The Georgetown Project

Vision:
A community where no child is hungry, hurt, alone or rejected and where all children and youth feel loved, respected and treated with dignity.

Mission:
Identify needs and develop resources, relationships and services so that our youth become caring, capable and resilient individuals.

TGP programs are deeply rooted in the research-based 40 Developmental Assets and the newer Developmental Relationships frameworks of positive youth development, which are building blocks of healthy development that all adults have the power to bring into the lives of children and youth. Developmental Assets/Relationships are model programs based on extensive research in health, prevention, resiliency, and youth development. Our vision is for youth to experience as many of the 40 Developmental Assets as possible while growing up in Georgetown.
Long-term success of TGP would be for the community of Georgetown to embrace a critical shift in thinking from fixing young people’s problems to promoting young people’s strengths. Through our efforts we hope to empower youth, engage parents, and mobilize our community to come together in new and creative ways around youth issues. TGP adopted The Performance Imperative by Leap of Reason Ambassadors Community, which has seven organizational pillars: Courageous, adaptive executive and board leadership; Disciplined, people-focused management; Well-designed and well-implemented programs and strategies; Financial health and sustainability; A culture that values learning; Internal monitoring for continuous improvement; External evaluation for mission effectiveness. Ultimately, our goal is to unite the community around a common vision for youth and collectively fill the gaps in youth development. We want all children to grow up safe and healthy, ready for college, work and life.

1. Establish linkages that ensure collaboration with existing organizations to map resources, identify gaps and create solutions to health and human service issues affecting children and youth. Nurturing relationships between youth service providers increases referrals among agencies and leads to creation of new services that meet needs. We regularly convene 65 organizations serving children, youth and families in our community. And our staff serve on 10 other coalitions with single-issue planning around youth development.

2. Gather and monitor data that can be used to address community issues affecting youth. Data-driven decision making is essential. We need to know where we are to understand where we need to go as a community of youth service providers. We publish the Ready by 21 Educational Pipeline and Snapshot of Children & Youth.

3. Utilize an inclusive process encouraging community participation and consensus building around a common vision. TGP Collaborative for Children and Youth engages 65 youth-serving organizations in collective impact projects. We formed the Assets Afterschool Alliance and Summer Youth Employment Alliance with local partners to deepen collaboration.

4. Encourage opportunities for youth voices to be heard. Empowering the youth voice is a foundational component of Developmental Assets & Relationships building. Important youth services were developed as a result of empowering youth in the planning process. We host youth summits and intergenerational service events.

5. Apply Developmental Assets & Developmental Relationships frameworks as our change model. Strengthening Assets and Relationships in the lives of young people has less to do with money, policy, programs and professionals-the traditional levers of change-and more to do with unleashing relationship-building capacity in all settings where the lives of adults and youth intersect. We train communities, organizations, adults and youth in Developmental Assets & Developmental Relationships. And we mentor communities across the country seeking to mobilize around children and youth issues.

6. Willing to adapt service models - especially when situations arise out of our control such as the COVID-19 restrictions. Challenges create new needs and opportunities to “rise to the occasion.” To help build connection amidst social isolation, we are learned to use virtual platforms such as Zoom, Facebook Live and others for interactive discussions, parent education classes and childcare provider training, and YouTube videos for creative content.

1. History of Success. 24-year track record of working collaboratively at the community and programmatic levels in positive youth development. Proven success in creating and sustaining services for youth of all ages.

2. Multi-Sector Board of Directors. Diverse Board of Directors representing a cross-section of adult community leaders and youth.

3. Professional Staff, each with professional experience and credentials in their field. All staff members have been a part of the Georgetown community for decades and have raised their children in Georgetown or Williamson County.

4. Financial Capacity. Documented success in resource development and collaborative program partnerships, including grant writing, donor relations, special events, pledge campaigns, board/staff giving and other fundraising activities. GuideStar Gold Seal of Transparency and Charity Navigator 100 out of 100 Give With Confidence ratings.

5. Long-Standing, Successful Program Partnerships. Sustained collaborative program partnerships with Georgetown ISD (Kid City, ASAP, The NEST), City of Georgetown Parks & Recreation (Kid City, ASAP, Youth Leadership & Prevention Activities), Southwestern University (Community Interaction Partnership), Churches/Clubs/Schools/Nonprofit Partners (The NEST), Local Businesses (Summer Youth Employment Program).

6. Recognized as Local Leader in Youth Development. Acknowledged as the lead agency around child and youth issues in Georgetown. Through participation in the TGP Collaborative for Children and Youth, over 60 local non-profits look to TGP for leadership in connecting the youth services community.

7. Model in Community Mobilization around Asset Building. Provide Developmental Asset training to cities, schools, parents, youth and communities across the state of Texas and beyond. Mentor communities across the nation, because we value the opportunity to share our successful model. Named a national Promise Place by America’s Promise and helped secure Best Intergenerational Community Award for Georgetown

The Georgetown Project (TGP) programs result in Developmental Relationships and Future-Ready Skills for more than 5,000 children, youth and families each year.

2020 results specifically:
•117: GISD at-risk/homeless high school students served through TGP NEST Empowerment Center.
•12: At-risk/ homeless high school students completed the 8-week Summer Youth Employment Program.
•854: Nights of supportive housing provided for 4 homeless teens recently graduated from high school.
•100: High school students served during MLK & Global Youth Service Days.
•Kid City summer camp canceled in 2020 due to Covid.
•147: Middle school students participated in the After School Action Program on their middle school
campuses. (attendance lower than in past years due to Covid-program shifted to virtual Spring 2020 and remained virtual through Summer 2020--began serving students in person again Fall 2020)
Bridges to Growth Parent/Child Center impact:
•2,476: Infants, toddlers & preschoolers and elementary children attended early learning events (shifted to virtual learning platforms Spring 2020 through May 2021--began serving families in person again Summer 2021)
•3,541: Parents, childcare providers & others raising young children attended child development & parenting
classes.
•8,421: Total virtual visits to the center.
•285: English & Spanish adult classes offered through Bridges to Growth Parent/Child Center.
•74: English & Spanish children's classes offered through Bridges to Growth Parent/Child Center.
•6: Williamson County school districts where parent education classes are provided by TGP.
•Every few years we bring 100 high school students and community leaders together in meaningful dialogue around the top three issues important to youth as identified in our Youth Voices Survey. The 2020 Youth Voices Summit was held March 11 to focus on Youth Substance Use, Mental Health and Employment issues.
•Post-Secondary Education Case Management & Supportive Housing program for homeless/at-risk students after high school graduation to complete post-secondary certifications and job training: 854 nights of housing
•Because of the COVID-19-related restrictions, we lost face-to-face access with our youth and families for more than a quarter of our 2020 program year. While our home office never shut down, we adapted direct services programming to minimize negative impact. We quickly shifted some program strategies and mobilized new outreach methods through virtual platforms and individualized case management to maintain connections with youth and families during spring/summer shut-downs. We began serving groups of students in person again Fall 2020 in our K-12 after school programs, with group size limitations in place, masks, sanitizing, screening and other required protocols in place. Our parent center continued virtual training for parents, childcare providers and preschool children through the school year with in-person classes starting Summer 2021.