As Give Miami Day approaches on Nov. 20, two local nonprofits are doubling down on a simple promise: meeting young people where they are and equipping them with skills that open doors.
The Dennis Project (TDP) and Dozier & Dozier Construction / Urban Construction Craft Academy (UCCA) take different paths — one through STEM, the other through various trades — but share a commitment to access, mentorship and family-centered learning. Each is rallying donors to expand hands-on programs that move youth from curiosity to confidence to careers.
The Dennis Project
Girls work on engineering skills with The Dennis Project.
(Courtesy of The Dennis Project)
For Executive Director Auntaria “Mrs. A” Johnson, TDP is personal. Its namesake is her grandmother, Amelia Dennis, a Miami educator who overcame domestic violence to build a legacy of perseverance and service. A single mother of five living in a housing project, Dennis earned her GED at night, became a certified teacher, and taught in Miami-Dade’s Title I schools until her passing in 1994.
“She was a pillar in the community and passed on all those great values to me,” Johnson said. “She was an advocate for education for the community, letting people know that you can be more than just the housing project, and that was so inspirational to me because she ended up getting us out of the housing project.”
After years of teaching, Johnson worked one summer at the Museum of Discovery and Science and saw that kids in low-income neighborhoods weren’t accessing high-quality STEM. So in 2012, she founded the nonprofit.
The Dennis Project inspires underserved youth to become the next generation of STEM innovators by bringing accessible, quality programs into their communities.
(Courtesy of The Dennis Project)
“I didn’t want to talk about it. I wanted to be about it,” Johnson said. “I wanted it to be an organization that went where the children were. They don’t have to come. We’ll come to them.”
Programs
Eighty-five percent of TDP’s services target neighborhoods with the greatest needs. With 80% of future careers requiring STEM skills and 70% of underserved students lacking exposure, the programs help bridge critical gaps.
Girls Represent in STEM exposes underserved girls to science, engineering, and technology.
(Courtesy of The Dennis Project)
Signature programs include Girls Represent in STEM, a girl-centered initiative exposing underserved girls to science, engineering, and technology. Through multi-week workshops, they learn the engineering design process and create solutions like “safe spaces” for students needing mental health breaks.
“Those projects are amazing because we underestimate our girls. We underestimate our kids in general,” she added.
The impact is already visible: girls have pursued engineering pathways and returned as volunteer mentors.
Former TDP members mentor the younger generations.
(Courtesy of The Dennis Project)
“It’s amazing to see that full circle of participants that are now high schoolers and college students coming back,” she added.
Super STEM Explorers brings hands-on projects to parks, schools, and libraries, teaching kids to think of the word “FAIL” as only a “First Attempt In Learning.”
“It might not work the first time, so you have to redesign. All those concepts we’re getting out to our kids,” Johnson said.
Parents are also part of the learning.
Parents are also part of the learning at TDP, as they join their kids for Saturday workshops.
(Courtesy of The Dennis Project)
“The parents also have math and science anxieties. But being able to build these things brought that anxiety down,” she explained.
Fathers Stepping Up, inspired by Johnson’s husband, grew from informal sessions to a structured program using the National Fatherhood Initiative’s 24/7 Dad curriculum. It partners with Miami Dade College, teen parent programs, and high schools to help fathers support their children’s education and build stronger bonds.
Other programs, like Game Changers, build youth leadership skills, while Train the Trainer prepares camp and after-school counselors to lead affordable STEM activities.
Give Miami Day goal
Johnson says the 2025 priority is to modernize technology and replenish hands-on materials so that more students and families can participate.
“I really want to build up the maker space for engineering,” she said. “We want to get more material in there, more engineering kids. I want to build up the tech part with coding. We need some new laptops.”
With 85% of the groups in very low-income areas, donors help keep participant costs at zero. Demand has grown from 15 to more than 60 kids in one group.
“Continue to help us change lives. We’re not just doing work. We’re doing transformative work,” Johnson said. “Kids can choose careers that help them sustain a livable wage. I need the help of our village in Miami to help me continue to pay it forward.”
