Good ideas start in local communities. Good networks spread those ideas. We’ve seen both happen countless times in StriveTogether communities through our Cradle to Career Network. We call it the Network Effect. In 2014, one member of the Network, Promise Partnership of Salt Lake in Salt Lake City, Utah, successfully made a case to state…
It’s exciting to begin a new decade and a year that brings us closer to our goal to help 24 communities permanently transform how systems serve kids better by 2023. I am energized by the opportunities that exist in this new decade. To tackle these head on, I’m holding three things front and center to…
As a member of StriveTogether’s national network, Thrive Chicago creates collaborative networks of people and data that accelerate program innovation and improve outcomes for youth. By aligning partners around a shared vision, using data to make decisions and coordinating resources, Thrive Chicago is changing systems in the city. Now, this work is being recognized with…
“Boston Opportunity Agenda brings a place to have the conversation. We would not come together as group without them. They are a convener of the possibilities that are out there. They bring us together to look forward, to look beyond where we are, and what we need to do next year. They push us to stretch.” Boston Opportunity…
Guest post by Cecilia Muñoz, vice president for public interest technology and local initiatives at New America One of the many lessons I learned working for President Obama comes from his insistence that cynicism is one of the biggest threats our democracy faces. We believe that the system is broken so we back away, taking…
“Much is at stake when African American communities are undercounted,” said Kareem Butler, 2020 Census project coordinator at the Chicago Urban League. At an event called 2020 census: Barriers to inclusion in African American communities, the Chicago Urban League hosted nonprofit organizations across the city to strategize about messaging and outreach material for African American…
“When we’re willing to work — not with community, but in community — that’s when transformation is real.” — Stacey Abrams, activist, author and civil rights leader Reflecting on the recent 10th annual Cradle to Career Network Convening, I am more convinced than ever that we are truly unstoppable when we unite for kids and…
With his keynote at the Cradle to Career Network Convening’s final plenary session, New York Times columnist David Brooks initiated a conversation about the power of relationships. Last summer, Brooks toured the country, visiting communities enriched by what he calls “weavers” — individuals and organizations creating trusting relationships to repair the frayed social fabric seen…
“Public education saves lives,” said activist, author and civil rights leader Stacey Abrams. “I come from a story of miracles because my parents were saved — their lives were saved by public education.” Even before Abrams set foot in the jam-packed ballroom at the 2019 StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network Convening in Washington, D.C., the…
Can qualities as simple as common sense and ingenuity be the keys to big policy wins? On stage at the 2019 Cradle to Career Network Convening sits a panel of leaders from network communities celebrating recent policy successes. Joining them is Cecilia Muñoz, vice president for public interest technology and local initiatives at New America…
How do you define success? If you’ve been following #SuccessTogether, you’ve heard from young people all over the country sharing their definitions of success. A loving family, a nice home, supporting myself and others. These are some of the goals we’ve heard from the 13.7 million children, 8.6 million of whom are children of color,…
Packed in a room with 500 “justice fighters” and “champions of children,” I could feel I was part of something big – something unstoppable. StriveTogether CEO and President Jennifer Blatz opened the 10th annual convening in Washington, D.C., with a film that captured social justice movements that “challenge how we think and the status quo.”…