What does YouthBridge do?
How old is YouthBridge?
How does YouthBridge define Youth?
How has YouthBridge pursued this role in the community?
Why has YouthBridge partnered with Washington University?
How do I reach YouthBridge?
What does the YouthBridge Community Foundation do?
YouthBridge Community Foundation, founded in 1877, is focused on capitalizing children’s charities. Our services are two pronged – to help children’s agencies implement business practices to build productive capital and achieve sustainability and to help donors, or philanthropic investors, find stable charitable organizations in which to invest. Our strategy of building equity capital and promoting social enterprise is designed to attain our mission of building a network of strong, effective and sustainable social agencies to support disadvantaged children.
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How old is the YouthBridge Community Foundation?
YouthBridge is more than 130 years old. It began in 1877 under the name German General Protestant Orphan’s Association changing to General Protestant Children's Home in the early 1900s (GPCH) and to YouthBridge Association in 2003. In 2008, it became the YouthBridge Community Foundation to better align itself with its goals and vision.
How does YouthBridge define youth?
Any person under the age of 18.
In 1995, Good Shepherd School came to YouthBridge and requested help finding a permanent home for their program that benefits both mentally challenged and healthy children by educating them in a supportive environment of mutual respect and shared values. YouthBridge leased Good Shepherd School land on their campus on a favorable basis and guaranteed Good Shepherd’s building loan. Good Shepherd School has developed a sustainable business concept that is now educating young children in a special and effective way.
In 1997, GPCH along with eight other agencies across the state of Missouri established the Missouri Alliance for Children and Families LLC (MACF). MACF is a public/private partnership that has developed a new more effective model of foster care. MACF focuses on ‘wrap around service’ for the child and family, maintaining the child in the family context if at all possible therefore minimizing placement outside the family. This model has resulted in an unheard of 70% success rate and has treated over 1200 children to date.
In 2003, YouthBridge established HavenHouse St. Louis, an independent not for profit, by providing them with staff, lease of the building and start-up capital. HavenHouse now serves 2000 youth and their families each year. This facility serves as a “home” for families when they bring their children to St. Louis for extended specialized medical care and hospitalization.
Most recently, YouthBridge and Washington University each pledged $500,000 to fund a five-year initiative to develop a process to stimulate social entrepreneurship in the St. Louis region. This is being accomplished through an annual series of workshops and competition, providing the opportunity to learn, share ideas, collaborate, receive feedback, and win financial awards. For more details, see below and WU Competition on this web site.
Why has YouthBridge partnered with Washington University's Skandaris Center?
In July of 2005, YouthBridge Association teamed up with Washington University to create the first-ever St. Louis Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition. This annual competition strives to motivate and educate the community in social enterprise concepts and processes. The contest is inclusive, engaging, fair and change-driven; provides an ongoing education to agencies; will produce new entrepreneurs to help children; develops a framework for evaluation; causes ongoing social innovation that is measurable; and creates a sustainable competition. [see more]
How do I reach the YouthBridge Community Foundation?
To find out more about the YouthBridge CommunityFoundation, please call us at 314-985-6778 or email nmoenkhaus@youthbridge.org. Our office is in HavenHouse St. Louis, which is located on the YouthBridge Campus, 12685 Olive Boulevard, Suite 100, St. Louis, Missouri 63141.