In 2008, OppenheimerFunds support allowed the YMCA to continue to maintain and grow the FutureWorks program to seven sites in the New York City metro area.
As a means for expansion and to ensure FutureWorks is able to provide consistent curriculum in all locations OppenheimerFunds also directed support to the creation of a YMCA/NFTE co-branded workbook. Distributed in both a paper and electronic medium to funders, support organizations and staff, the workbook strives to broaden after-school exposure to the NFTE entrepreneurial skills while introducing participants to the YMCA core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility. Now completed, the workbook has been distributed to YMCA site directors and Teen Coordinators in New York City to help expand this programming locally, with the hopes of ultimately reaching a national scale in collaboration with NFTE.
In addition to the workbook, OppenheimerFunds assisted in the completion of the first-ever FutureWorks video. Footage filmed throughout the 2007-2008 school year was used in a short video and promotional spot included on the YMCA web site and developed as student recruiting materials. Click here to see a 60-second teaser of the video.
Additionally, as part of OppenheimerFunds’ efforts to increase collaboration amongst our partners the YMCA, in conjunction with NFTE, was awarded supplemental funding through the inaugural OFI Seed Fund. Created to help our partners maximize their impact in the field of youth entrepreneurship, the grant was intended to help the YMCA reach students in their critical middle school years. Through an experimental summer learning camp, located at the YMCA Flushing Beacon Program and a pilot Saturday program during the Fall at the Flushing Branch, the YMCA and NFTE engaged middle school youth in entrepreneurship concepts with a focus on group work skills, personal goal setting, leadership and social responsibility. Acknowledged as a priority area of concern in the Greater New York Strategic Plan, the YMCA hopes to use this camp as the building blocks for a broader middle school FutureWorks curriculum.
For more information on the YMCA FutureWorks Program, visit their website at: www.ymcanyc.org.
The FutureWorks Program introduces teens, ages 13 to 18, to entrepreneurship by teaching them the skills, attitudes and values necessary to start their own businesses. Through their participation, teens gain the knowledge and tools necessary to pursue higher education and set meaningful career and life goals.