis neighborhoods with an infamous reputation for gangs and low test scores. Yet, in the midst of these conditions John Foley, the son of longtime Faith Covenant pastor Ross Foley, founded DinoMights in 1995. John saw past the statistics into the beautiful faces of the children. What he saw was a lack of opportunities and positive long-term relationships with caring adults. And so, DinoMights was founded to make a wholistic impact on the lives of Minneapolis inner city youth.


  • 2009 DinoMights still going strong

    • Today the DinoMights are entering their 16th season of hockey. There are now five teams, three staff members, and one intern who is a former participant. There have been many memorable moments over the years, and there are many more to come!

    To see more of the DinoMights memorable moments click here.

Impact

The impact of DinoMights is best described in the students' own words. Erica Rhodes, DinoMight alumni and graduate of Minneapolis Edison High School, says this about being a DinoMight, "It helped me to learn more about myself and grow closer in my faith in Jesus Christ. This program taught me never to give up what I believe, and a goal can never get set too high." Erica is just one example of the many young people whose lives have been touched by participating in DinoMights.

The four components of DinoMights' mission statement make the acronym PASS. To learn more about the impact of Dinomights in these four areas, and to hear more from the kids themselves read below.

Physical

"I don't really play outside enough in the winter unless I play hockey." Many current DinoMights hockey players never imagined playing outside on frozen ponds in the Minnesota winter. In fact, some who had recently moved from Mexico, had never even seen snow! Hockey is a great way for urban youth to be equipped to develop physical excellence. Each year players who participate are assessed in their hockey skills as a measure of physical health, and they consistently show improvement over the course of each season. As a further measure, about 30 DinoMights have gone on to play high school hockey. More importantly, students build self-confidence. One seven year old girl explained the impact of hockey this way, "I feel proud, because people tell me I do good."

Academic

Part of the original vision for DinoMights was to walk alongside students from early elementary all the way to high school graduation. We are pleased to report that DinoMights participants are reaching graduation age, and graduating! The graduation rate of Dino participants is 85% compared to 55% for Minneapolis public schools(Minnesota Department of Education). DinoMights are equipped to develop academic excellence mainly through academic tutoring. In addition, participants have opportunities to learn web design and technology. (In fact, this website was designed by DinoMights Alumni Micah Fitch.) Tutors serve as mentors as well as providing academic help. Tutoring students are assessed at the beginning and end of each school year using the Basic Reading Inventory (BRI). Most students show at least one full year of progress. One young lady began 2nd grade reading at a first grade level. That year she increased two levels to be on pace with her peers. Today, she is the editor of the yearly DinoMight magazine, "The Dino Update!"

Social

One of the most common things that the students say about DinoMights is that it helps them make friends. What is really incredible is that they make friends across ethnic and economic boundaries that usually keep people from being friends. Urban youth are equipped to develop social excellence through relationship building and service projects. The team environment provides mentor relationships with coaches, and a positive place to learn how to interact with peers in a diverse setting. Each spring DinoMights serve their community by teaching First Graders at Richard Green Elementary School and Andersen Elementary School how to skate in The Greg Carroll Learn 2 Skate program. As evidence of Social Excellence, DinoMight alumni have a high rate of participation in Park Avenue Church's summer children's ministry, and many assist in coaching hockey or tutoring. One DinoMight put it this way, "I have made a lot of friends on the DinoMight team and it has helped me motivate others like when we taught those kids to skate."

Spiritual

In response to the question, "What do you value most about being a DinoMight," Students respond with answers like, "I value, my friends, coaches, God," or, "always having fun and growing closer to God." One student said this, "That we beat the stereotype that all hockey players are white and that we do it through Jesus Christ." No student is forced into spiritual activities, however most will say that getting to know Jesus is the most important thing about being a DinoMight. DinoMights uses a unique approach that is founded on mentoring relationships. Staff, coaches, and tutors all seek to share the love of God with DinoMights by actively loving them. Good News to urban youth is the opportunity to participate in a positive activity that can truly be a family for them. It is in this environment that they can come to know the great love of God.