United Way Community Listening Project on Disconnected Youth

02/13/12

The White House Council for Community Solutions recently convened a group of nonprofit and corporate leaders to talk about ways to help disconnected youth find employment and education.

Given United Way’s long-history of fostering and leading community wide social change movements and in light of this “call” for communities to engage on enhancing opportunities for young people, United Way has launched a series of community conversations around the country.  The conversations will be with community leaders and everyday people to identify ways that their communities can come together to ensure opportunities for a better life for all young people, especially at-risk and disconnected youth.

Because United Way is focused on advancing the common good, these conversations will center on understanding the challenges communities face in creating pathways that connect young people to school and work, and what businesses, government, nonprofits, and people can do to overcome these challenges and make a real difference. They will be part of a larger set of conversations happening in the U.S. and nearly a dozen countries around the world on creating opportunity for a good life for all, the results of which will be shared in a report being released at a global Opportunity Town Hall in Nashville May 3.

Nearly 40 United Ways (listed below) have signed up to host 3-5 community conversations in February and March around creating opportunities for disconnected youth. These United Ways will also share what they learn with cross-sector community leadership and gauge interest in building a coalition to address challenges in helping young people connect to employment, education, and other community opportunities. 

Each United Way participating will be working with local partners to host conversations and to bring leaders together. United Way Worldwide is eager to work with national partners interested in working with us to make connections in the participating communities where appropriate.  Working with our partners is a key step in moving from engaging and aligning the community around an issue to building coalitions, developing strategies and taking action.  If you are interested in learning more about how you can become a partner with United Way Worldwide or one of our local United Ways, please send an email with details to:

communityconversationpartner@unitedway.org and we will make the appropriate connection.