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We're excited and honored to work with Urban Dove, a New York charity that provides young people, regardless of their economic or social background, the critical skills needed to develop into strong, successful adults who are economically independent. We caught up with Jai Nanda to find out more.
What is Urban Dove and why did you start it?
Urban Dove is a non-profit organization based in New York City that serves over 500 youth each year. We use a unique program model that combines sports, academics, peer-mentoring and life-skills education to energize, educate and empower at-risk youth. Urban Dove has served thousands of youth since 1998, and has achieved remarkable results despite operating in some of New York's most under-served communities. Our goal is to help our young people develop the critical life, academic and job skills they need to become healthy, independent and successful adults.
I started Urban Dove because I think all kids have the potential to achieve great things, but too many never reach that potential because of lack of opportunities due to their circumstances in life, through no fault of their own. I wanted to help make sure that every kid received the opportunities needed to excel in life. As a longtime coach and educator, I came to believe that it was often a lack of life-skills - communication, teamwork and leadership - that held young people back, and that sports and teams were great vehicles for teaching those skills. I started Urban Dove as a way to try and create programs that could use this philosophy to help kids reach their full potential and become successful, independent adults.
How can partnering with Elbi support your work?
Urban Dove is thrilled to be partnering with Elbi to help mobilize people around our mission so that we can continue to grow and help more kids. Each campaign we run will allow Elbi users to connect with Urban Dove's youth which provides opportunities for new connections and a more personal philanthropic experience. Our first campaign with Shanice is a perfect example of how we can highlight our work, help donors make a personal connection to the recipient of their donation, and help our kids be successful all with the click of an app.
Your first campaign highlights one of your college bound teens - Shanice - who is from East Harlem. What are the major challenges facing young people there and in the other communities you serve?
Urban Dove serves youth in three of the most under-served communities in New York City - the South Bronx, East Harlem, and Bedford-Stuyvesant. While there are many challenges faced by youth in these communities, low high school graduation rates (hovering at 50%) and even lower college enrolment rates (in the mid-teens) are the most significant. Without achieving these academic milestones, youth are more likely to remain in poverty, engage in crime, abuse substances and become teenage parents. Compounding the lack of academic success is the youth unemployment rate, which is near 90%, resulting in young people not getting the critical job skills and experience needed to sustain employment as adults.
What is Urban Dove's approach to helping young people like Shanice find success?
Urban Dove reaches hundreds of youth each year, building relationships that start in elementary school and last through college and beyond, all with the goal of helping our youth learn and develop the skills and confidence they need to grow into independent adults. As they achieve this independence, they not only change their own lives, but become agents of lasting change in their families and their communities. Urban Dove focuses its efforts on teenagers, ages 13-19. Our teen programs consist of two major elements: HiRisers, which is a peer-mentoring program that trains high school students to be coaches and mentors to younger children in their community, and College All-Stars, which provides those mentors with a comprehensive college prep curriculum to support their academic growth through high school on to college graduation. The programs work together, with HiRisers building confidence, self-esteem and teaching life and job skills while College All-Stars provides technical knowledge and academic support. Over a period of many years, youth engage in these programs and develop a stronger sense of self, become part of a positive "second family" peer group, and raise their expectations for themselves and their future. The outcomes speak for themselves:
For the past 8 years, 100% of our seniors have graduated high school, were accepted to college and enrolled in college and over 90% of our college enrolled students remain in college and are on track to graduate.
Now Shanice is a Freshman in college and the Elbi platform is going to allow users to encourage her be successful. What are some of the ways Urban Dove will support her and your other college enrolled students?
This is a critical step. We spend a great deal of time and effort in helping our youth select schools that are a good fit for them financially and socially. We continue to support our youth when they enroll in college by visiting them on campus in their first year. We have an alumni network that uses social media to keep everyone connected during the year. We also bring them together for holiday outings and dinners. Additionally, we support our alumni throughout their college careers by encouraging them to organize their school paperwork and financial aid and helping them with the transfer process if needed. We even have our own scholarship fund to help pay for school.
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