Denzel Washington's work with the Boys & Girls Clubs takes on New Urgency
The Boys & Girls Club of New Haven empowers young people that need us most to BE GREAT by equipping them with the necessary tools to help them achieve success. We are pleased to be a part of the Boys & Girls Club of America's (BGCA) BE GREAT: Graduate, a national initiative and community-wide strategy which recognizes the necessity of schools, families, and the community working together to support youth and address the systemic issues that may be impeding successful school completion for all youth.
This Sunday's Parade Magazine featured BGCA's national spokesperson Denzel Washington and highlighted the important work being done every day at local Clubs to support young people. (Parade has a circulation of 32 million.)
The article stems from the BGCA thought leadership press event in Washington, D.C., in September with BGCA Chairman Robbie Bach, Denzel Washington, Dr. Bob Balfanz of Johns Hopkins, National Youth of the Year Mona Dixon and BGCA President and CEO Roxanne Spillett. The article effectively articulates Boys & Girls Clubs' proven success in positively impacting academic performance, and BGCA's commitment to attacking the high school dropout crisis.
Please read the full article here.
This Fall, the BE GREAT: Graduate program at the Boys & Girl Club of New Haven will enroll 30 middle school-age students who are identified as “at-risk” for school drop out by parents, principals, and school administrators. It is a model of sustained intervention for promoting students' engagement with school and learning including the development of, one-to-one mentor - youth relationships; intentional tracking; and club-school-family partnerships: No single system can solve this issue alone, so any effective strategy must incorporate partnerships within the community. Schools, Clubs and families will begin to work together to share necessary information to support youth's progress.
The support for this initiative, implemented through our 2010-11 afterschool program is growing and includes, United Way of Greater New Haven, People's Bank Foundation, TD Bank Foundation, AT&T Foundation and RBC Foundation USA. We are committed to doing our part to curb this trend and are excited to be a part of New Haven's community-wide effort to improve graduation outcomes...we'll keep you posted on our progress!
Comments
Hello,
On behalf of Life Haven, Inc. located on 447 Ferry St. in New Haven, Connecticut, I would like to thank United Way for making it possible to provide services to children and families in the Early Head Start Program. In the short time I have served as Interim Child Care Director I have several experiences to share. For example, when offered this position I was touched by the nurturing and caring but yet structured approach used by the administration. What I mean is families who live in the shelter are given opportunities to look for work while their child is cared for in a Head Start Program. One of the parents of a child in the Early Head Start program approached me to say that she had an interview and wanted to know if she looked presentable. As a result of giving her some guidance, the parent left the shelter feeling confident. Consequently, she was offered the job.
It is my opinion that whenever one takes the time to listen and mentor parents it can lead to helping parent become successful in their endeavors.
On another note, I am happy to say that my son is the Director of the Boys and Girls Club in Bristol, Connecticut. He too is instrumental in shaping children's lives as he has a positive impact on children and families in the commmunity.
In closing, thanks to United Way, I am able to continue to advocate for children and families after 30 years of experinece in the field of early childhood education.
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