Weekly Media Roundup: December 6, 2023

Wakeman Boys & Girls Club's Financial Literacy Program Aims to Give Bridgeport Teens Life Skills, The Register Citizen (Connecticut)

Teens in Bridgeport, Connecticut will learn about credit cards, loans, budgeting, college financial planning and more as part of Wakeman Boys & Girls Club’s new finance lab afterschool program starting this January. Funded by a grant from a local bank, the program will also provide opportunities for students to explore careers through job shadowing and internships.  Andrea Palacios, a high school senior who started a clothing business, told the Register Citizen she’s excited to participate because “I am starting to build my career and I don’t want a bad financial decision to affect my credit score. I want to learn how to keep my business expenses separate from my own expenses.”

R.I.S.E. Corp Receives $150K Grant to Support Violence Intervention Work, Battle Creek Enquirer (Michigan)

Thanks to a $150,000 grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, R.I.S.E. Corp. (Reintegration to Support and Empower) will continue to offer in-school, afterschool, and summer programs focusing on violence prevention at elementary and middle schools in Battle Creek, Michigan. “It is important that children do well in school and graduate so that our community thrives," R.I.S.E. founder and president Damon Brown told the Battle Creek Enquirer. “This project will engage and empower the people of the community, allow them to invest and give them agency over their personal and community safety and growth. This project will help the community to get in front of violence and crime and help to dismantle the school to prison pipeline.” With the additional funding, R.I.S.E. will also provide 100 Ring video doorbells to families in Washington Heights and increase its crisis response and victim support services.

DRC Receives Funding for Youth Mentoring Program, Derby Informer (Kansas)

At Oaklawn Activity Center’s afterschool program in Wichita, Kansas, fourth and fifth grade students are keeping fit and engaging in enriching activities. Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the National Recreation and Park Association, they will also participate in a youth mentoring program starting in January. “I think overall, you know, mentors play an important part in people's lives,” Community Wellness Director Janea Trapp told the Derby Informer. “Even as adults, mentors play an important role, and I think it's a way for kids to really become their best selves. The mentoring program will give them coping skills, ways to increase their confidence, build their self-esteem, and give them an opportunity to become the best version of themselves.”

Boys & Girls Clubs in Metro Phoenix Are Focusing on Youth Mental Health. Here's Why, Arizona Republic (Arizona)

In response to rising rates of anxiety and depression in the wake of COVID-19, the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley in Mesa, Arizona is using federal COVID relief funds to hire mental health coaches from Terros Health to support students in its afterschool program. More than a dozen Club sites have implemented the initiative, called the Whole Child Approach, and the Club plans to expand the program to all 30 of its locations by 2026. “This is a way to identify the challenges our kids are experiencing without judgment or stigma," Karen Tepper, president and CEO of Terros Health, told the Arizona Republic. "The idea is to fill in the gaps for mental health services and improve access to treatment."