| The
YouthForce Gazette
Youth
Development That Works.
Did you go
to Bumbershoot this year? If you did, you likely were
assisted by one of the 30 amazing teens that YouthForce provided for
the event. Great kids using their skills in positive ways. It's what
we are all about, and what we do best.
Annual
Report Edition
What a
year it's been for YouthForce. Nothing short of transformative. As
we wrap up our fiscal year it's finally time to take a breath and
look back on our overall accomplishments. You might want to buckle
your seat belt because it's been a wild, thrilling and successful
year. Enjoy!
Jeffrey Stein - Executive Director
Report
Highlights
- YF developed three new program offerings (the TeamWork,
Leadership, and Informational Interview Programs). Programming
that provides a developmental ladder of employment, volunteer, and
leadership experiences.
- Increased internship opportunities from 37 to 98- a
250% increase from 2005
- Expanded our employer partners with great companies
like Qwest Field, the Allen Foundation, Expeditors, Amazon.com,
Flow International, KPMG and others.
- Successfully served our target population. 82% of our
teens represent Seattle's minority communities, 83% receive low
income assistance.
- For the third year in a row, more than 90% of our teens met or
exceeded employer expectations.
- Our organizational development effort resulted in a new
program logic model, an updated business plan and a professional
financial analysis.
- Expanded our communication efforts with a major
redesign of our Teenjobs.org website and bi-monthly newsletter.
- Doubled our Board of Directors with committed
professionals who are sharing their time and talent.
And those are just the highlights! Read on for details
and stories.
Teen and
Program Accomplishments
 YouthForce
teens hard at work preparing for an interview. (photo left)
It was a
busy year for the YouthForce family! Our dedicated and passionate
team partnered with staff and teachers at every Seattle high school,
over 20 community programs, and many of Seattle's leading employers
to achieve our goals. Check out our 2005-06 statistics and
accomplishments.
Over the
past twelve months YouthForce:
- Coordinated 98 internships- a 250% increase from 2005
- Provided 15,577 hours of mentored employment- nearly
50% more than 2005
- Internships averaged 36.3 weeks at $9.86/hr (more than
$2 above minimum wage!)
- 82% of our interns represented Seattle's minority
communities achieving our mission to promote economic
diversity
- 83% of our interns qualify for school lunch assistance
so our paid internships serve teens who need work to help
their families
- 29 interns completed 80 mentor- reviewed learning
reports - up 266% from 2005
- Demand from teens increased again, with over 650
applications from 328 Seattle teens, 208 WA State teens and
120 nationwide
- Teens are referred to YF from: schools (35%),
friends/family (26%), Internet (28%) and community programs (11%)
demonstrating our community role.
- Posted a successful 91% teen internship completion rate and
employer satisfaction rating. This number has held steady the
past three years.
Our most
sincere thanks to those who support teens by providing the rare
opportunity to participate and contribute among adults. It's what
they most want and need. So, here to our heroes- YouthForce's
2005-06 employer partners: AlphaCine Labs, Allen Institute for
Brain Science, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Amazon.com, Coughlin
Porter Lundeen, Cushman & Wakefield, Expeditors International,
Experience Music Project, Qwest Field/First and Goal, Inc., Flow
International, Helsell Fetterman, PopCap Games, Second Use, Stoel
Rives LLP, Tatley-Grund LLP, Wong Doody, and
ZymoGenetics.
Program
Growth
 Our
professional internships succeed because they meet the needs of
teens with a demonstrated career interest. For the young people who
come to us without a clear vision of their future goals, we created
three new programs to help them develop career interests and
employment skills. The success of our TeamWork, Leadership
and Informational Interview Programs have exceeded all of
our expectations- and the kids have responded with amazing energy,
dedication and care. We are so proud of them.
Our new
TeamWork Program is an experiential learning program that
utilizes employment, volunteer and mentoring to guide teens growth.
