October 31, 2022 | St. Lucie Cultural Alliance | Spotlight – E.N.D. It!
Contributed by Dorothy Kamm
Spotlight – Sonia DuPree, Founder and Executive Director, E.N.D. It!
Sonia DuPree, Founder and Executive Director, E.N.D. It!
Offering Artistic Alternatives For At-Risk Behaviors
Talent and timing can nudge a person towards a fulfilling career path that is a perfect fit. Sonia DuPree was working as a computer programmer for IBM and was involved with youth ministry while raising three daughters. When her oldest daughter was in middle school, Sonia saw that she was no longer the major influence in her daughter’s life.
Sonia came up with the idea to have an after-school place catering to middle-school girls with activities that were instructive and served as a counterbalance. “I saw many children who were following a culture that was unhealthy. Research shows when pre-teens and teenagers believe that a majority are doing something, such as taking drugs, drinking alcohol, and being disrespectful, the more likely they are to try the same things. I wanted to create a positive environment and positive alternatives to embolden this age group to go against the grain,” explains Sonia.
“I wrote a detailed paper about what this place would be and what was needed. At the time, I was working from home and I was always on call. I thought, ‘when in the world would I be able to do this?’ I figured it would be something I could pursue when I retired.” She shoved the paper aside, under a stack of more pressing paperwork.
A month later, Sonia’s husband Strather, who goes by the nickname Skip, found the paper and approached her about her plan. “He’s more business-minded than I am. He encouraged me to go through proper channels and apply for 501(c)(3) designation,” she says. She drew upon her corporate background and project management skills to come up with a business plan and a budget for the program she called E.N.D. It!, which stands for “Everybody’s Not Doing It.”
Although the paperwork was approved in 2010, the project laid dormant for five years.
In 2015 after a 15-year career, Sonia was laid off from IBM as part of the company’s termination of all U.S. resources within her department. She took the opportunity to switch her attention and focus on the nonprofit.
E.N.D. It! started as an all-girls program that would meet on days off from school. Sonia and the girls would create skits based on positive messages they wanted to convey. In addition to having an impressive resume, Sonia says she always has been recognized for her writing skills, mentioning that a college English professor once asked to keep one of her papers to use as an example in future courses. She used this talent to write skits with the girls based on issues affecting them. As a computer programmer, Sonia knew how to plan so that everything necessary to put on a skit would dovetail together. These skits were performed at various venues throughout the community and were well-received.
As the organization grew in size and scope, including boys as well as girls and expanding to include high schoolers, the need for a larger space was evident. With funding from St. Lucie County Children’s Services Council, the organization was able to move into a spacious facility in Fort Pierce. A variety of artistic pursuits, including drama, dancing, painting, graphic arts, and music making and production, are available. Whatever the activity, Sonia, her husband and co-founder Skip, and her team are promoting messages of self-worth, leadership, scholarship, and community service.
Sonia and the youth wrote the play Daddy, which is about human trafficking. It turned out to be the most popular play that would attract sell-out crowds. She relates that when she would drive by the Sunrise Theatre in downtown Fort Pierce, she would tell herself that someday one of the youth’s productions would be performed there. In 2017, the group had that opportunity.
When the Covid pandemic arrived and tour dates had to be canceled, Sonia re-wrote the play as a screenplay and the youth turned it into a movie. This movie was submitted to and screened at film festivals, including the recent Treasure Coast International Film Festival where it received the Florida Film Gem Award.
E.N.D. It! recently joined the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance. Sonia says she wanted to connect with the local creative community, to be in the loop with the cultural scene while promoting the youths’ various artistic offerings. “Many schools have cut art from their curriculum,” states Sonia. “Art makes life so much richer.”
E.N.D. It! serves middle and high school students in St. Lucie County providing events, an after-school program, winter and summer camps, music conferences and concerts, and more. For more information, visit everybodyisnotdoingit.org or call 772-302-3731.
To learn more about the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance and the benefits of membership, please visit ArtStLucie.org, email: info@artstlucie.org or call 772-776-ARTS (2787).