At United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County (UWABC), we’re all about ensuring our community is working in a collaborative and sustainable way to ensure that we co-create a community where every single person belongs and can thrive. One of the main collective impact strategies UWABC is operating at the backbone organization is United for Youth. Being the backbone organization means we are committed to ensuring the following key strategies are fully utilized to help move this cross-sector, systems-change work forward. With the co-created Bold Community Goal at the center of United for Youth, we have set out on a path to ensure that ALL Asheville City and Buncombe County students graduate high school fully ready to pursue their goals and dreams by 2035.
In November, in the beautiful UNCA Reuter Center , UWABC kept the goal of this community-wide initiative clear and helped to convene dozens of local students, Asheville City and Buncombe County school administrators and staff, leaders from local non-profits and grassroots organizations together to maintain the momentum and growth of United for Youth. The room was packed with thought leaders from across our county all enthralled in the discourse of how the United for Youth Leadership group will function and who will make up that leadership group.
“It was a powerful opportunity to join together as a community and figure out what we need to do as adults to ensure that children are thriving,” said Dr. Amieris Lavender of the YWCA, and it wasn’t just the adults who were having their opinions not only heard, but actively listened to.
This United for Youth gathering was also special because of the powerful insight students from all over the county brought to the discussions. From students like Julia D., who has been working with UWABC and United for Youth for years now, to students like Shu Yan Chen, whose introduction was this gathering, each student’s voice was centered in the group round tables.
“I really enjoyed the seminar-type conversations we had with everyone. I feel like my voice got heard today and I was able to represent how I felt and how the youth of Asheville would feel. I’m excited to see where the youth leadership team will be going after this.” - Shu Yan Chen, 11th grader at T.C. Robertson High School.
As the future of the United for Youth Leadership Team becomes clearer, it is only because of the dedication of countless individuals, students, and organizations that have contributed that this group becomes successful. Another amazing resource UWABC has brought to the United for Youth group as we discover how to sustain momentum is the leadership of Julia Baez. Baez is the CEO of Baltimore’s Promise- a renowned organization in Baltimore, Maryland, that works in partnership with a diverse group of stakeholders to progress in key areas related to children and youth, scale community-wide efforts showing promising results, and foster alignment.
Although not every single detail of the United for Youth Leadership team was fully fleshed out, everyone’s voice was heard, and the discussions were robust and attached to actionable steps. Many people left the room feeling more unified in the Bold Community Goal. Hannah Ledgerton of the Youth Justice Division Manager with Buncombe County said, “Seeing so many people being able to come together over the past two days, to really make progress on a whole bunch of conversations, I feel like we have been feeding into this for years. Really feeling like we are moving together in a more clear and aligned direction."
Keep Supporting Our Students!
Learn more about United for Youth here!
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