Youth
Our Goal: Inspire youth to stay in school, keep safe, and realize positive options for the future.
Our Challenge: In 2006-2007, 11,436 Massachusetts high school students dropped out. Our challenge is to keep these youth on track. Countless research studies point to the importance of adult (parents, teachers, mentors) relationships as a key predictor of youths' success. Yet, many youth don't have this blanket of support. In fact, more than 5,000 Massachusetts young people are currently waiting to be matched with a mentor.
Our Approach: United Way connects the efforts of families, volunteers, school personnel and out-of-school program staff to create community solutions that support youth at all times. We work to ensure the important adults in a youth's life have the skills they need to keep youth engaged in learning and feeling good about the future, so they will succeed in school and in life.
Our Strategy:
- Increase the number of at-risk youth participating in high quality out-of-school programs.
- Train and support adult staff to fully engage youth in programs.
- Connect programs, state agency systems, and families to work together to support and track youth's success.
