Highlighting America’s 100 Best Communities for Young People
The 100 Best Communities for Young People competition honors outstanding efforts on behalf of young people by multiple sectors of communities. In cities, suburbs, small towns and counties across the country, this annual competition is leading communities to assess their efforts, work more effectively together for young people, and share best practices. Each week one of the 2007 100 Best Communities will be highlighted in the America’s Promise Bulletin and on our web site.
St. Petersburg, Florida
By Christopher Epps
Earning the nickname, the “Sunshine City,” for claiming 360 days of sunshine each year, residents of St. Pete work hard to ensure a “bright” future for its youth. Beginning in 1946 when the Junior League of St. Petersburg and other members of the community organized and demanded the adoption of the legislation for the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas, St. Petersburg has held steadfast in its commitment to support children and youth.
Home to the infamous Poynter Institute, a school for journalism teachers and current and future journalists, St. Petersburg has a strong backbone—the mayor—who, since 2003, has increased corporate partners for its schools from nine to 79. For the last five years, the Mayor’s Mentors & More program has recruited mentors for the city’s students, in partnership with other organizations and foundations, yielding nearly 2,000 mentors and tutors in St. Pete’s 47 schools. In addition to the mayor, the St. Petersburg Promise group hosts community meetings that focus on raising awareness concerning how different segments of the community can support St. Pete’s children and schools.
One segment of the community, the Healthy Start Coalition, is comprises agencies and committed citizens who care for pregnant women, their infants and families. Through the coalition, pregnant women and families with infants receive in-home assistance from visiting nurses, social workers, counselors and family support workers.
As a result of persistence of the community members who created the Juvenile Welfare Board, established with the sole mission of serving children and families, other programs and initiatives since ‘46 have ensued. A few programs that won the city of St. Petersburg the recognition as a 100 Best community include:
Doorways Scholarships:
An initiative to ensure graduation and workforce readiness through the Pinellas Education Foundation, are for low-income students. Scholarships are raised from all segments of the community. Scholarships for Adult Vocational Education (SAVE) are provided for economically stressed students or those who have left school and want to attain a GED. The scholarships support the students in attending a vocational training program by covering tuition, tools and books.
The Pinellas Grants Collaborative (PGC) & the Pinellas Funders Collaborative.
The PGC hosts monthly meetings allowing its member to discuss funding opportunities and possible collaborations among various agencies. The collaborative also sponsors free annual grant writing conferences for the community. Begun to standardize grant application processes and attempt to reduce duplicative grants awards, consequently facilitating the delivery of the Five Promises, the PFC members include government and private funders.
Teen Arts, Sports & Cultural Opportunities (TASCO):
Offers a variety of positive youth development programs for youth in grades six through 12. Many of the programs, determined by St. Pete’s youth, encompass athletics, educational and entertainment programming and community service. TASCO also offers a volunteer/job training program for teens entering 9th through 12th grade. The training program provides youth with the opportunity to gain hands-on work experience under the direct supervision of recreation personnel.
Although Florida schools are not ranked among the top on national scales, the mayor and St. Pete’s residents are committed to improving education in its schools in an effort to place St. Pete schools at the forefront. Not only was a county-wide referendum passed to increase the pay for teachers, but A+ Housing was created to recruit and retain experienced teachers in St. Petersburg schools to continue providing an Effective Education for its youth.