708-593-3845
About Us
Total Capacity Training and Development Center (TCTDC) empowers youth by providing essential skills in culinary arts, sewing/fashion design, financial literacy, and life skills. Founded by resilient women with a vision to nurture future leaders, we are dedicated to building a supportive community and making a tangible impact through our youth development center.
Empowering Tomorrow
At Total Capacity, we believe in the incredible potential that youth hold to shape a brighter future. Our vision is to provide young people with a safe space, essential resources, and the support they need to grow and thrive. We are working hard to connect with local schools, ensuring that every young person knows about the opportunities available at TCTDC. Together, we’re building a foundation that will empower the next generation of leaders.
Our History
TCTDC was founded on the backs of women that have had life experiences that taught them valuable lessons to share with their communities. We pride ourselves in pouring wisdom into our youth, because we recognize they are the future and we were once them. When you learn teach, When you get give ~ Maya Angelou
Our Mission
Our mission is to support the growth and development of youth through a variety of programs—like cooking, sewing, education, and community service—that foster creativity, teamwork, leadership, and personal growth. We strive to inspire and empower every young person who walks through our doors.
Founder of TCTDC Shawn Wade
Shawn grew up in Maywood, IL where she attended Emerson Elementary School and later transferred to Lexington Elementary School. She went on to become a very proud Proviso East Pirate Graduating in the Mighty Class of 1986. Immediately after high school Shawn became a teenager mother to her beautiful daughter Jazzmine. Shawn worked and retired from Navistar in 2018 after 27 years of service. It is her mission to coach our youth (specifically girls) to help them discover and cultivate their gifts no matter what curve ball life throws their way. It is the life lessons that she’s learned that gives her the ability to coach from self-disclosure so that our youth don’t fall in the pitfalls of life without being warned and coached.
