Help Kids Succeed                                                            

OUR VISION: 

Anchorage children and youth have opportunities to develop to their full potential.

Community Action Goals:

1. Children enter school ready to succeed.
2. Youth make positive choices leading to success in school and life.

Your United Way in Action:

Children enter school ready to succeed

Children who start out behind are more likely to stay behind.  The implications go beyond individual lives, to Alaska's workforce - and its economy.

We also know that critical brain development takes place between birth and age 6.  Research confirms that early learning is an economic and social imperative.

United Way of Anchorage, in partnership with the Alaska Humanities Forum, is co-managing Best Beginnings, a statewide collaboration that came together in recognition of the imperative of early learning in Alaska.  Best Beginnings is not a program, but rather a public-private partnership that offers leadership in building on existing successful services and filling in gaps where needed.

To learn more about the work of Best Beginnings or to find out how to get involved, go to http://www.bestbeginningsalaska.org.

Youth make positive choices leading to success in school and life

Many factors influence a youth's path into substance use, violence and school failure.  United Way of Anchorage has teamed with the Mayor's Youth Gang Task Force and other community partners to develop a comprehensive community plan to reduce youth substance use and violence, and increase school success.

One key to supporting our youth is supportive adult relationships.  January is National Mentoring Month, and United Way, along with its many partners, has launched a year-long shared recruitment campaign for mentors.  The goal? 1,000 new mentors for Anchorage's youth.

For more information or to get involved with the mentoring campaign, go to http://anchoragementors.org.

Results That Matter:

With your help, United Way can work with its many community partners to measurably improve life in Anchorage by:

• Improving school readiness in our youngest children
• Improving 3rd grade reading scores
• Increasing high school graduation rates
• Reducing substance use by our youth
• Reducing youth gang violence

Thank you for all you do to help kids succeed in Anchorage.