The centerpiece of this program is our partnership with the
Seahawks Organization and First and Goal Inc, who hire
up to 60 program members to form "the HawkSquad" at Seattle Seahawks
games. As HawkSquad members, teens apply the communication,
leadership, problem solving and cultural awareness skills learned
over the year to provide positive fan support in the ProShop,
Halftime shows, pre-game activities and all over the stadium.
Our
Leadership Program provides a wide range of experiences for
teens to grow. Whether as peer-counselors, business developers or
webmasters in our office, or as team leaders within our TeamWork
program, the goal of this program is to further develop teens core
competencies in teamwork, problem solving, communication and
responsibility. Simply put, this is leadership at work.
And
lastly, this year we implemented our new Informational Interview
Series. This program prepares and provides teens for
informational interviews with amazing area business and community
leaders. These conversations help teens learn how others have
achieved, the common struggles we all face and the outcome of their
determination. In our first year, teens interviewed Jeffrey
Brotman, CEO of Costco, Howard Schultz, CEO of
Starbucks, and Peter Rose, CEO of Expeditors
International!
Organizational Growth
During the
development of our new programs, we took the opportunity to evaluate
the social and entrepreneurial sides of YouthForce. YouthForce was
fortunate to work with Dawn Hanson-Smart of Clegg &
Associates, who guided a review of our new and existing
programs. Dawn helped to create a unified Program Logic Model
that maps out how YouthForce impacts our teens. Here's a few of
our core outcome measures:
- Youth are more aware that they are in control of their choices
and future path
- Youth take personal responsibility for their actions,
demonstrate self-initiative, and persevere to achieve their goals
- Youth have gained the academic, employment, and community
experiences needed for resumes and college and scholarship
applications
To learn more about our Program Logic Model
and core outcomes, please visit www.teenjobs.org
We
launched our quarterly, then bi-monthly newsletter (yes, this
newsletter) which was read by over 1200 friends of YouthForce. And
we enjoyed great visibility in the form of an article in the
Seattle Times that ran on the front page of their
Sunday Jobs section. Check
it Out!
This year
we doubled the size of our board, welcoming committed professionals
with business development, HR, and entrepreneurial experience. The
committed energy, focus, and wisdom they bring to our organization
every month adds tremendous value to our work. Thanks to everyone
for sharing so graciously their time and energy this year.
Financials
We
gratefully welcomed some new supporters including the Costco, Key
Bank, KPMG and Satterberg Foundations. We were also thrilled to
welcome back the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation (a three
year grant!) and the Kirkpatrick Foundation. We absolutely
couldn't do it without you!
Over the
year, as our internships grew, cash flow became a major focus area.
Last year we had 20 teens and a biweekly payroll of about $5,500-
today we have 65 teens and a payroll of over $16,000!!! Yikes!! But
these services earn YouthForce over $45,000, covering a third of our
total program expenses.
To help
contextualize this incredible growth, and it's impact on YouthForce,
Tiffany McVeety of Community Capital Development and
the Northwest Womens Business Center led a detailed
evaluation of YouthForce's financial model, value proposition, and
market opportunities. The result was new clarity that improved and
expanded our business and financial partnerships, and a clearer
understanding of the balanced social and entrepreneurial work that
makes YouthForce unique and successful.
YouthForce Balance Sheet Oct 2, 06
ASSETS
Total
Current Assets: 44,633.22
Fixed Assets: 5,762.43
Other Assets
350.00
TOTAL ASSETS 50,745.65
LIABILITIES &
EQUITY
Total Liabilities 81,612.14
Equity -30,866.49
TOTAL
50,745.65
End
Note
 It’s been
a year full of wonderful accomplishments, partnerships, and growth.
And with each new year more high-achieving, under-served teens apply
to Teenjobs.org in hopes of reaching for their future dreams through
a mentored internship experience. Hire a teen, and make a
difference today!
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