PEPNet Accreditation Ceremony Forum Recognizes High Quality Youth Workforce and Education Organizations

Four exemplary youth-serving organizations will be recognized at the National Youth Employment Coalitionâ??s first Promising and Effective Practices Network Accreditation Ceremony and Forum on September 15, 2009.

Eight youth-serving organizations have recently received recognition through the National Youth Employment Coalition Promising and Effective Practices (NYEC PEPNet) Accreditation Pilot. The pilot sought to identify successful practices, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and continue to implement a national system of quality standards for youth organizations.

September 14, 2009

The Postsecondary Success Initiative (PSI), supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, will support a national pilot that seeks to strengthen the ability of youth-serving organizations to connect youth onto a path leading to postsecondary attainment and employment.  Based on lessons learned from the pilot, NYEC seeks to inform national policy.

NYEC invites Letters of Interest (LOI) from member organizations seeking to expand existing youth programs that currently provide a range of academic and non-academic support into transformative, cutting edge models and approaches that will support and help connect youth to a path leading to postsecondary attainment and employment.  Six sites will receive awards that range from $150,000 to $200,000 per year for three years.

The LOI is the first part of a two step process. LOI submissions must follow the template provided below and be no more than five pages.  After review of LOI submissions, NYEC will then invite full proposals for further development and funding consideration. Deadline for Submission of LOI is June 24, 2009.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Launches New Initiative to Double the Number of Low- Income Students in the U.S. Who Earn a Postsecondary Degree by Age 26
Foundation Awards $69 Million in Initial Grants to Help More Young People Access and Complete a Postsecondary Degree

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced grants totaling $69 million to organizations working to improve college enrollment and completion rates in America. With the goal of getting more young people to and through college, the foundation aims to double the number of low-income students who earn a postsecondary degree or credential with genuine value in the workplace by age 26â??an increase of approximately 250,000 graduates each year.  

It is our pleasure to invite you to nominate up to two individuals for the 2009 Lewis Hine Awards for Service to Children and Youth. These nationally recognized awards, now in their 24th year, are presented annually by the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) to ten recipients -- five professionals and five volunteers -- for their unheralded and exceptional service to young people.

We depend on leaders such as you to identify the outstanding work being done in your community on behalf of children and youth. That work can be of almost any kind, from health and welfare to education and recreation. The following Fact Sheet and Nomination Forms will give you a better idea of the requirements.  The deadline for this year's nominations is Thursday, October 23, 2008. A distinguished national panel of judges will then make the selections, which will be announced early in 2009.