The Rise Initiative Hosts Inaugural Summit
SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 – Newly inducted members of the Rise Fellowship gathered in Denver to participate in the inaugural Rise Summit. Dedicated to the positive progress of out-of-school time programs across rural and Indigenous communities, Rise Initiative designed the Summit to bring together OST youth program leaders with diverse perspectives and experiences to delve into key topics including hiring practices, program administration, fundraising, culture & climate, and data collection and evaluation.
Featuring sessions detailing the unique needs of rural communities, how to counteract the investment gap from private and public funding sources, research-based approaches to greater resilience for Indigenous peoples and communities, and more, the Summit presented a well-rounded approach to delivering high-quality programs for youth in these underserved communities.
Nine new Rise Fellows partook in professional development, collaboration, and action-planning commitments during the Summit and came away with action plans to implement into their 2024 afterschool programs. Over the coming year, the fellows will continue to engage and assess progress in their organizations and will reconvene in person next summer to discuss and evaluate the first year of the program.
Following the Summit, an anonymous survey was delivered to the fellows with all participants highly rating their experience. One fellow shared, “It was great connecting with others from different backgrounds. The presenters and facilitators have great hearts and really want to support us.” Another succinctly summed up their experience, “Incredible people, doing great work. It was inspiring!” There is a clear excitement and commitment amongst the fellows to return to their communities to implement the knowledge and practices shared at the Rise Summit.
Why Rise?
Rural and Native communities are impacted at higher rates by the lack of access to safe, high-quality out-of-school time programs. In rural communities, summer learning loss is significantly higher than in non-rural communities, eliminating any advantage seen from school-year monthly growth over non-rural students . And native children are 237% more likely to drop out of school than their white peers.
The need to address the lack of access to quality OST programs in these communities is personal for BellXcel’s CEO, Lauren Sanchez Gilbert, Ed.D. She remarked, “Growing up in New Mexico, I saw firsthand the lack of opportunities for youth to participate in activities beyond the school day. The research proves how critical high-quality experiences are to childhood development, yet children in rural and Indigenous/Native communities often lack access to these programs. I am very proud to launch an initiative that can leverage all of the research, along with our tools and know-how, to take direct aim at improving opportunities in rural America.”
By investing specifically in these communities, BellXcel hopes to raise national attention to the important role that out-of-school time programs play in rural and Native areas. High-quality educational programs can help reduce dropout rates and increase outcomes for youth. BellXcel is committed to the belief that programs are most effective when they serve young people where they live, through adults they know, with proven strategies for impact.
The Rise Fellowship program is supported by the philanthropic investment of the New York Life Foundation (NYL). NYL has been a generous partner of BellXcel for more than ten years, supporting growth to new communities and expanded academic and enrichment curriculum for at-risk youth. “We’re thrilled that New York Life shares our commitment to build the capacity of local organizations and the talented people who lead them, so they can offer meaningful learning experiences in their communities,” said Chief Impact Officer, Damon Johnson.