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Small size, big impact: Baltimore nonprofit Next One Up wraps teen boys in supports and watches them fly

Tatyana Turner

December 23, 2020 |

The Baltimore Sun |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

In Baltimore, a non-profit known as the Next One Up program is helping young men who are struggling in school by supporting and advancing their academic, athletic, and social development through small group activities. Although small, the highly-individualized program – which "focuses on students who have attendance issues, have experienced trauma, or need food, clothing, or parental support" – meets every Sunday for class and homework help, followed by a sport of their choice. All who have participated so far have graduated high school on time.

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Lost Childhood: The Visible and Invisible Weight on North Tulsa Youth

Kolby Webster Arielle Davis

December 21, 2020 |

KOSU |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Dream Center provided an invaluable resource to North Tulsa’s largely African-American youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the community center closed its physical space, staff continued food distribution by going door-to-door, passing out about 2,700 meals a day to over 2,000 young people. The contact also gave the organization a chance to check in the on the kids and make sure they were safe. As the pandemic eased slightly, the group started summer pop-up camps within local housing authorities and neighborhoods, allowing a few children at a time to take part in activities.

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Mother-daughter trio brings the great outdoors to children living in the city

Mike Brookbank

December 16, 2020 |

WEWS-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

A mother-daughter trio started the nonprofit See You at the Top as a way to get children engaged in outdoor sports where there is traditionally a lack of people of color represented. The program has reached hundreds of families who have participated in activities like skiing, snowboarding, and biking. "As a culture, we distance ourselves from these activities and say that's not what we do, but we have to begin to see ourselves in these outdoor spaces and know it is something we can all do and enjoy together," said one of the cofounders.

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Homicides dropped after Philly gangs signed a 1974 peace pact. What can we learn from the org that brokered the truce?

Layla A. Jones

December 14, 2020 |

Billy Penn |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The House of Umoja in West Philadelphia, created in the late 1960s in response to high rates of gang violence, succeeded in helping thousands of young men through a residential treatment program, mediating disputes peacefully, and brokering a gang truce credited with lowering Philadelphia violence in the 1970s. The program was based on Afrocentric customs and family structure (its name means unity in Swahili). The grandson of the founders is now trying to revive the home as part of the city's multiple anti-violence initiatives.

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‘The Poetry Project': How young refugees in Germany are bridging the cultural gap with their voices

Anna Fleck

December 12, 2020 |

The Local |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Berlin

The Poetry Project provides a platform for young refugees to create poetry, share their stories, and learn about German culture. The initiative started with weekly meetings for 7 young refugees to workshop poetry about the refugee experience, including leaving loved ones, why they left, and how they feel in their new home country. Their live performances have won prizes and their audiences respond emotionally. The group’s success allowed it to expand to more participants and reach a wider audience. The experience helped some participants integrate more smoothly into German society, where they have thrived.

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As Harlem Children's Zone moves to export its model nationwide, Obama's Promise Neighborhoods offer cautionary tales

Amadou Diallo

December 11, 2020 |

The Hechinger Report |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Under the Obama administration, the Promise Neighborhoods initiative was launched. It granted over $430 million in multiyear grants to nonprofits across 17 cities. The success of these grants have been difficult to measure. Two of the programs that were awarded grants highlight the differences in communities, and how success can’t be measured one way, but across a spectrum. “These first five years are like finding yourself,” said Lepore. “It’s an opportunity to find out what’s working, what isn’t and what we need to invest in.”

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Indianapolis has poured millions into grant funding to fight crime. Has it worked?

Amelia Pak-Harvey

November 24, 2020 |

IndyStar (The Indianapolis Star) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Indianapolis, Indiana

By one measure, a record number of homicides in 2020, Indianapolis' decision to pump $13 million into two crime-prevention grant programs looks like a failure. But program advocates and researchers say that may not be the most accurate measure. Data show that multiple community-based projects are steering young people away from crime and toward jobs. It's difficult to untangle crime's multiple causes and the effects these programs have had over the past six years, and whether homicides would have been even worse but for the efforts.

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Musical Empowerment bridges technological divide to teach local students

Ben Greer

October 20, 2020 |

The Daily Tar Heel |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Musical Empowerment provides mentors for children who do not have access to music education in their community. About 160 student-teachers mentor children in instruments like guitar, piano, violin, brass, saxophone, and even voice. The group uses grants and donations to help with technological and internet disparities, as well as provide instruments if needed. Learning music helps young people in many areas of their lives, including self-confidence and self-discipline. Mentors are paired with a mentee based on instrument interest and compatibility, and also experience personal growth from the relationship.

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Kalamazoo police look to violence intervention program and community partnerships to halt shootings

Al Jones

October 13, 2020 |

Second Wave Michigan |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kalamazoo, Michigan

In their Group Violence Intervention program, Kalamazoo police use "custom notifications" to intervene before street violence erupts. Working in tandem with community groups, the police tell likely shooters that more violence will get them arrested and imprisoned, but stopping now will be rewarded with job help and other services. Progress is slow. It gets measured one by one as young men get jobs and stay out of trouble. The pandemic disrupted the program, followed by a surge in violence. Community members praise the approach as an alternative to overly aggressive policing, but want more services programs.

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Wooster's virtual tutoring program offers educational aid to students during pandemic

Grant Pepper

October 08, 2020 |

Knox Pages |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wooster, Ohio

A collaboration between Ohio's Wooster City Schools and the College of Wooster has allowed for an enhanced educational experience for many students during the coronavirus pandemic. The partnership not only provides tutoring services to the K-12 students but has also "strengthened the bond between the college and its surrounding community."

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