KNOXVILLE TN — When CEO Tanika Harper founded the Shora Foundation, her mission was to create a safe place for underserved communities to thrive. The Nigerian word Shora means Safe Place. Over the last 15 years the organization has been able to provide that safe space by offering youth education opportunities in the African American community. Working with kids year-round, students in her programs successfully move to their next grade levels, excelling in reading and math.
Her program also teaches entrepreneurial skills as she believes the youth are the legacy of communities. Harper’s organization sets in one of the many food deserts in Knoxville and she provides weekly backpack meals to combat the hunger of her students, some of whose only meals come from school.
She also partners with the University of Tennessee to provide trauma care for the mental health needs of the children, providing weekly trauma group and individual therapy sessions. Harper ensures the children under her care understand the subject matter being taught in the classrooms, always with the goal of advancing the child to the next grade level.
Outside of the classroom skills, the children learn through project-based learning and participate in family engagement activities offered by the foundation which chooses to intentionally elevate, empower, and enhance the lives of the next generation of leaders.
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