northwest echo

Community Collaborations
Flintridge Northwest Echo

Northwest Empowering Communities, Helping Others

Northwest Empowering Communities, Helping Others is a program to strengthen grassroots community- and faith-based organizations serving youth in at-risk circumstances in Northwest Pasadena/Altadena. The goal of the partnership is to enhance the capacity of community groups to respond to the challenges that youth face growing up in our society and to encourage collaborative activities to maximize their impact on the community.

The partnership started with the help of a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Flintridge provided customized training and technical assistance to a cohort of 23 organizations to increase skill levels in the areas of leadership and organizational development, program quality and community engagement. Flintridge also hosted presentations by experts in the fields of youth development and violence prevention, and helped link participants to beneficial resources.

At the conclusion of the grant period:

  • Eight organizations reported that they had increased their funding from public and private sources for a total of nearly $3 million.
  • More than half the organizations had increased the number of persons served for a total of close to 3,000 new individuals.
  • 65% reported: increased knowledge of leadership issues within their organization, improved organizational functioning and starting to build a base of individual supporters.
  • 70% reported an increased capacity to implement effective youth development practices and programming.
  • 78% reported increased participation in partnerships and collaborations among faith- and community-based organizations.

Youth Outreach Campaign

A student coordinator from Day One oversees the continuation of Northwest ECHO's Youth Outreach Campaign. Developed in partnership with Art Center College of Design, the multi-pronged campaign was created to steer youth towards positive activities and life choices. It includes a text message system where teens can find out about free or low-cost events in the community and career cards with information about exciting alternative occupations. With funding from a Youth Challenge grant through the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles, the student coordinator conducts lunchtime outreach events at local schools to give out buttons and rubber wristbands promoting the cell phone text alerts and career cards and other materials.

Collaborative Efforts Multiply

The culture of collaboration that was seeded through Northwest ECHO has led to numerous collaborative endeavors where Flintridge, Northwest ECHO partners and other local organizations carry on the work of creating opportunity and hope for at-risk youth.

Northwest ECHO Partners

Northwest ECHO partners offer services and programs that provide youth with alternatives to gang involvement and support them in reaching their full educational and human potential.

Northwest ECHO Story Project

Read how partner organizations are bettering the lives of youth in Northwest Pasadena/Altadena.

 

 

Photo: Brian Biery