In a few weeks we’re going to be making the decision of which organization to support. Caleb and Steven have raised important points about evaluating Catholic Charities. I want to talk more generally about what the goals of the other organizations seem to be, specifically in relation to the concept of developing character traits and skills, and get us to start thinking about what kind of criteria we’re going to make our decision based on.
Chapter 6 of A Path Appears discusses how character traits like optimism and grit are important determinants of future success, and are especially important for low-income kids. Children that lack family support often lack the ability to develop such character traits. Skills that can’t always be learned in the classroom are also important. Bret Hart, director of the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory, which uses boat-building as a way for at-risk and low-income youth to stay on the right track, said “We are at the front lines of educational inequity. Our national response has been to double down on items like Common Core. But skills like the ability to be adaptive, collaborative, resourceful are the tools we need to thrive.” Programs that focus on supporting the development of character strength, skills, and other issues are effective because they cover multiple areas. A really good example of this is the non-profit organization Row New York. It provides programs for low-income, minority youth. Rowing is used as a means to develop and strengthen character, and to help the participants have a sense of community and teamwork. The programs also provide tutoring in core academic subjects and the SATs, workshops, and field trips to colleges. Row New York has been very successful and is still growing; in 2014, 100% of its high school senior participants were accepted to college and 90% graduated. It’s successful because it combines academic and social support while helping youth develop strong character. I think this sort of comprehensive approach is something we should consider when looking at the finalist organizations.
The Broome County Urban League Afterschool and Summer Enrichment Inclusion Programs are probably serving less children than the Community Connections Center. However, the Urban League programs, based on the information provided in the RFP, seem to me to be more comprehensive in their approaches. Whereas the Community Connections Center program focuses on providing counseling for kids, the Urban League programs provide academic support, cultural enrichment, social development, recreation, and health and wellness consciousness. According to the RFPs, both the Urban League and Children’s Home programs provide youth with information and skills to prepare them for the future (support for employment, college, and living on their own).The Lourdes program involves youth doing community service while simultaneously learning job skills. Right now it seems to me that the Urban League and Lourdes program have the most “character trait building” worked into their programs. I am curious to see what information and impressions we will gain on these site visits.
We aren’t deciding the exact criteria with which we will make our decision now, but we can start to think about it as we continue to visit the sites and gain more information about the organizations. My questions for you are:
-What are your initial thoughts about how we will make the decision?
-How do you weigh quality of the programs versus quantity of people served?
-Any other thoughts you have on this topic
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! As we get closer to making a decision of where to allocate our grant money, it is important that we evaluate the differences in the approaches the organizations take to positively impact our issue area of education and youth services. It is also important to keep in mind or decide what we are really looking for in an organization. Overall, I think that our class values quality over quantity, as we chose our issue area because it impacts many facets of people's lives and can have a lasting impact, versus an issue area like hunger where our money could probably help more people but in a more immediate, non-sustainable way. In addition, I think our class also values a "systems approach" to philanthropy, where we can have an impact in character building as it relates to education like you discussed, because those skills are extremely important to childhood development and success in education in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very pleasant read! The idea of character trait building was really interesting to me because it opened my eyes to another issue area that I personally care about. It is definitely more beneficial to choose an organization that produces quality results rather than an organization that cares more about reaching as many youth as they can in my opinion. Not only does focusing on a small number of children allow the organization's staff members to provide higher quality service and care based on individual needs, it also creates better people for our society. When organizations like Row New York produces statistics such as 100% success rates, it is very exciting for donors. Donors would definitely have more incentive to donate to a cause that is performing at its best. Moreover, after reading this post, I will definitely keep in mind the importance of "character trait building" when I cast my vote for which organization we should donate our class money to.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading you post! I am so excited that you wrote about Row New York and the work they do in New York. I have been rowing for 9 years and I have heard a lot about the great work that Row New York does. Rowing is a great way to teach young adults about teamwork as well as leadership skills.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was preparing our presentation for Tuesday on the Children's Home, I thought about the second question you ask in your blog. It is important to think about the quality of the program compare to the number of people served. In the case of the Children's Home SILP program, they currently have 18 residents being served. Judging by the RFP from Children's home, this program is very successful, however it still only helps a small number of young adults. In my opinion, even though there isn't a larger number of people being helped, this program is still very important. The skills they learn in the SILP allow these 18 young adults to live on their own, something they might not have been able to do without the program.
Josie, it was interesting to read your blog. I agree that helping to build a person’s character is important in the success that person will have in the classroom. It sounds like that work Row has been doing is making a really big impact on the kids that enroll in the program. I think it is important to find an organization that helps to build a person’s character, because it will also build confidence and help an individual believe in him/herself, regardless of the person's circumstance. The programs that will help build a person’s character should be important criteria to look for in giving the organization money. I would like to go a step further and suggest that if we are not able to see an organization building character in the people that they are trying to help, then we should not give that organization money.
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