Funding a Free Youth Development Training Series
The Emanuel & Pauline A. Lerner Foundation is so pleased to announce a second round of funding for the Trekkers Training Institute for Youth Development, through a grant of $105,950.
The Trekkers model for mentoring older adolescents is highly effective, relationship-based, and proven to produce positive outcomes for young people by providing mentoring, community engagement, and opportunities that develop and support aspirations. It’s driven by the idea that relationships are critical to keeping youth focused on their college and career goals after high school and to empowering them with the kind of purpose and possibility that help communities to thrive.
The Emanuel and Pauline A. Lerner Foundation funded the start-up phase of the Trekkers Training Institute (TTI) in 2017. For that first year, TTI trained youth development staff from our Aspirations Incubator partner organizations. The Aspirations Incubator is the Lerner Foundation’s big bet: a six-year, multi-million dollar mentoring pilot program aimed at raising and sustaining the aspirations of students in rural Maine communities.
After attending the Trekkers Training Institute for three months, each of our Aspirations Incubator partner organizations is implementing a six-year program model based on the Trekkers Youth Programming Principles. Our ultimate goal is to bring the successful student outcomes that the Trekkers model makes possible to other rural communities across the state.
Over the past year, the Trekkers Training Institute has refined its unique curriculum to meet the professional needs of a wide array of people who work closely with older adolescents. They’re now making those learning opportunities available to practitioners in the fields of youth development, mentoring, and education. A series of free workshops will kick off in July in Rockland and continue into Fall 2018. They’ll cover key elements of the Trekkers philosophy and practice of how to work effectively with youth ages 13 to 18 years old.
The professional development training and support offered by the Trekkers Training Institute are a cornerstone of the Aspirations Incubator Program. We’re delighted to partner with them to help teh Aspirations Incubator empower local leaders and other youth advocates, because those mentors and other caring adults play an important role in helping young people to succeed. TTI gives youth development practitioners the tools they need to build strong relationships—and from there, to help students envision clear pathways to opportunities beyond high school.