When the founders of For Oak Cliff acquired the Moorland YMCA on Ledbetter Drive, there was always a vision of how they might further meet the needs of the community. CEO Taylor Toynes remembers inviting our NBC 5 cameras inside for an exclusive look before its grand opening last year.
“I’ve watched that interview recently and can just put myself in those shoes again, and think of all the things that I was imagining,” Toynes said.
Today, much of what he imagined has become a reality. For Oak Cliff recently caught the attention of the Dallas Mavericks ‘Mavs Foundation.’ Today, the facility has a brand-new tech center – fully functional with furniture, computers and high-speed internet provided by the Mavs.
“I’m overjoyed. I’m grateful,” Toynes said. “It’s a big deal because of the access we’re going to be able to provide to our community.”
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Local High School Seniors attended Wednesday’s ribbon cutting, and already have plans to use the lab to prepare for college.
“This tech area specifically is going to be great because I’m going to be going to college soon, and I need to have a place that I can go and do my homework and print things out,” said Sorrhea Hobbs, a student at Cedar Hill High School.
Mavs Foundation President Katie Edwards said partnering with For Oak Cliff simply made sense.
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“The Dallas Mavericks want to help address racial inequities and promote social justice, and for us, that means finding those strategic partners like For Oak Cliff,” said Edwards. “When Taylor says, ‘this is what we need’ we want to walk alongside him in that journey and be able to provide those tools and really address the digital divide.”
The tech lab is made possible through the Mavs Foundation ‘David Herr Memorial Fund’ which supports education initiatives that address the digital divide.
For more information on the Mavs Foundation, click here.
For more information on For Oak Cliff click here.
