History of the Central Florida Dream Center

This 46,000 square foot building set into motion what is known today as the Central Florida Dream Center (CFDC).  The CFDC is a One-Stop Community Center that partners with other organizations to impact the region.  The facility is located in the heart of inner-city Sanford, FL challenged with crime, abuse, and poverty. 

The CFDC has proven to reduce crime in the community where 9 out of 10 kids are fatherless.  To give significance to this statistic here are some disturbing statistics:

• 90% of runaway children are from fatherless homes
• 71% of high school drop-outs are from fatherless homes
• 85% of youth in prison are from fatherless homes
• 90% of inmates on death row are from fatherless homes

The Dream Center's goal is to break this cycle and offer programs ranging from mentoring programs for adults and families to after-school programs for the children. 

In a community where the local drug dealer is often the only male role model figure a young person has, you can see why the need is so great for an organization such as this.  By following in the footsteps of similar organizations the Dream Center has already reduced crime in the community but much more needs to be done.

By providing a "hand-up" as oppossed to a "hand-out" the Dream Center makes long-term changes in the lives of those who are serious about improving their situation.