Moakina Cunningham is the Founder and Owner of Reaching Beyond the Stars, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, based in Stone Mountain, GA. Organized in April, 2014, the mission of the organization is to provide inner city youth the opportunity to become productive citizens by providing them activities such as tutoring, resume building, cooking classes, youth sports, college tours, community service projects, dance, modeling and various other activities. The purpose of these activities is to give young people a positive outlook on education and boost self esteem.
The goals of Reaching Beyond the Stars, Inc. include developing a program that can be implemented in the school system, joining partnerships with other organizations to extend the services available to be offered, organizing a year round bullying-awareness campaign and operating a mentor-mentee program. The youth are paired with people who currently work in their field of choice so they may gain knowledge of the profession to which they aspire.
Moakina Cunningham was born and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut and is the eldest of three. She relocated to Georgia in 1993 and attended SW DeKalb High School where she graduated in 1997. After high school, she pursued a career in the allied healthcare field as a Medical Assistant and later as a Patient Care Technician and CNA, graduating from Everest Institute (previously Georgia Medical Institute) in 2004. She felt that even though she was helping people, something was still missing. She returned to school and studied Early Childhood Education at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, earning her degree in 2014. Because education is truly important to her, and she desired even more experience and knowledge, she is currently pursuing a degree in Human Services from Kaplan University and is scheduled to graduate in the Fall of 2015. She worked at a group home in Decatur, GA for 11 years working with at-risk youth.
Moakina resides in Stone Mountain, GA with her husband, Cleveland Andrews and their 5 children, James, age 19, Maurice, age 17, Marquis, age 16, Angel, age 12 and Quentin, age 5 – as well as two adopted children Deangelo, age 18, and Taylar, age 17. Her vision for RBTS, Inc. and her message to all youth is that no matter what their situation or circumstance, if you study hard, have faith and believe, you can and will achieve your goals. You can reach for the stars and the sky is the limit! For more information, visit the website at www.reachingbeyondthestarsinc.com and connect with RBTS, Inc. on Facebook at Reaching Beyond The Stars, Inc., Twitter @onemission2014 and Instagram @reachingbeyondthestars.
Upcoming events for Reaching Beyond the Stars, Inc. include: Parents Boot Camp, Stonecrest Library 10/4/12 10am-12pm; Breast Cancer Walk, Centennial Olympic Park 10/25/14 8am-12pm; Fall Festival, Decatur Heights Baptist Church 10/25/14 4pm.
