Youth & Communities 2007 Program Objectives

Youth Development

Promote positive youth development by building assets in physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development through:

• Experiential Learning. Support programs and projects that – while not limited to – provide opportunities in:
• Youth Media,
• Environmental Education,
• Entrepreneurship, and
• Leadership (Youth Philanthropy/Civic Responsibility).
   
• Accessing and Succeeding in College. Provide support and skills to youth and their families in a young person’s pursuit of and success in achieving a college education, especially among youth who are the first in their families to consider college.
   
• Academic Enrichment.  Support for after-school academic enrichment programs that reinforce in-school curriculum, particularly in community school settings.
   
• Service Learning. Implement community-based programs that promote youth as leaders and agents of positive change in their community.
   
• Transitions to Adulthood. In collaboration with the Child Welfare Program, support successful transitions to adulthood of foster care and disconnected youth through appropriate youth development programs and strategies.

Community Settings

Create positive and supportive community settings that contribute to a young person’s development through:

• Community Schools. Support community school models that involve collaborative partners working before, during, and after school to comprehensively support school readiness, linkages between in-school and out-of-school time learning, youth transitions to adulthood, and family and neighborhood vitality.
   
• Parents as Leaders. Engage parents as the primary advocate of their child’s learning and promote parents’ abilities as community leaders.
   
• Place-Based Opportunities. Connect youth and families to their schools and communities through neighborhood-based strategies.  The Foundation specifically focuses on two neighborhoods: Canal in San Rafael, CA and Rainier Beach in Seattle, WA.  We work in these communities with a mission of creating vibrant communities, innovative learning centers, and strong families that support youth to become responsible, productive, and inspired citizens.

Please contact Program Associate Angela Quon if you would like more information on our “Strategies for Change” in these two neighborhoods.