Visit from Portland Multnomah Youth Corps

Thanks to organizers of the Portland Multnomah Youth Corps for providing local businesses and organizations a chance to share our work with local youth.

United Way of the Columbia-Willamette hosted some 15 young men and women -- all entering ninth-grade in the fall -- from Self Enhancement Inc.

The youth are part of the Youth Potential Realized program that provides after-school and summer activities to African-American youth attending area public schools. The program recently received funding from United Way.

In his welcoming talk, United Way CEO Marc Levy talked about United Way's commitment to education, and encouraged students to do their best in school.

To give the students a peek into how grantmaking organizations like United Way allocates funding for local prgrams, staff members Colin McCormack and Suzanne McDonald led a funding exercise. The activity challenged the students to think about the best way to invest $100,000 in the community. Students reviewed three short fictitious proposals asking for a total of $150,000. In the end, the students made funding decisions based on demonstrated community needs.

Staff also participated in informational interviews where students had a chance to ask questions about the organization's workings. The event was capped off by a pizza lunch.

Thanks to United Way HR Director Kathy Grimm for organizing the visit. United Way is excited to host another group of students on August 5.