After two years of planning and initial testing, our “Accelerating Impact” program is kicking into high gear for the third and final year of the pilot! Supported by the John Templeton Foundation, the pilot explores an age-based, student-led cohort model for helping young people tap into curiosity, perseverance, and sense of purpose to fuel their short and mid-range goals and interact in tight-knit small groups of peers in a way that represents and fosters their authentic interests, fears, dreams, and opportunities for learning and growing.
In March, at our Network headquarters in St. Louis, leaders from our first two pilot affiliates in Colorado and Guatemala shared what worked, what didn’t, and how to best use our “Accelerating Impact” online resources and customized implementation support. They advised the three affiliates who will be launching the program next year - Arizona, New York, and St. Louis. Ed Bowers, PhD and Luke Rapa, PhD from Clemson University, who are conducting the process and impact evaluation, gave excellent guidance on project data collection. The energetic conversations that ensued were a perfect way to launch the Boys Hope Girls Hope Network’s “Forward Together” leadership gathering.
Over the next year, all five affiliates will be implementing the program and participating in the evaluation process. instrumental in fine-tuning the “Accelerating Impact” model and its goal of connecting with young people in ways that We’re grateful for the John Templeton Foundation’s belief in our approach and the tremendous potential for “Accelerating Impact” groups to ignite hope in many more young lives! In addition to enhancing our program impacts, we have seen the collaboration enrich collaboration among peers in the Network and we hope to have published results that contribute to the advancement of the youth development field.
#HopeIgnites #BoysHopeGirlsHope #BHGH #AI
John Templeton Foundation Boys Hope Girls Hope of St. Louis
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Arizona Boys Hope Girls Hope of Colorado
Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York Esperanza Juvenil (Boys Hope Girls Hope Guatemala)
