History & Impact
Minnesota Alliance With Youth was founded in 1997 after the President’s Summit for America’s Future. These are just a few of the highlights since the Alliance’s inception over a decade ago:
ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Over 100 Minnesota communities have assembled cross-sector teams to tackle how the community can provide all youth with resources they need to be successful in school and in life.- Hosted over 400 AmeriCorps Promise Fellows over the past 11 years.
- Held 11 statewide and 33 regional summits to promote coordination of resources, share best practices, and provide leadership trainings.
- Hosted eight annual Days of Promise at the Minnesota State Fair.
- Supported over 150 National and Global Youth Service Day projects through four years of Delta Dental Serve a Smile Program.
- Successful partnerships engaged incarcerated youth at the state’s maximum security facility and others who are particularly difficult to reach.
- Implemented the Lt. Governor’s Red Wagon Awards to recognize and celebrate young people engaged in leadership and service.
- Over the last 4 years, directly served over 137,000 young people.
- Recruited 19,145 youth volunteers who served 174,671 hours in their communities.
- Recruited 12,333 adult volunteers who served 164,069 hours working with youth.
- Nearly two-thirds of the youth served reported improved academic performance as a result of mentoring, tutoring and civic engagement/service – learning programs led by Promise Fellows.
SUCCESSES IN 2010-2011
To support schools and communities in their efforts to build capacity and deliver the fundamental resources young people need to succeed, the Minnesota Alliance With Youth hosts 116 AmeriCorps Promise Fellows across the state. CLICK HERE for more information on AmeriCorps Promise Fellows!
During the 2010-2011 program year, the Promise Fellows reported success in all areas of their work. Over this past year:
- YOUTH IN COHORT – 2,686
- ADDITIONAL YOUTH SERVED – 11,514
- TOTAL NUMBER OF YOUTH SERVED – 14,200
- ADULT VOLUNTEERS – 2,400
- HOURS ADULTS SERVED – 39,939
- YOUTH VOLUNTEERS – 4,160
- HOURS YOUTH SERVED - 42,706
- TOTAL VOLUNTEERS – 6,660
- TOTAL HOURS VOLUNTEERS SERVED – 82,645
The estimated dollar value of the TOTAL VOLUNTEERS HOURS SERVED is over $2million*
*Based on the estimated dollar value of volunteer time per hour for 2008 (as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Youth Academic Achievement – 
Supported mentoring, tutoring and service learning programs led to improved academic performance for nearly 58% of participants for whom comparison records were available.
Youth Civic Engagement –
- 89% of youth surveyed believe they can make a difference in their community.
- 94% of youth believe they can play an important role in improving their community.
- 89% of youth stated they learned how to make positive changes in the community as a result of their participation in the program.
Statewide Partner Network –
All eight sites (or 100% of Statewide Partners) reported an increased capacity to close the academic achievement and civic engagement gaps as measured on their Organizational Capacity Report and Resource Sharing Plan.
