During the 2008-2009 Youth Opportunity Grant Cycle Episcopal Charities received 44 applications, of which 40 received grant awards. These outreach programs have annual budgets totaling $4,749,376 and serve over 3,900 youth throughout the Diocese. During this grant cycle Episcopal Charities awarded $265,733 in grants averaging $6643 each. The type of programs funded in this cycle include: after school, arts & entertainment, job readiness, social justice, summer camps and teen parenting.

AFTER SCHOOL

The After School programs funded by Episcopal Charities provide at-risk school children with homework assistance and tutoring, as well as a safe space and peers within which to enjoy arts and recreation. Working with local schools, these programs offer students the individual learning opportunities that otherwise would not be provided. Priority for awards is granted to programs that provide activities in the areas of art, literacy, math, science, and project based learning.

The Youth Opportunity Grants for after school include the following programs:

Ascension, NYC	$3,500
Grace Church, NYC GO Project	$8,000
Grace Church, West Farms	$8,250
Grace Church, White Plains	$9,000
Iglesia San Andres, Yonkers	$8,000
MLK Center, St. Andrew's Beacon	$9,000
St. Andrew's, Castle Hill, Bronx	$6,000
St. Bartholomew's, White Plains	$4,500
St. Edmund's, Bronx	$4,900
St. Luke in the Fields GO Project	$7,500
St. Margaret's, Bronx	$8,000
St. Matthew & St. Timothy's-Star	$8,000
St. Matthew & St. Timothy's-After School	$4,000
St. Peter's Learning Center, Port Chester	$12,000
Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon After School	$12,500

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Arts and entertainment programs supported by Episcopal Charities offer much more than an opportunity for youth to have fun. When children study arts and entertainment, critical thinking and self discipline skills are developed and their cognitive development, math and reading abilities, self-esteem, ability to work in teams, and spatial reasoning skills all grow and improve dramatically. Results are seen in increased school attendance and higher testing scores and class performance.

The Youth Opportunity Grants for arts & entertainment include the following programs:

Amazing Grace Circus!, Grace Church, Nyack	$9,000
Jubilate Choir, Christ Church, Warwick	$2,000
St. Luke in the Fields Youth Outreach	$10,500
The Pied Piper Theatre at Holy Trinity Inwood	$10,000
Voices of Outreach, St. Peter's Peekskill	$5,000
Young at Arts, Christ Church, Bronxville	$9,000

JOB READINESS

Episcopal Charities supports collaborative efforts among businesses, community organizations and schools which mentor at-risk youth in urban and rural school districts. Students have the opportunity to experience and develop workplace skills and mentoring relationships, while being prepared for post-school employment. In addition, students receive specific industry learning which allows for greater chance of job placement.

The Youth Opportunity Grant for job readiness includes the following:

Community Partnership, Martin Luther King Cultural Center, St. Andrew's, Beacon

$3,000

SOCIAL JUSTICE

At-risk youth often have little, if any, opportunity to learn and develop strategies for non-violent conflict resolution while learning about the consequences of intolerance, prejudice, poverty and war. Episcopal Charities believes that promoting a society that reflects the best of civil and religious values begins by exposing our youth to the needs of others. Through advocacy, organizing, service and partnerships, we pursue social justice one child at a time. Episcopal Charities supports efforts that develop adults whose lives are grounded in respect for one another.

The Youth Opportunity Grant for social justice includes the following:

The Peace Zone, Mission San Juan Bautista, Bronx

$8,000

SUMMER CAMPS

Episcopal Charities provides summer enrichment programs for children from a combination of middle-income, financially disadvantaged, and homeless children as well as those who are hard to manage in a regular camp setting. Because children from economically challenged families perform poorly in school and may receive little encouragement from their parents to succeed academically, activities such as reading and math programs for children are incorporated in many of the camp programs receiving grant awards. A number of the children in our summer camps also attend after school programs operated by the same parish, providing a continuity of community, learning and social interaction.

The Youth Opportunity Grants for summer camps include:

Christ Church, Poughkeepsie	$5,000
Grace Church, White Plains	$8,000
Haitian Congregation of the Good Samaritan	$5,000
Holyrood, Washington Heights	$6,000
Iglesia San Andres, Yonkers	$7,000
Manhattan North Inter Parish Council	$8,000
Mediator, Bronx	$8,000
St. David's, Bronx	$4,000
St. Edmund's, Bronx	$5,000
Sts. John, Paul & Clement	$4,850
St. Margaret's, Bronx	$5,000
St. Mary's, Manhattanville	$5,000
St. Matthew & St. Timothy's	$4,000
St. Peter's, Port Chester	$3,500
Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon	$7,500

TEEN PARENTING

Episcopal Charities responds to the needs of teen parents who live with the effects of poverty: domestic violence, addiction, street crime, substandard housing, and a sense of hopelessness through our teen parenting initiatives. By providing parenting and life skills training, GED preparation or re-entry into high school, translation and immigration assistance, our programs awaken a sense of self worth in teen parents and their children by inspiring creativity and promoting healthy nurturing relationships between parents and children.

The Youth Opportunity Grants for teen parenting include:

Open Space Teen Parenting, St. George's Newburgh	$6,800
New Direction Teen Parenting, MLK Cultural Center, St. Andrew's, Beacon	$3,433