When we invest in our youth, we are investing in keeping our communities thriving for generations to come.
We know that family engagement from a child’s earliest days plays a critical role in their future. We inform, engage, and connect families with resources so they have more opportunities to support their children’s educational success.
At United Way of Northern Arizona, we envision youth opportunity as a wheel that encompasses everything from supporting parents and early childhood development in a child’s earliest years to preparing them to become resilient youth and lead in their lives and in the future of their communities.
Here is how United Way of Northern Arizona is stepping up for our youth, from cradle to career.
This targeted intervention program, provided free to qualifying families, is a signature early education initiative coordinated by United Way of Northern Arizona with local school districts. It is held during the month of June and facilitates a successful transition for students going into kindergarten who have minimal preschool experience and meet other eligibility criteria.
KinderCamp is offered in Flagstaff, Williams, Pinetop-Lakeside, Page, Holbrook, and Joseph City.
In KinderCamp, students learn much more than their letters and numbers. They also get familiar with following the teacher’s directions, eating in a cafeteria setting, and working cooperatively with other students. The biggest transformation for these students, according to their parents, is their increased confidence and excitement about starting school.
Students attending KinderCamp and graduating from high school are eligible for tuition-free education from Coconino Community College for their associate’s degree and then two years at Northern Arizona University to earn their bachelor’s degree.
This free book program is available to all children in Coconino, Navajo, and Apache counties from birth to five years old and does not have any income eligibility requirements. It’s a gift to all preschoolers in our community, and UWNA is proud to support it.
DPIL was founded by the country music icon, who started the program in 1995 to honor her father, a sharecropper in Tennessee. “He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams,” Parton has said.
When families read to their children, they learn crucial auditory skills and how to “operate” a book. Building a home library will encourage a lifelong love of reading that will strengthen and support these children in their academic careers. In some cases, the volumes provided through the Imagination Library are the first books these children will own.
UWNA is investing in the power and potential of successful, resilient youth and giving our teens a chance to embrace their inner leaders through our Youth Experiencing Success (YES) programs.
YES focuses on building the leadership capacity of 9th grade students to assist with the transition from middle school to high school. It represents a great opportunity for freshmen to build skills, meet peers, and gain experiences that can shape their high school journey and beyond.
YES brings together students for one-day summits where they explore leadership, communication, managing money, building confidence, “finding your people,” and taking care of one’s mental health. Participants then follow up with workshop series to implement what they learned in their schools and communities.
UWNA co-hosts or participates in multiple literacy fairs throughout the year to target children who are below proficient reading levels. Currently, only 30% of third graders are considered proficient readers, and UWNA is part of a statewide effort to double that number by 2030.
These events not only provide access to books, but to community resources and offer interactive workshops aimed at equipping families with practical literacy strategies, with the goal of making reading development fun and accessible.
