Across the nation, shining examples are emerging where community institutions, organizations, and systems are coordinating and collaborating to best serve youth. Search the Bright Spots database to find great examples to learn from and share.
Contact brightspots@collaborativecommunications.com with questions. You can find more information on the purpose and development of the database here.
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Search Results
| Partnership's Name | Shared Goals | Description | Website | Lead Partners | Partner Types | Target Populations | Supports Offered | Funder Types | Supporting Documents | Timeframes | Location | Capacity | Health/Safety | Equity | Contact Information | Common Agenda | Continuous Communication | Backbone Support | Mutually Reinforcing Activities | Shared Measurement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Development Executives of King County | Directly check on the well-being of youth and families, Support youth during out-of-school time activities |
YDEKC improves experiences for young people in all types of youth programs. From expanded learning and afterschool programs to behavioral health to supporting young people experiencing homelessness, YDEKC focuses on the whole child. |
https://ydekc.org/what-we-do/cross-sector-collaboration/ | King County School District, Youth Development Executives of King County | Advocacy/Intermediary Non-profit Organization, Civic-based Non-profit Organization, Community-based Non-profit Organization, Direct Service Non-profit Organization, School/School District |
Youth (Ages 14-17 or Grades 9-12), Youth (Ages 5-13 or Grades K-8) |
Mental Health/Wellness/Mindfulness, Social and Emotional Learning/Character Development, Whole Child/Positive Youth Development |
Corporate Sponsorship (including in-kind donations, matching gifts, volunteer program), Individual Contributions, Membership Fees |
Fall 2020 (Academic Year), Spring 2021 (Academic Year), Summer 2020, Summer 2021, Winter 2020 (Academic Year) |
California | The total capacity or target enrollment of the program is students in King County. | Compliance with State/County/City guidance | Jessica Werner |
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| youthCONNECT | Establish or Sustain community learning hubs/pods/academic-childcare collaborative, Prevent summer learning loss |
youthCONNECT is a group of high-performing nonprofits that collaborate with schools to improve students’ readiness for employment and post-secondary education. youthCONNECT partners check in with youth at least once a week—in some cases almost daily—to provide encouragement, positivity, and a non-family outlet for them to vent. Early in the shutdown, youthCONNECT partners learned that the mode of communication that one student prefers may not work for another and that some students will be more resistant to connecting. youthCONNECT partners have tried individual and group text messages, phone calls, social media, and virtual meetings on different platforms to find the mode that works for each student. For students who don’t respond, partners have reached out to family members or through a student’s friends; in other cases, they can enlist school administrators and teachers for help. And some partners have used other approaches: Urban Alliance created an Instagram account to connect with students they hadn’t heard from, and Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers (MMYC) has used food bag delivery as a time to talk to students and families in person from a safe distance. |
http://www.vppartners.org/results/methodology/ | Urban Alliance, Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection (Hillside), Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers (MMYC), Peer Forward, and Year Up, Suitland High School | Direct Service Non-profit Organization, School/School District |
Youth (Ages 14-17 or Grades 9-12), Youth (Ages 5-13 or Grades K-8) |
Mental Health/Wellness/Mindfulness, Social and Emotional Learning/Character Development, Whole Child/Positive Youth Development |
Government Entity/Grant, Individual Contributions, Private Philanthropic Foundation |
Fall 2020 (Academic Year), Spring 2021 (Academic Year), Winter 2020 (Academic Year) |
Maryland | Suitland High Population | Not applicable; We are not providing in-person supports. | info@vppartners.org |
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| YouthQuest | Continue or Leverage existing partnerships to meet youth needs, Support youth during remote/virtual/online school time learning |
YouthQuest is an after-school enrichment program. In response to the pandemic, "YouthQuest partnered with school teachers that were delivering virtual summer school programming, to coordinate virtual program timing: whenever classes ended or teachers went on a break, the program would take over the virtual stream to provide an uninterrupted virtual learning experience." (The Atlantic, 7/31/2020) |
https://www.flintandgenesee.org/education-training/youthquest/about-youthquest/ | YouthQuest, Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, Flint Community Schools, Flint Community Education Initiative | Advocacy/Intermediary Non-profit Organization, Community-based Non-profit Organization, Direct Service Non-profit Organization, School/School District |
Youth (Ages 5-13 or Grades K-8) | Out-of-School Time Academic Enrichment/Extended Learning, School Remote/Virtual/Online Classes |
Private Philanthropic Foundation | Summer 2020 | Michigan | Unknown | Not applicable; We are not providing in-person supports. | Unknown |
YouthQuest Main Office, (810) 600-1422 |
Note: Only checked rows will be exported to the csv file