September 2009

Bright Idea: Healthy Competition Helps Youth Lose Weight, Gain Confidence

As a case manager at Adams House, a transitional living program for older adolescent boys in Gastonia, N.C., Ed Smith is always looking for ways to keep residents active. This year, that quest led him to organize a weight-loss competition modeled after “The Biggest Loser,” the reality TV show in which overweight people diet and train hard to lose weight.

Primary Sources: Engaging Students, From Grade School to Graduation

Regardless of the method used to measure the nation’s high school dropout rate, researchers agree that too many students are leaving school without the knowledge and skills they need to meet the demands of twenty-first century workplaces and communities. Two new publications emphasize the fact that keeping youth in school is not just about academics. (Publications discussed here do not necessarily reflect the views of NCFY, the Family and Youth Services Bureau or the Administration for Children and Families).

Right on the Money: Knowing Your Organization’s Needs Key to Fundraising

With rare exception, nonprofit organizations of all stripes have to raise money to keep their operations going and to fulfill their missions. But rather than build a strategy linked to their missions, many nonprofit leaders mistakenly see fundraising as an end in and of itself, says Justin Pollock, managing director of programs at the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

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