Thrive Foundation Commits $2.4 Million To Support Nation's Youth

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Thrive Foundation for Youth announced a grant commitment of $2.4 million to eight organizations across the U.S. working to further the Foundation's mission of guiding disadvantaged young people to reach their full potential by strengthening the direct impact and presence of caring adults in their lives. The new grantees will each receive unrestricted grants of $300,000 over the next two years to accelerate their work in the field of positive youth development.

"We're excited to partner with organizations that are already making an impact in their communities," said Nicole Taylor, President and CEO of the Thrive Foundation for Youth. "Our grantees have discovered ways to create a constellation of competent, caring adults who are making a difference in the lives of children and helping youth reach their full potential. We intend to create a conversation and relationship between and among this cohort of grantees to leverage lessons learned  from their work, to conduct research and to develop tools to expand and deepen these transformative programs."

Thrive selected grantees based on their demonstrated impact, and their entrepreneurial and effective approach to reaching disadvantaged youth. Each one demonstrated the ability to provide comprehensive programming and meaningful learning experiences based on a keen knowledge of youth needs. All eight grantees have professional staff members who serve as the primary "caring adult" in their day-to-day lives, and are role models who provide a consistent, compassionate and trustworthy presence. Collectively, these organizations currently impact the lives of approximately 15,000 young people throughout the United States. They are:

1. The Brotherhood/Sister Sol (New York, NY) is a supportive youth development model for young men and women in New York City that provides comprehensive, holistic and long-term support services to youth. BHSS is locally based with a national reach as they publish assorted curricula and collections of their members' writings; train educators from throughout the nation on their approach; and advise on educational policy across the country and in New York City.
2. Colorado UpLift (Denver, CO) helps underserved youth overcome significant obstacles to success through character education, high school graduation and post-secondary engagement, emphasizing staff-student relationships and student peer leadership.
3. Friends of the Children (Portland, OR) is a nationwide organization that breaks the cycle of generational poverty through salaried, professional mentoring. Friends selects the highest risk children and commits to working with those children from kindergarten to graduation. Friends works through chapters and affiliates, and also shares their expertise with other organizations who want to use the Friends of the Children model.
4. Girls Inc. of Alameda County (Oakland, CA) supports girls in becoming strong through healthy living, smart through education, and bold through independence, providing girls with continuous, strength-based, youth development programming and strong adult role models to identify and nurture the potential for success in every girl.
5. Latin American Youth Center (Washington, D.C.) empowers a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood through multi-cultural, comprehensive, and innovative programs that address youths' social, academic, and career needs.
6. Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI) (Portland, OR) guides underserved youth and families to reach their full potential. Their work with more than 7,500 students and families results in stable, supported families and an enhanced community.
7. Youth Guidance (Chicago, IL) creates and implements school-based programs that enable at-risk youth to overcome obstacles, focus on their education and, ultimately, to realize their full potential and graduate with a meaningful plan for successfully managing life. Youth Guidance's Becoming a Man (B.A.M.) program is a dropout and violence prevention program for at-risk male students in grades 7-12. B.A.M. offers in-school programming, in some cases complemented by after-school sports, to develop social-cognitive skills strongly correlated with reductions in violent and anti-social behavior.
8. Youth Radio (Oakland, CA) is the nation's leading syndicator of youth voices and a national model for media and technology education. The organization provides thousands of low-income youth with innovative media and technology training, paid employment, and wraparound support services to launch them into college and family-sustaining careers.  

These well-established organizations will become a learning community as the Thrive Foundation works alongside grantees to understand and learn from their respective best and promising practices, their needs, and their challenges. This unique foundation-grantee relationship will combine design-thinking principles and technology with scientific research and on-the-ground knowledge to study the frameworks of successful caring adult models and to inform and strengthen their plans to scale their work.

The Fall 2014 grants will begin in November of 2014 and conclude in 2016. Thrive intends to select an additional grantee cohort in 2015. To learn more about Thrive Foundation grantees, visit www.thrivefoundation.org/our-grantees/.                                            

ABOUT US
Founded in 1995 by Silicon Valley investor Bob King and his wife Dottie, the Thrive Foundation for Youth supports young people during pivotal years of their lives – ages 10 to 18 – in reaching their full potential. Our mission is to guide disadvantaged youth to reach their full potential by strengthening the connection and impact of caring adults in their lives.  Thrive believes in the combined power of applied research and on-the-ground practice to make a tangible difference in the lives of young people. Our research is dedicated to answering the question: "What helps a young person to thrive?" Our active partnerships with youth-serving organizations are dedicated to putting that knowledge into practice, and to changing as many lives as possible throughout the country.

For more information, visit www.thrivefoundation.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

SOURCE The Thrive Foundation for Youth

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http://www.thrivefoundation.org