Urban Construction Craft Academy
William “Bill” Dozier, founder of Urban Construction Craft Academy.
(Courtesy of UCCA)
Urban Construction Craft Academy, the 501(c)(3) training arm of Dozier & Dozier Construction, began with a moment that pulled founder William “Bill” Dozier out of retirement: two young men from the penal system picking up paper on the side of the road.
“I was moved by that,” Dozier said. “They’re already in the system so early in their life, and when they get out, they don’t have any skills. They have to go back to life and crime again just to survive.”
The question that followed — “what are you going to do about it?” — became the foundation for UCCA. He gathered friends, brainstormed late into the night, and set a simple rule.
UCCA has offered hands-on instruction across core and specialty trades, a re-entry track for returning citizens, summer intensives for youth ages 13–17, and an apprenticeship pathway for project managers.
(Courtesy of UCCA)
“We’re never going to charge them,” Dozier said. “The person who occupied my seat can never be paid or earn a salary. We’re going to use as many volunteers as we can. This will be our gift back to the community.”
Since 2011, UCCA has offered hands-on instruction across core and specialty trades, a re-entry track for returning citizens, summer intensives for youth ages 13–17, and an apprenticeship pathway for project managers.
Programs
UCCA’s interactive programs not only help create better and safer communities but enhance the lives of its participants.
(Courtesy of UCCA)
“We’re a holistic type of training program,” Dozier explained, describing soft-skills training on job-site etiquette and interviews alongside tool time. Alumni are expected to “reach back and help somebody else.”
A cornerstone initiative, the Crime Prevention and Re-entry Program, teaches young people crime prevention while helping returning citizens build trade skills through instruction and mentorship.
The Crime Prevention and Re-entry Program teaches young people crime prevention while helping returning citizens build trade skills through instruction, mentorship and soft-skills training.
(Courtesy of UCCA)
“We have a dress code, we have requirements,” Dozier explained. “We go through soft skills — how to conduct yourself in a classroom, how to conduct yourself on a job site, how to do interviews, and how to conduct yourself in society.”
The summer construction program introduces teens to trades such as plumbing, electrical work, and more through theory and hands-on learning. It quickly evolved beyond the “basics” after instructors discovered teens were leaving lunch early to watch YouTube lessons and returning “ready to take over the class.”
The summer construction program introduces teens to trades, including plumbing, electrical work and more, through theory and hands-on learning.
(Courtesy of UCCA)
UCCA soon expanded the curriculum to six weeks and partnered with Miami Dade College to offer six college credits upon completion.
“They’re learning the skills they can use, and now they get college credit for it,” Dozier said. “We’re very excited about how it’s grown.”
The apprenticeship program prepares graduates for leadership roles as project managers. The program launched with 10 students, nine of which are now employed as project managers. One graduate, a young woman, became a project manager on a major Downtown Miami WorldCenter site.
The apprenticeship program prepares graduates for leadership roles as project managers.
(Courtesy of UCCA)
“She had four companies competing for her skills,” Dozier said proudly. “We have successes like that all the time.”
He recalled another student who left because he couldn’t afford a haircut required by the dress code.
“I gave him 20 bucks, and he came back that night,” Dozier said. Today, that student is a superintendent for a major construction company and hires UCCA graduates.
“His kids have since come through our summer camp program. He’s one of our star pupils.”
The Summer Construction Camp is a six-week initiative that has partnered with Miami Dade College to offer six college credits upon completion.
(Courtesy of UCCA)
Fundraising goals
With a volunteer staff and minimal overhead, UCCA channels donations to direct training costs. This year, Dozier is aiming to raise $30,000.
“We use donations to buy tools, equipment, and materials they use to learn the trade,” he said. “We love doing what we do, but to make this a quality program, we want to make sure we give them all the necessary tools and materials to work.”
What’s ahead
Both groups are fighting the same inequity from different angles: talent is universal, access is not. For Johnson, that means showing girls that existing biases in technology — like early facial recognition that “did not recognize darker color faces” — changes when they’re the decision-makers. For Dozier, it means making the trades a first chance, not a last resort.
Early giving runs from Nov. 15-19, before the main event opens at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20.