The initiative will center on equity and inviting the community’s voice to guide improvements in educational, social-emotional, and health outcomes for youth throughout Greater Cincinnati, especially among those struggling to overcome poverty.
“The sponsorship of the Cradle to Career initiative is a natural fit for the Y,” said YMCA of Greater Cincinnati President and CEO Jorge Perez. “The COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest across our country exemplifies the need to support all youth by providing for them an environment that helps them achieve goals, develop supportive relationships and find a sense of belonging. Now, more than ever, we need to work together to strengthen the youth development journey from cradle to career.”
“The change in sponsorship from KnowledgeWorks to the YMCA will be an opportunity for us to rethink how we can better implement systems-level work,” said Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation Senior Vice President Leslie Maloney. “Moving forward, we will renew and improve our engagement with the community. We will bring the community to the table to help us co-design what collective impact can and should look like in Greater Cincinnati.”
StrivePartnership, the education leader that has collaborated on groundbreaking successes like the Cincinnati Preschool Promise, has helped establish collective impact across the country. It’s proven approach, with a focus on equity and serving each student from cradle to career has inspired others to do the same. The
StriveTogether network of nearly 70 such partnerships across the country was borne from StrivePartnership. KnowledgeWorks is proud to have founded both organizations and to have helped start a collective impact movement that is improving opportunities and outcomes for so many students. KnowledgeWorks will continue to provide funding to the organization for the next three years.
KnowledgeWorks and the YMCA have strengthened their collaboration during the pandemic, with KnowledgeWorks partially funding the Y’s pandemic childcare centers. The centers have cared for almost 600 children of essential personnel and has provided over 54,000 meals to children and families in our region.
“We’re grateful that the YMCA, under Jorge Perez’s leadership, has not only been able to sustain this transition during the COVID-19 pandemic but also sees the power of collective impact as being one of the solutions for the future success of our community. We look forward to our continuing engagement and investment in the community,” said KnowledgeWorks President Chuck Ambrose.
About StrivePartnership
The StrivePartnership recognizes that learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom. We are all a part of it. Beyond systems and institutions, learning happens through community and influencers. It’s all part of what we call the learning ecosystem. This ecosystem will determine the future of our region’s children. It is both intimate and comprehensive, including parents and teachers, mentors and business leaders, grassroots activists and funders. For more information about the StrivePartnership, visit the website StrivePartnership.org.
