Seattle Mayor Ed Murray recently announced the 11 awardees of the Youth Opportunity Fund, a $142,000 fund to support programs that provide positive youth development activities for young people.
According to city officials, The Fund, which is part of the City’s Youth Opportunity Initiative, was established to help ensure that all youth in Seattle have access to the opportunities and resources needed to allow them to thrive and successfully become an adult. Key elements toward achieving this goal include education, employment, safety, health, and positive connections.
“Providing youth, particularly youth of color, enriching experiences has been a key focus of my administration and the Youth Opportunity Cabinet,” said Murray. “These youth programs, ranging from media production to starting your own business and cultural education, will provide young adults life-changing exposure to new skills, personal development opportunities, and pathways to higher education and careers.”
2017 Youth Opportunity Fund Awards:
Somali Family Safety Task Force – $15,000 to support 10-12 East African youth ages 14-20 through a 12-week program with a peer mentoring component. College preparedness, introduction to STEM, potential fields for employment, and environmental awareness will be among the subjects covered.
Good Shepherd Youth Outreach – $15,000 to implement the 13-week Standing Tall Mentoring Program at South Shore School for 15 African American males ages 11-14. The program’s components include future employment options, academic engagement, mentoring, and active involvement in community engagement projects.
Multi-Media Resource & Training Institute – $15,000 to implement a 10-week media program for East African, Black and African American men ages 18-24 years of age. The program will teach media production, media literacy, critical thinking and leadership and job readiness skills.
Community Passageways – $8,200 for an entrepreneur training program for five young men who have been or are currently court-involved. The program will build on participants’ strengths and include training in mechanics and auctions and on starting a business, in addition to ongoing mentoring.
Reel Grrls – $12,075 to teach youth career skills, media production, poetry and spoken word for up to 20 students at Chief Sealth High School.
Somali Community Service of Seattle – $13,450 for refugee/immigrant youth ages 18-24 to plan, implement, and participate in workshops and community forums with the Seattle Police Department, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Seattle Public Schools. The workshop will include community and school safety issues and conflict resolution.
The Backpack Academy – $9,267 to provide landscape training to youth of color up to the age of 24. The program will include entry level training for youth interested in working in the field of landscape and design.
Hella Black Hella Seattle – $15,000 for three internships for the podcast “Hella Black Hella Seattle” that will focus on training youth of color in marketing, editing and broadcasting.
Filipino Community in Seattle – $10,233 for a collaboration with Youth Theater Northwest to provide theater workshops for middle and high school students, culminating in a play based on a Filipino folktale.
Latino Community Fund – $14, 978 for a peer, train-the-trainer program for Latinx youth in South Seattle that will focus on health, environmental justice, education and civic engagement.
Urban Native Education Alliance – $14,475 to produce a program for Native American youth ages 9-14 that offers culturally-based athletic activities. These activities will improve health and self-esteem, strengthen youth’s connection with Native traditions, culture, and community, and improve life skills.
