StudioSTL
2008 YouthBridge Award
The 2008 winner of the YouthBridge grant was StudioSTL led by Beth Ketcher. Studio STL empowers youth by helping them
discover, develop, and celebrate their individual voices through writing. All of
their programs are based on our belief that a literary toolbox and writing skills
- whether for fun, for school, in personal and professional life - are
indispensable lifelong gifts.
At StudioSTL, they bring writers together with youth, ages
6 to 18, to partner on one-of-a-kind writing projects. Since 2005, the
StudioSTL writing community has worked with more than 300 St. Louis youth to publish
two bound books, five newspapers (5000 circulation) and two magazines (1000
circulation). They've proudly shared their written work at poetry
readings, on radio, at launch parties and author signings. And perhaps best of
all, they've become part of the StudioSTL writing community, continuing to pen
brilliant written works. They create, imagine, dream, ponder and question --
all in a nurturing writer's haven -- where they learn a bit more about writing
and lots more about themselves. We're proud of our StudioSTL and their writers and their volunteer
community whose unending dedication make possible their free writing programs.
To read more about StudioSTL, visit http://www.studiostl.org.
Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition:
The Exchange
2009 YouthBridge Award
The winner of the 2009 YouthBridge SEIC YouthBridge Award was The Exchange, a proposed resale shop of the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition. The Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition is a non-profit agency,
founded in 1989 with the support of the
United
Way of Greater St.
Louis.
The Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition does two things:
- Recruitment: We are one of the area’s largest
recruiter of foster/adoptive homes because of our partnerships with the local
media, including KSDK and 13 local
newspapers.
- Resource Center: Foster and adoptive parenting is a
rewarding—but demanding—job. We offer many supports to parents,
including support groups, training,
advocacy, newsletters, a resale
shop, and the Little Wishes program.
The Coalition consists of 38 member agencies, including the area’s
most-respected public and private agencies. Our staff
is made up of foster/adoptive parents and child welfare professionals with a
broad range of expertise. As a non-profit, 501(c)(3)
agency, we are overseen by a Board of Directors. The board is made
up of a variety of corporate and child welfare representatives, many of whom
are foster/adoptive parents.
For more information on how you can help make The Exchange a reality or to read about the Featured Child of the Week, go to http://www.foster-adopt.org/.
Five Local Ventures Win Seed Money in 2009: Awards totaled $150,000
The largest award pool for social entrepreneurship in the U.S. was split five ways on April 23, 2009, when winners of the YouthBridge Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition (SEIC) were announced at Washington university in St. Louis. The five finalists were chosen from an original field of 42 entrants and represent diverse ventures with missions to provide educational, cultural and vocational training.
Ken Harrington, Director of the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at WUSTL announced the winners:
- Fathers Support Center Legal Clinic provides affordable, certified paralegal services to non-custodial fathers, received th $30,000 Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis Award
- Missouri Women in Trades promotes the professional and personal empowerment of women throug careers in the construction trades, received the $25,000 Daughters of Charity Foundation of St. Louis award
- Rupununi Learners promotes literacy in the remote Rupununi region of Guyana by delivering books to $10,000 students, received the $25,000 Skandalaris Foundation award
- The Exchange a proposed resale shop of the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition targeting teens and young adults received $35,000 from the YouthBridge Community Foundation
- The Urban Studio Cafe, a social venture of the Urban Stuidio which uses the creative process for youth development and community building, received the $30,000 Deaconess Foundation award. WUSTL student Claire Wolff MSW '09 received the $5,000 student award for her work with the Urban Studio Cafe.
The 42 entrants in the 2009 competition are more than double the number from 2008, according to Ken Harrington, Director of the Skandalaris Center. "The free YouthBridge Workshops have really helped the teams produce great work. The entire process is impacting social entrepreneurship activity in the St. Louis region. Successful social enterprises increase our regional economy's productivity by adding jobs while reducing the government's costs."