Seeking Opportunity at Every Turn

Author: Stephanie Whitham

Intern, GreenLight Fund Bay Area

In early 2013, GreenLight Fund selected Genesys Works to be its first portfolio organization to import into the San Francisco Bay Area. Genesys Works is a national nonprofit organization that started in Houston, Texas over 12 years ago to help change the life trajectories for low-income students through meaningful work opportunities with a region’s best companies. GreenLight is investing $1.165M over five years to support students like Peony Yu (story below) with Genesys Works’ launch and growth in the Bay Area.

Many have experienced “senioritis,” or having no motivation during senior year in high school. It is hard to avoid with all the excitement of the celebrations, college acceptances, and graduation just around the corner. Peony Yu not only avoided senioritis, but she made her senior year one of the most productive and meaningful times of her high school career.

Peony was born and raised in Oakland, CA by her mother and described herself as a curious child, always wanting to try new things. When Peony saw a presentation by Genesys Works at her high school during her junior year, she learned she could have the opportunity to be placed in a year-long program that would match her with a paid internship as well as help with the college application process. Peony was immediately drawn to the fantastic opportunity, and was encouraged by her mother and brother to take a chance and try something new.

Peony applied and was accepted to be part of the pilot cohort of young professionals for Genesys Works Bay Area. After initial acceptance into the program, Peony then attended an eight-week summer training where she learned to communicate and take initiative in a professional setting, as well as technical skills that Peony would use during her internship. At the end of the eight weeks, Peony was assigned to work for Gensler, an architecture firm in downtown San Francisco. Landen Zernickow, Program Coordinator and Alumni Success Manager at Genesys Works Bay Area, remembers Peony beginning the training as one of the more quiet students of the group, but by the end of the training Peony was taking initiative and was becoming more comfortable advocating for herself.

As Peony began her senior year, she was faced with the challenge of managing a difficult schedule that included multiple Advanced Placement and Honors classes and an internship where she would work until 5 p.m. 5 days a week, plus, she was working hard to complete her college applications.

Beyond the challenge of managing many commitments, Peony remembers being very nervous her first day working at Gensler, concerned that she was not fully prepared to handle her responsibilities. Peony was surprised at how quickly she was able to complete tasks, with her supervisor giving her more and more work as her internship progressed through the school year. When I asked Peony if her internship was what she expected she happily responded, “I didn’t expect to have fun!” She thought she was just going to go to work and that would be it, but she realized she made valuable connections with her co-workers and enjoyed her projects and tasks. Peony described some of her biggest lessons learned as “not being afraid to make mistakes, and learning how to adapt to a different work environment that includes communicating with and asking co-workers for help.” 

Peony and Peter Katz, Executive Director of Genesys Works - Bay Area, at the 2013 Breaking Through Ceremony

Approximately 8 months into her internship and senior year, Peony was accepted to the University of California – Irvine and plans study Biological Science. Peony is excited about attending college, and credits Genesys Works for giving her the extra confidence to be more outgoing and seek out new opportunities. She is even planning to join the dance team at UC-Irvine to help meet new people and try something she has not done before. However, before she even thinks of being on UC-Irvine’s campus, she will complete the remainder of her 12-month internship with Gensler at the end of this summer.

Class of 2013 - Genesys Works Bay Area Breaking Through Ceremony

One of Genesys Works’ goals is not only to support students to access college, but to also support their persistence to college graduation – more than 95% of Genesys Works graduates go on to college, with more than 86% persisting beyond their first year. Like all Genesys Works Bay Area alumni, Peony will have Genesys Works as a resource throughout her collegiate career. Staff will continue to work with each of the young professionals to ensure they are on the path to success to matriculate and graduate from post-secondary institutions.

Peony does not know what she wants to do after graduating from college. However, she hopes to have a job where she can travel and continue to foster her curiosity – with her new mantra leading the way: “never say no to an opportunity.”

Why I Volunteer: A Peer Health Exchange Educator Shares His Inspiration

Guest post by: Anthony Almazan

Peer Health Exchange Volunteer

Peer Health Exchange (PHE), GreenLight Boston’s fourth portfolio organization, works to give teenagers the knowledge and skills they need to make healthy decisions. They do this by training college students to teach a comprehensive health curriculum in public high schools that lack health education. In this guest post Anthony Almazan, a second-year PHE volunteer from Harvard University, shares how he inspires and is inspired by his students.

