Needs
For this year's BDOG, we are fundraising for ARI Youth Executive Academy (YEA) program.
After a successful first year of YEA, ARI seeks to continue our youth services program that will provide low-income, at-risk, immigrant, refugee, and youth of colors ages 16-24 with the preparation to train them for leadership roles and better opportunity.
According to 2020 Health Status Assessment, Sacramento County has 20.9% foreign born population, with many coming from Asian and Latin American countries. 67.60% of students from Sacramento City Unified School District are economically disadvantaged and many students speak a primary language other than English. Moreover, the 2022 Children's report card indicates that 22% of youth in Sacramento County are living below federal poverty level. Hence, sustainable economic growth requires investing and providing opportunities and a place to learn for youth. Research indicates that education and hands-on learning can enhance critical thinking, social skills, and motivation, ultimately preparing youth for economic success in life. Now more than ever, our community needs those opportunities through education and training.
Along with our previous curriculum, which consists of growth mindset, goal setting, emotional intelligence, financial management, effective communications, cultural immersion, entrepreneurial skills and internship program, ARI is thrilled to apply "train-the-trainer" model, which involves our previous fellows to participate in planning and mentorship with the newly incoming class. Through this approach, we expect to witness our previous fellows applying the leadership training they received from us and our incoming class to learn from and with their peers. By giving the platform to practice the training, we expect our youth to be equipped in future opportunities.
ARI is deeply invested in framing and programming the mind of our youth through Youth Executive Academy ensuring that California's reputation as one of the largest economic powers will continue the years to come.