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| Our Mission |
| To empower people and organizations to strive for their dreams and goals and to help those who are being of service to others. |
| About Us |
In September 2005, a twenty-five year old female, Andrea Mills, from
Jacksonville, NC, whose family instilled in her the importance of giving
back to the community, founded the Andrea Mills Foundation.
On April 15, 1995, Mills’ father, Calvin Ray Mills, died at the age of 49
leaving behind her mother, Patricia Mills, and brother, Linsey Mills. After
this tragic event, Andrea realized how much her father had given back to
the community. Calvin Mills was a Sunday School Teacher, Church
Superintendent, Soccer Coach, and served on the Deacon Board of his
church. Andrea also realized that her family followed her father’s lead in
serving the community. Her mother was an Usher, Children’s Choir
Director, and Sunday School Teacher. In college, her brother and sister-
in-law, Michelle Serrano-Mills, started a summer academic enrichment
program, Our-Story 101, to teach youth African & African-American
history as well as business and life skills. Andrea witnessed how her
family’s actions benefited the community and decided to make her
contribution.
While a student at Davidson College in North Carolina, Andrea traveled
to Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Ireland. Her experience in
Dominican Republic touched her because she and her friend, Carla,
volunteered to teach in an orphanage where students struggled
academically. The living conditions were very different from what they
were used to. Carla and Andrea slept in an open cabin with mosquito
nets covering their beds, there was no hot water, and there was an out-
of-date plumbing system in the restrooms. During the day, Andrea
taught math to the children and saw their skills slowly improving. Andrea
realized that even though the children were not living with their biological
parents, they were living their lives to the fullest and appreciated the
help from all the volunteers. It was important for Andrea to figure out
what she could do to assist “underserviced” youth in the United States.
The answer came from her family.
As a child, Andrea’s family taught her financial literacy and life skills. Her
mother always had her in the car and kitchen writing out checks for
various payments and investments. Andrea would spend her summers
with her brother, Linsey, where he would teach her about running a
business, good credit, and investing. Therefore, Andrea decided to take
the knowledge she learned and to teach other kids. While in graduate
school in St. Louis, Andrea created and taught “Money Moves” Financial
Literacy Program, “TechMobile” Computer Literacy Program, “The Real
World Survival Kit” Career and Life Skills Program, and the “B.E.A.U.T.Y.”
Program, which is an acronym for: Building Excellence, Ambition, and
Unity in the lives of Teens and Youth. She found that youth really
enjoyed and learned a lot from participating in the programs.
The Andrea Mills Foundation has partnered with the YMCA to sponsor a
basketball team in Chicago, IL for 5th and 6th graders. Basketball at the
YMCA has increased the youth’s self esteem and taught them the
importance of teamwork. The next two projects are to start a business
and financial literacy program for teens at the YMCA and to create a
scholarship college fund for “underserviced” in the name of her loving
father, Calvin Ray Mills.