Com
Munic
bined
ipal
ign
Campa
2014
Shining the light on agencies shaping our youth and
rebuilding families
By Lucha Morales
program called the beat shop, and
a scholar shop, which is like an
academic shop,” said Goodman,
co-director of Workshop Houston,
a nonprofit that provides afterschool programs to youth.
“And next door is the welding
and fabrication area called the
chopper shop,” she said.
Founded in 2003, Workshop
Houston, originally the Third Ward
Bike Shop, is one of more than
700 charities in the Combined
Municipal Campaign, the annual
city employee charity giving drive.
Goodman, one of the four
founders of the bike shop, saw
a bigger need than the shop
offered.
"We saw kids who came
into the bike shop who would
get in trouble or involved with
gangs," she said. "We cared
about them and knew we had
to help."
Middle school students at Workshop Houston learn fashion design and
And as Workshop Houston
silk screening skills in the Style Shop. Students create designs, logos,
and learn to sew and do alterations as they create their own fashions.
expanded its services to include
nside a two-story converted
apartment building, Kathy
Goodman sits in a 500-square
foot office. Despite her small
workplace, Goodman's vision to
help kids from Houston’s Third
Ward overcome barriers through
creative outlets is big.
“We offer a fashion design style
shop, a music production
Since the sixth grade, high school freshman Muktar Muya, has
been creating and designing his own original chopper bicycles in
the Chopper Shop. Students learn drafting, welding, engineering,
and math skills as they fabricate their own chopper bikes.
a middle school program for boys
and girls, the need for a bigger place
became apparent.
"We can only fit a small number of
kids in the three shops we house in
our converted apartment building,"
Goodman said. "We realized we
needed to do a comprehensive
buildout."
And thanks to generous donations
from key donors, Workshop Houston
will begin constructing a new
building early next year, with CMC
See Volunteer on page 4