Anny idea's to reach our goal?
Caring to Gain is a concept aiming at developing a project, in which Youth care, Leisure Industry and education are sustainable combined.
Worldwide youth brought up in residential care encounter problems, caused amongst others by lack of vocational training and personal support. Combining Youth care and the leisure industry in an innovative way could be advantageous to both.
Impacts aimed for;
1. Increasing and sustaining financial resources,
2. The children have learned to fend for their selves physically and emotionally thus being able to take part in the day to day life.
3. The children will be equipped with the vocational skills needed to secure employment.
4. The community gains income generating and employment opportunities
5. The leisure industry will have a group of reliable trained and committed employee’s
6. The perception of the country will be positively influenced as a country with tourism potential and as a country with innovative idea’s.
The combination of youthcare and leisure industry is made as it is a growing sector able to provide employment. A sector that provides service oriented jobs which are intrinsically rewarding and which provide daily motivation.
To avoid overlapping and creating yet one more new project, this project tries to combine best practices of existing organizations by organizing round table meetings and implementing methods that have proven to be successful
What do we need to reach our goal?
1. Stakeholders that are prepared to spend time and energy on brainstorming about the contents and implementation of the project.
2. Research the most optimal and effective form of implementation and financing.
3. Partners who are willing to implement the pilot project.
4. Volunteers with skills and experience in the following sectors; education, psychology, marketing, commerce , tourism, culture ,multi media.
Clarification added June 6, 2009:
Dear readers
i am gratefull or your replies. May be it is worth adding the information that I have been involved in youth care and in tourism for the past 25 years. That there is a concept version of the plan (dealing with some of your remarks). That there are several parties seriously interested in the idea. But I need to find stakeholders who are willing to form a project group who will eveolve this plan in order to acguire finnances and an institute or organisation that is willing to implement a pilot project,.
For people who are seriously interested join my group Caring to Gain or send me an e amil so i can reply with the more detailed concept.
Regards
Leo
Answers (7)
Shay O.
Financial Education Speaker & Author of 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money
Network, network, network. As you stated, there are organizations that are already around trying to help with these goals. Partner with them to tap into thier programs, staff, and other networks.
Youth that grow up in residential programmes have load of problems, but great resilence. I know, I aged out at 18. I'm in the US, but let me know if I can help.
PEACE,
Shay Olivarria
President
Bigger Than Your Block
www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com
Leo -- commendable work. I'm familiar (peripherally) with a group headquartered in Boston called Year Up. I don't think this group focused on youth as young as I infer from your note, but it's a tremendously successful model for helping inner city kids gain 6 months of academic rigor plus a 6 month apprenticeship with a local business (usually for profit as I understand it, so different than your model). The suggestion to network makes a lot of sense! Connect with the people of Year Up to learn more about what they're doing, challenges, best practices etc. and they may be able to connect you with others who can help. I would be glad to offer any assistance I can in the meantime -- you can contact me at stephen.mcconnell@babson.edu Good luck! steve
Ryan M.
Vice President, Executive Director and Board Member
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Leo,
Your question is very broad. The "network, network, network" advice is good, but I believe you need significant definition of your goals before you can really start. Since you ask for ideas, Iwll give you a big one: Break down goals and impacts into much more discrete, definable parts. It will be difficult to get "stakeholders to spend time and energy" without concrete goals. Using this idea, I might recast some of your goals
- Get X stakeholders in related organizations to spend Y hours for Z weeks to develop a preliminary planning document
- Secure at least two volunteers to perform web research to identify at least ten potential sources of foundation funding with intersts in programs similar to ours.
- Secure one volunteer with program implementation experience to research and report on programs with similar goals and report on findings
- Reach out to these programs via contact with the executive directors in order to discuss ideas.
Well, I think you get the idea. In my experience, when asking for undefined commitments, you can get volunteers who love to talk about grand ideas, but are not necessarily suited for getting things done. By defining smaller increments and *exciting volunteers about your vision*, I believe you will have more success.
Best of luck,
Ryan
Mark B.
General Manager of Service Operations
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Hi Leo,
On the fundraising front, you could register yourselves as affiliates on sites like www.expertmagnet.com.
Once registered as an affiliate you can earn commissions from anyone you introduce that uses the site.
Just one option among many, but one with the option to provide ongoing revenue streams.
Regards,
Mark
Links:
Charley M.
Executive Director at GID
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SO are you doing the Van full of kids going town to town selling magizine subsciptions?
Gregory L. C.
Vice President at Children's Lantern Foundation
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CM raises a question that frankly I kind of percieved also. I would be interested in your higher ideals not just the vague items listed here. Kids working? With the cover of helping the community? My first paying job was shoveling snow at the age of 6 so I am pro work but this feels fishy.
Care to add elaboration for us skeptics?
Etta Lappen D.
Principal, Etsky Consulting
Best Answers in: Government Services (1), Nonprofit Fundraising (1), Nonprofit Management (1), Social Enterpreneurship (1), Professional Networking (1), Small Business (1)
Hello Leo,
As a social service consultant and a strong advocate for excellence in services for children and youth, I certainly support the notion of seeking innovative funding options.
I agree with other respondents, however, who have expressed skepticism. Based on this brief description of your concept, I wonder whether you have an understanding of the challenges and needs of many youth receiving residential services. I recommend that you contact and visit several residential programs so that you can gain realistic understanding of the cognitive, social and emotional skills and development of youth being served. Their needs may not be a good match for the leisure industry or for the kind of vocational training and positions you have in mind. For example, a teen in residential treatment might be in a food preparation vocational program; but before he can be employed in a kitchen, he must be able to control his explosive behavior when frustrated, so that he can be trusted to handle knives safely.
I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I hope you find a way to assist youth in need.
