Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jennifer Hills.
Dr. Hills, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
For Oak Cliff was birthed from a vision that occurred when Taylor Toynes, the founder and Executive Director of For Oak Cliff, was teaching 4th grade. He noticed that his students did not have school supplies on the first day of school. With the belief that all students should be prepared on the first day of school, he and his class organized a school supply drive which allowed all of the students at the school to have school supplies. Today, we still continue the vision of Taylor’s 4th-grade class. In 2018, our annual school drive gave out over 3,000 backpacks with school supplies. The festival got the attention of a local celebrity, Hollywood Bay-Bay from K104, and the infamous J. Cole who stopped by the 2018 festival.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A smooth road is a road with few lessons to learn. While our road hasn’t been too bumpy, life has allowed us to learn many lessons along the way in order to grow and be better than the previous year. For Oak Cliff has grown from being an annual festival to having a beautiful center in the Glendale area of Oak Cliff. Growing comes with its own unique struggles, but this allows the team to overcome together and grow stronger as we do.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
We are a culturally responsive organization serving the South Oak Cliff community. Education, Advocacy, and Community Building are the categories we use to develop various programs with our community.
For Oak Cliff believes in 2-Gen, so we focus on creating opportunities for and addressing the needs of both children and the adults in their lives together with the aim of increasing social mobility and social capital.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a ball of creative energy mislabeled as ADHD. Luckily, I was surrounded by people who embraced my energy and allowed me to express myself through art and music. I was also a natural teacher at a young age. My grandmother kept kids and would empower me to teach them what I had learned from school. I enjoyed making cool games and being creative in my instructional approach.
You can still find this creative energy in me, and it is exhibited when I am teaching at For Oak Cliff. I work with all ages, and the energy I bring with the toddlers is the same that can be seen with adults.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4478 S. Marsalis Ave
- Website: www.foroakcliff.org
Image Credit:
K. Rene
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