Every week or so, I step into a new classroom full of 9th graders, ready to share my knowledge around health and wellness. Nearly thirty times I’ve delivered the scripted lines of my Peer Health Exchange curriculum, peppered with the same “spontaneous” jokes for extra flavor. But no two classrooms are ever the same. The wild laughter in one classroom might be replaced by diligent silence in another. The classrooms reflect the diversity of the students themselves, who hail from various backgrounds, carry a variety of different preconceptions about their health and fall along a vast spectrum of tolerance for my attempts at being funny. The students I encounter never fail to get me thinking about my place in these classrooms. This past year, three very different students reminded me why I love getting up at 6 a.m. to ensure Boston’s teenagers are empowered with accurate information to make good decisions about their health. 

Peer Health Exchange volunteers in the classroom.

Peer Health Exchange volunteers in the classroom.

There was the student who trusted me. She was a girl of few words who sank quietly into the back of the classroom. I finished my workshop, but she stayed behind to catch me on my way out. She had been waiting to ask me privately if a specific activity she had engaged in could put a teenager at risk of an unplanned pregnancy. It was a simple question, but it was an important exchange for the both of us. Asking these kinds of questions as a teenager is not easy, and identifying trusted sources of support can be even more difficult. For students who may not feel comfortable talking to a parent or teacher about these issues, having a Peer Health Exchange volunteer in the classroom could mean being able to ask a question that would otherwise go unanswered – and could potentially threaten their health. An encounter like this one is exactly why I like to wait around the classroom a bit after my workshops end, just in case student gathers the courage to ask me something that could be entrusted to no one else.

There was the student who challenged me. Confident and outspoken, he was the school’s resident skeptic. He criticized the validity of our curriculum, demanded sources for our statistics, and made sure to interrupt me to point out if I ever misspoke. Unsure if he was genuinely frustrated with our workshop, I spoke to him individually as the rest of the class began a group activity. I asked him where he learned so much about this topic, and told him that I had nothing but respect for his knowledge. He loosened up for the rest of the class period, and during our discussions he contributed some of the most insightful comments I had ever heard in my workshops. I returned to his school a few weeks later for another workshop and passed him in the hallway. He greeted me with a smile and a “What’s up, man?” Students like him remind me of the importance of our volunteers’ roles in these classrooms. We trade in strict discipline for witty banter and the benefit of the doubt, knowing that our goal is not simply to direct a classroom but to engage its students in meaningful discussions about their health. Our volunteers know that not too long ago, we were sitting in classrooms like the ones we now teach in, and by capitalizing on what we share, we open up important lines of dialogue with our teenagers.

There was the student who inspired me. She was the attentive girl who sat in the front row poised to absorb my every word. She was the kind of student who made teaching about tough topics easy. I returned to her school a few months later to teach a different group of students and saw her familiar face on the way to my classroom. She stopped me in the hallway to hand me a flyer for an HIV/AIDS awareness event and to tell me that Peer Health Exchange had motivated her to help plan the event by joining a local health advocacy organization. I asked her how Peer Health Exchange had encouraged her to get so involved. Her answer? “You were all so inspiring.” She is a testament to the power of a group of volunteers that genuinely cares about the health of our teenagers—that doesn’t just teach about health but firmly believes in everyone’s right to it. We recruit volunteers who are passionate about the health of our students based on the conviction that our conversations in these classrooms can teach these students to care, not just for their own health, but also for the well being of those around them.

A friend once asked me why I choose to dedicate so much time to Peer Health Exchange. These three students are the answer to that question. Our volunteers step into each classroom with good intentions, and every so often, we encounter a student who gains something immeasurably valuable and reminds us why we do what we do.

Addressing Disparities: GreenLight Philadelphia Identifies Three High-need Issue Areas

Author: Salomon Moreno-Rosa
Program Associate, GreenLight Fund Philadelphia

As GreenLight Philadelphia embarks on its second annual selection cycle, we are working with our Selection Advisory Council to take a proactive look at the critical needs of the city and identifying national organizations that would be a strong fit in our community. After months of discussions and surveying key local leaders in the nonprofit sector, venture capital and entrepreneurial communities, local government and academic community, GreenLight is focusing on three high-need issues on which we believe we have the greatest opportunity for impact. Below I have briefly outlined these issues and potential approaches we could pursue in addressing the problems.

Youth Exiting Prisons:

Mayor Michael Nutter has made addressing crime and public safety a key focus for his administration’s second term by exploring innovative ways to curb high recidivism and reentry rates in Philadelphia. Reflecting the adage: “the best anti-crime tool is a job,” the administration’s strategy is to foster public and private partnerships that can provide this at-risk population with work opportunities and marketable skills. [1]

Every year, approximately 19,000 inmates are released from Pennsylvania state prisons. 30% of these individuals (over 6,500 people) return to Philadelphia. [2] As the average percentage of re-arrests within the first three years or release climbs to 66 percent -- and nearly 80% for young adults -- the imperative for connecting ex-offenders with stable employment and other services is a major need. [3]

High recidivism rates have immense costs for the city in terms of crime, the price of repeated and extended incarceration, and the loss of wage and sales taxes that employed, productive residents contribute. A study commissioned by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia found that for every 100 ex-offenders connected to employment, the city generates $2.7 million in additional tax revenue over the employees’ lifetimes. The study also found more than $2 million in savings on corrections, probation, and parole. [4]

A growing body of research suggests targeted interventions in the first year after release - when ex-offenders are most motivated to turn their lives around – are most effective at cutting recidivism rates and achieving long-term behavior change and job stability.

