One tradition we love is sharing a summary of each cohort's impact: the fellows' projects, accomplishments, takeaways, and the number of youth each fellow impacted in the community they served.
In 2016, instead of having one cohort, or group, of fellows we had two.
This means that we were able serve more in 2016.
But what exactly does that look like? Let's take a closer look at Tara, Rina, and Emma's work.
* Numbers represent impact as of end-date of each Fall fellowship.
Tara worked with Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland to help implement the Sqord initiative, a fitness tracking program for youth that gamifies physical activity.
“I never saw myself working on a project that involved physical activity, but . . . I did it and I totally rocked it.
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Along the way, she provided onboarding trainings and support for Club staff in relation to Sqord, assisted staff in recruiting youth to participate in Sqord, researched best practices for keeping youth and families engaged and participating, and acted as a liaison between BGCP and, fitness startup, Sqord. The program is projected to reach up to 600 youth by its end this March!
Get to know Tara more in an interview and learn about her experience across the blog here, here, and here.
Rina spent the fall with Fiver Children's Foundation working on a Family Engagement Program, which provides space for families to learn and connect as a unit.
“I am acquiring a whole new set of professional skills that makes me a better person in the service of others.”
Rina planned and facilitated a series of parent workshops in both English and Spanish, on topics like: Family Goal-Setting, How to Manage Stress, Community Risk & Protective Factors: Building Family Resiliency; and coordinated events for Fiver families to celebrate together.
Get to know more about Rina, from her commitment to service to her global law and policy goals.
And Emma! She built upon YSS’s existing school-based mentoring program to develop a community-based mentoring model for youth in YSS’s emergency shelter, in addiction treatment, and in transitional living.
“I’ve been allowed to succeed and to struggle, to be creative, to make new friends and connections, and to make myself more prepared for my future as someone doing social good. ”
She created the Community-Based Mentoring Manual - a resource for the person facilitating mentor matches in the future, and a mentor training program, laid out the procedure for establishing community mentor matches, and created a system of evaluation for the community-based model. YSS projects to match up to 60 mentor-mentees this year.
Get to know Emma here along with her thoughts on community-based mentoring, the state of mental health in Iowa, and her fellowship process.
From a physical fitness program to family engagement and youth mentoring - Tara, Rina, and Emma focused on work that deeply aligns with our three areas of focus: Advancing Skills for Success, Promoting Public Health, and Protecting the Environment.
So here's to the hard work of our Fall 2016 fellows and the commitment our partners' have shown to helping the fellows succeed.