Sponsored Content From Amazon
“Community.” Now, there’s a word that gets thrown around a lot. What does it mean to you? Depending on who you ask, you’ll get a different answer. Yet, if you ask enough people, recurring themes emerge. Shared purpose, interests, or passions; common objectives; shared identity. No doubt, your community played some part in helping you through the pandemic which is, thankfully, almost in the rearview mirror. In Seattle, we are fortunate to have many organizations that are crucial to caring for our community.
Nearly 60 years ago, then-high school student Joe Staton was at his house in the Central District, when O.L. Mitchell and Booth Gardner walked up to the door. Joe’s dad, not knowing why they were there, wondered what Joe had done to have these two gentlemen approach their home. Turns out, this visit was positive and one that would introduce Joe to a new community, forever changing his life in ways he could only imagine.
In 1964, O.L., Booth, and their friend Charles Huey, founded a new organization called the Central Area Youth Association (CAYA) with the goal of helping to provide education, recreation, and social development activities for youth between the ages of 9-18 in the Central Area. Fast-forward to 2021 and you’ll see that CAYA is still here, enduring nearly 60 years later, continuing to serve the community and mission to positively empower youth and equip them with the skills and confidence necessary to realize their potential.
In 2013, another organization was formed to help youth in the community called Mentoring Urban Students and Teens (MUST). The mission of MUST is to help break the cycle of poverty for youth and young adults through professional, long-term, paid mentoring. MUST serves African-American male youth who are the most vulnerable to dropping out of high school and/or becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. MUST helps them successfully graduate high school, attend college or become established in a stable career, and mature into adulthood equipped to be in healthy relationships and reach their full potential.
Executive Director Kelvin Washington Jr. and his colleagues at MUST have seen tremendous results. A Gates Foundation study, “The Role of Risk”, reported that quality mentoring like MUST provides reduces depression, increases acceptance by peers, and improves grades. Long-term mentoring helps with school attendance, reduces substance abuse, and reduces deviant behavior in school. Specifically, the MUST program’s high school graduation rate is 81% (compared to SPS’ Black graduation rate of 73%), with college attendance at 68%, and their collective efforts netting an estimated lifetime value of $12.8m for their participants.
These organizations are just two examples of the many out there doing the work, doing all they can to support their community. They are also two of the 13 organizations that support communities of color in Seattle’s Central Area that recently received meaningful financial contributions from Amazon. The funds will help sustain active programs relating to equity and social justice, youth development, arts and culture, upskilling and workforce, and sustainability.
For CAYA, the dollars will allow for additional assistance for its 2021 Summer Leadership Camp, which provides education, recreation, and leadership programs for youth in the Central Area. This program focuses on development of youth aged: 8-16yrs through enhancement of basic skills in the areas of math, reading and writing, STREAM, Coding, debate, history, basketball and other sports activities, music, field trips, etiquette training, art classes, stage production/performance, and much more.
“I cannot begin to convey how grateful we all are to have received these funds at such a critical time in our organization’s history. As people are emerging from the cloud of the pandemic, this support will help us to have broader positive impact in the lives of youth here in the Central District,” said Joe Staton, CAYA alumnus and Executive Director.
MUST will use the donation to purchase sports equipment to bolster its youth programs. “As we enter post-pandemic life and summer begins, the youth in our programs will have even more energy and desire to get out and get active. The support we’ve received from Amazon will better equip us to help channel that energy for positive outcomes” said Kelvin Washington Jr., MUST Executive Director.
Seattle is fortunate to be home to organizations like CAYA, MUST and others that contribute to the health and well-being of its communities. By investing in these organizations that are woven into the fabric of the Central District and have improved lives across previous, current, and future generations, Amazon aims to continue to grow its positive impact on its shared community.
