We’ve empowered 858 kids outdoors since our founding in 2018.
We’ve empowered 858 kids outdoors since our founding in 2018.
This number is incredible! We are so proud of each of our 858 youth for trying something new and branching out of their comfort zones to join us. These youth are involved in our enrichment sessions after school, outdoor field trips, online cooking classes, and more. Elevate Youth is looking forward to watching this number continue to grow.
In just 4 years, how did we reach over 800 youth? An excellent question: Elevate Youth’s programming model reaches our kids through partnerships with schools and other community organizations. These organizations have pre-existing foundations of community engagement and family communication. This approach embeds Elevate Youth deeper into the communities we serve, increases engagement, and allows us to more effectively reach those in the greatest need.
Over the years, Elevate Youth is proud to have partnered with The Thomas J. Kenny School, The James W. Hennigan School, The Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester (BGCD), Kaipod, Sibling Connections, Strong Women Strong Girls, Cambridge Parks Program, Harlem Lacrosse, The BCYF Leahy Holloran Center, The West End House, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts. These partners are important to us because they allow us to spread access and connection to the outdoors with a wide spread of youth in the Greater Boston Area.
Many of the 858 young people we have served through outdoor programming come from low-income communities in Greater Boston, primarily neighborhoods in Dorchester, Mattapan, East Boston, and Jamaica Plain. 80% of the youth we empower through our programming are youth of color. All of our kids are in middle school between the ages of 10-14 years old. We have a nearly even 51% male and 49% female split. Additionally, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education categorizes 88% of the young people in our programming as “economically disadvantaged.”
We know their neighborhood, race, gender, and socioeconomic status will impact how our 858 youth experience being outside. For example, whether youth feel safe outside or have green spaces nearby to explore are essential markers for long-term outdoor engagement. Elevate Youth’s community-focused model allows us to show youth how to engage with the outdoors in their own neighborhoods. By playing outdoor games after school, taking youth to nearby trails, and providing them with safe equipment, we are making the outdoors more accessible to middle schoolers in Boston.
We are proud to have successfully reached 858 youth in the last four years. You can be the spark to support Elevate Youth empowering over 1,000 kids in 2023. Consider making a year-end donation now, or support us year-round by becoming a monthly donor.
Elevate Youth will be sharing our important data this winter as a part of our year-end fundraising campaign. You’re invited to join our email list (at the bottom of the page) to stay up to date, or follow along with us on social media.
