College Access Now

The College Access Now program is dedicated to helping promising, low-income young people prepare for and earn admission to college.  Our mission is to identify high school students who a) are economically disadvantaged; b) among the first-generation in their families to go to college and c) demonstrate potential and motivation to pursue higher education.  Program participants will then be provided with four critical services: SAT/ACT test preparation; intensive assistance in the college admissions process; help in obtaining financial aid and scholarships; and guidance in transition to college.  The program is founded on the belief that given the resources and support these students will be successful in graduating and going to college.


NDA Members: Andrea Won, Jamie Jackson, Kerry Donlan, Lexi Williamson, and Sofie Janney-Roberts


 

Community Schools Collaboration

Community Schools Collaboration works to build partnerships with South King Country agencies to better serve youth and families.  CSC addresses the specials challenges of refugee and immigrant students through English language and literacy support and participation in cultural and enrichment activities.

NDA Members: James Clithero, Nathan Stuart, Hannah Sherrard, and Landon Basham

 

Girls on the Run

Girls on the Run operates a life-changing learning program for preteen girls ages eight to eleven. The program combines uplifting running workouts with thought provoking games and discussions. Girls on the Run aims to develop the whole girl— her physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual self—supporting the mission to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. The Girls on the Run approach also encourages the girls to be open with their families, their peers, and themselves.

Girls finish the program with a better understanding of how to process the cultural and social messages they receive from the media and the world around them. They gain a stronger sense of identity, a greater acceptance of themselves, a healthier body image and a better understanding of what it means to be part of a team. 

Sound Youth Member: Chelsea Hodgson


 

Native Lens

Longhouse Media, a Washington State non-profit corporation, was launched in 2005 with the support of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Within our primary program, Native Lens, we have had the opportunity to work with over 900 Native youth in Washington State and from across the country, to support their growth and expression as well as create digital media which aims to break down the pervasive stereotypes of Native people and promote cross-cultural learning opportunities.

The mission of Longhouse Media is to catalyze indigenous people and communities to use media as a tool for self-expression, cultural preservation, and social change. We draw from both traditional and modern forms of artistic expression, storytelling, teaching, and inquiry.

Sound Youth Member: Stephanie Cote

NDA Members: Jake LaMere and Moeko Crider



 

Outdoors for All

Sound Youth Member: Brooks Ahlfenger

 

Read Right

Read Right is a literacy class for high school students who are reading below grade level. The program utilizes a combination of reading out loud and independently, listening to books on tape, participating in group critical thinking exercises, and a variety of tailored writing exercises once a week. Read Right has a 100% success rate. Students improve their reading by as many as seven grade levels, often in the space of one semester; they continue until they are reading at ninth-grade level, at which point they return to a regular Language Arts class and often go on to take honors and AP classes. Tutors work with four students at a time, so each student receives a great deal of personal attention from their tutor. Read Right is designed to give students the opportunity to constantly experience success, and when they are ready to graduate the program they are asked to reflect on their experience and to listen to a "before and after" tape of their reading, so they can fully understand their degree of improvement.



NDA Members: Raphaela Weissman and Victoria Martinsen

 

Seattle Youth Garden Works

Our program was founded in 1995 to enfranchise and empower the youth of the University District. We started a small landscaping project and have grown into the two successful gardens to market projects that we run today. The garden is a perfect setting for a job skills training program for youth. Crewmembers learn valuable and marketable job skills in a supportive work setting. They learn how to plant, tend, and harvest organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers from seed for market, how to write a resume, cashiering, customer service, sales tracking and inventory, entrepreneurship and marketing skills, reliability, and how to be an effective employee. In addition, crew members go on field trips, participate in job-shadowing programs, learn about food security issues, perform community service projects, and cook meals using the produce that they grow.

Sound Youth Member: Jeff Mathias

 

Service Learning Seattle at Cleveland High School

Sound Youth Members: Dana Johnson and Joe Livarchik


 

Spruce Street Secrure Crisis Residential Center

This program is a community resource for runaway or street youth between the ages of 12 and 17. As a freestanding residence located in the Capitol Hill Community of Seattle, this program provides secure, short-term, non-institutional residence and support services for an average of fifty youth per month. The ultimate goal of Spruce Street SCRC is to reunite youth with their parents or primary caregivers when possible, while promoting the emotional and physical well-being of youth residents. This is accomplished through intensive case management, advocacy and family mediation efforts.

NDA Member: Sarah Poulisse

 

Technically Learning

Sound Youth Member: Natalie Champ



 

Urban League Scholars

NDA Members: Jessica Norberg and Magan Do