Subtitle / tagline: Help us raise $35,000 by December 31 to keep youth paid, trained, and building.

Story:

This summer, inside a secure detention center in Hamilton County, teenagers took turns running a job site. Each session, one young person served as Project Manager and another as Site Manager, leading their crew on a 12x12 shed they designed themselves. A year ago, that program didn't exist.

That is what 2026 has looked like at Deeply Ingrained. We moved into a new shop on Indianapolis' near east side. We launched Guided by the Grain: Foundations inside juvenile detention, and it has reached 53 young people so far. Woodshop on Wheels reached about 1,400 kids this year, free to every family, including at every Indianapolis Public Library branch. And 8 of our youth earned OSHA 10 certification on their way toward the trades.

We also faced real losses this year. Partner contracts and grants that funded our work were cut or reduced, including after-school contracts that help pay for summer programs and a grant that covered youth wages. The need didn't shrink. The funding did.

This fall, we're asking you to help us raise $35,000 by December 31 so we can:

Keep Guided by the Grain youth on payroll, earning real wages while they learn
Open a second Foundations partner location in Marion County in January 2027
Deliver OSHA 10 certification in-house to every Guided by the Grain and Foundations participant in 2027
Keep Woodshop on Wheels free for every child who walks up to the trailer

Gifts made by December 31 power our 2027 programs.

When you give, you're not buying lumber. You're telling a young person that someone believes they can build something real, including a future. It's not about the wood, it's about building character.

$250 pays a Guided by the Grain youth for a week of paid work in our shop.

Deeply Ingrained is an Indianapolis-based 501(c)(3). Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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