Join us for an update on Success of All Youth (SAY), Our Community Cradle to Career Movement on Wednesday, April 13th, 7:30pm, at The Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest, Oak Park. Doors open at 6:30pm. Free Admission. The new public parking garage is now open next to the Club!
It’s not all about the grades! In 2008, our OPRF community made a financial and collaborative commitment to the success of all children/youth because the achievement of this goal is critical to the long-term health and vibrancy of our community. Come and learn about how we are advancing local progress and impact on this bold goal!
Success of All Youth Director Linda Francis and local philanthropist, Mary Jo Schuler will deliver an overview of this local movement, review our evolving community road map and report on progress indicators.
Background: In 2008, our OPRF community made a collaborative commitment to the Success of All Youth. This commitment was made in conjunction with the OPRF Community Foundation’s eligibility to receive a $2.5 million matching grant from the Grand Victoria Foundation’s Communityworks Partnership initiative. SAY is one of three initial priorities chosen for support. The overriding rationale behind this commitment and grant opportunity stems from the belief that the success of all youth is critical to the long-term health and vibrancy of our community.
Even though SAY is anchored at the Community Foundation, it is a whole community, whole child endeavor that engages and leverages all elements of our civic infrastructure toward prioritizing and unifying focus and action commitments. The beneficiaries of SAY include all people and entities involved in serving or caring for children and youth as well as all family types, demographics and ability levels.
Tools of this local and national movement include collective ownership of this challenge, collective development of strategies, and system impact benchmarks and measures. Through the use of Communityworks endowment funds and the alignment of existing community resources, SAY is currently focused on helping all children and youth develop social emotional learning or soft skills that are critical to success and fulfillment both inside and outside of the classroom.
Recognizing that growth, development and education occur across a spectrum of settings, SAY is a partner with many public and social impact entities seeking to achieve incremental progress because small wins will lead our community to big wins! With time, focus and effort, Success of all Youth is gradually transforming from a bold aspirational goal into a tangible reality. In Oak Park and River Forest, every time a student succeeds, our community succeeds!