In our search for promising approaches to lowering recidivism, GreenLight is looking at models that target ex-offenders in these early years and have results helping them get and keep jobs and resist repeat offenses.

Teacher Development & Retention:

The United States faces a teacher retention problem. Over the past 15 years, teacher attrition has risen sharply across the country, impacting student achievement and exhausting resources for our nation’s classrooms. It is no surprise that teacher effectiveness improves with experience with the steepest learning curve in teachers’ first few years in the classroom. However, due to a high rate of new teacher turnover, many teachers drop out before reaching their peak effectiveness and becoming accomplished educators. Their departure is an expensive one – costing the United States an estimated $7.3 billion annually. Even more problematic, research shows that our highest-need schools are especially prone to high turnover rates. In Philadelphia, 70 percent of new teachers leave the district in six years. [5] It is a costly problem, for both schools and families, and by allowing high teacher attrition rates to persist, the student achievement gap will continue to grow.

The number of beginning teachers in the U.S. has climbed sharply over the past several decades. As a result, improvements to new teacher induction have gained momentum across the education world as a mechanism to develop and retain strong teachers through increased mentorship and support. Studies also show that beginning teachers who participated in some kind of induction had an impact on their students’ achievement through higher test scores and improved attendance. [6]

During a period of budget shortfalls for the School District of Philadelphia and the mounting costs associated with teacher turnover, there is a great opportunity to invest in innovative models to improve new teacher induction and in the process, improve learning outcomes for Philadelphia’s students.

Early Childhood Education:

Much attention has been focused lately on access to quality early childhood education. From statehouses [7] to the White House [8], policymakers are focusing on early childhood education as a way to address the achievement gap in low-income communities. The effectiveness of high-quality pre-K in preparing students to learn, begin schools with the literacy skills they need to succeed, and lessen the need for remedial education later on is well documented. Early childhood education has also been shown to help mitigate language and behavioral development gaps that often form in students who come from poverty. [9] While social and academic benefits make strong arguments for increased investments in early education, the financial incentives are just as prudent. A study conducted by Nobel Laureate economist, John Heckman, found that for every dollar invested in early childhood education society generates as much as $7 in savings. [10]

However, in Philadelphia, access to high quality early childhood education programs remains a major hurdle for many low-income families. In southeastern Pennsylvania, approximately 60 percent of children under the age of five are in a childcare setting (fig. below). Of those, only 14 percent are considered high-quality. [11] Philadelphia’s needs are two-fold: providing more access to childcare (increasing childcare slots) for young children who receive informal care, no care, or spend months on Head Start and Early Head Start waiting lists; and increasing the overall availability of high-quality childcare services, including center- and kin-based programs.

Ensuring school readiness and healthy physical and cognitive development for Philadelphia’s 100,000 children under the age of five is critical to the long-term vitality of the city and its residents. It is concerning that out of 2,052 early childhood education programs, over half (58%) have no quality rating at all. Bolstering the prevalence of accreditation services and helping the slew of programs without quality ratings to become accredited is a key strategy to improving quality of childcare programs.

GreenLight is exploring models that work to ensure family-based childcare programs create learning environments for children and their caretakers to excel in school and beyond.

GreenLight Philadelphia has begun intensive, early-stage conversations with the city, local nonprofits and proven models across the country about addressing some of the major issues confronting our region. GreenLight sees great opportunity to make a long-term impact in Philadelphia by focusing on those issues where there is public awareness and demand to take action. Right now, three major issues we believe are most ripe with innovative approaches: expanding early childhood education, increasing teacher effectiveness, and connecting youth exiting the prison system with sustainable employment. Through an emphasis on these issue areas, we are excited to continue our pursuit of a concerted and collective effort to improve the opportunities and outcomes for all Philadelphia residents.

Sources Referenced:
[1] http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Ex-Offenders_Protest_Nutters_Speech_To_Chamber.html
[2] http://www.phillytrib.com/component/k2/item/493-phila-recidivism-rate-proves-costly.html
[3]http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/document/1324154/2013_pa_doc_recidivism_report_pdf
[4] http://economyleague.org/files/Ex-Offenders_Exec_Summ_for_web.pdf
[5] http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498001.pdf
[6] http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/16/kappan_ingersoll.h31.html
[7] http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-governor-corbetts-budget-increases-funding-for-education-by-387-million-new-initiatives-to-raise-student-achievement-243542871.html
[8] http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/03/04/obamas-2015-budget-more-early-education-funds-new-race-to-the-top
[9] The Long Reach of Early Childhood Poverty: Pathways and Impacts
[10] https://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/spring2011/Heckman.pdf
[11] http://www.dvaeyc.org/about/press-releases/city-maps-detail-child-care

Family Independence Initiative: Turning Communities into Families

Our GreenLight SpotLight series shares stories of impact from our portfolio organizations, clients and social entrepreneurs.

Author: Rebecca Simon

GreenLight Fund Development Intern

We recently met with one of the family members participating in the Family Independence Initiative (FII) at their office in Jamaica Plain. FII, GreenLight Boston’s fifth portfolio organization, empowers low-income families to move out of poverty through access to connections, choice and capital. Since 2001, FII has innovated and tested new approaches to economic and social mobility that demonstrate that low-income families have the initiative and capacity to move themselves and their communities out of poverty.

Families organize themselves in groups that meet monthly to share their goals and plans for improving their circumstances. At each meeting, the members report on their progress, help each other overcome barriers, identify resources they need to move forward and encourage each other. FII provides each household participating in the groups with a computer to provide data on what they’re doing.

As families set and work toward their goals, FII collects this data to understand the steps they’re taking, the barriers that hold them back, and the resources that will best support their efforts. FII is then able to invest resources based on the strengths and initiative families demonstrate towards improving their lives. These resources range from microloans to start businesses to technology-based services like Hello Wallet and Rental Karma to manage their finances and improve their credit. It is an incredibly innovative approach to poverty alleviation and the results are promising. In the first two years in Boston, families saw an average 20% increase in income. Savings went up 259% on average, and indicators on housing situations, health and well-being all rose significantly.

However, the most compelling illustration of FII’s success is best reflected in the stories of family members like Jo Ann.

Photo credit: Carl Mastandrea

Jo Ann, born in Puerto Rico, moved first to New York as a child and then to Boston where she bounced around from aunt to aunt. Today, Jo Ann lives in Jamaica Plain and has three children and five grandchildren. She was first introduced to FII through a family member who asked her to join one of the meetings.

Jo Ann was at first skeptical about FII. She wondered if it was a scam that would take money and time from the members and give nothing in return. Though it sounded too good to be true, Jo Ann decided to give it a try. After learning more and meeting other families in FII, Jo Ann took a leap of faith and signed on as one of the original 35 members of FII in Boston.

In joining FII, Jo Ann had a number of goals she wanted to achieve, primarily to go back to school. With the encouragement of her FII group, she joined her 22-year old son at Bunker Hill Community College to get a degree in human resources. She also took courses in information technology – skills she brought back to her FII group. FII gave Jo Ann not only the springboard she needed to achieve her goals, but also the confidence to be a leader in a group. When she was asked to lead a group meeting she was hesitant at first: “I had never led anything in my life and I had no knowledge of what I was going to do, but I said all right, I am going to try it.”

Now as an FII Fellow, Jo Ann takes her role seriously. The job of an FII Fellow is to lead projects and initiatives within the FII community, encourage families to work together and to create and offer resources to achieve goals. From the start, Jo Ann encouraged her group to rely on each other, share ideas and meet more often. Everyone participates in her group, and when one person wants to quit, it becomes a team effort to make sure that person knows they have many shoulders to lean on. Jo Ann’s enthusiasm is contagious and her group has come to know and love her signature drum roll. “We’re the loudest group…when someone achieves a goal or does something positive, drum roll!” 

Photo credit: Carl Mastandrea

Within just a few months of being at FII, Jo Ann saw a lot of changes in herself. She became more extroverted, social and open to hearing other people’s advice and opinions. Most surprisingly to herself, Jo Ann noticed that she started to turn to the other members of her FII group for help and advice, whereas before she would have asked one of her numerous relatives. Said Jo Ann, “on top of all of the resources, you get a family. I have a lot of family and so many cousins, but when I need something, I turn to my FII family first because I know there’s real sisterhood support there.”

One of Jo Ann’s main goals these days is to recruit new members to FII. She told us that when things fall apart, FII provides a sense of determination, perseverance and hope. She explains to the people in her community that “FII gives us a support network. You bring information to the group and you get information in return. It isn’t a place where it’s all ‘give me, give me’ and you get nothing in return. Everyone has something to give and something to offer.”