By Janice Chan | Donor Relations Coordinator
While we're still in the planning and preparation process for our 2010 summer camps--the first camp of the season starts one month from today!--our Badges for Baseball program is in full swing across the country.
Through Badges for Baseball, law enforcement officers volunteer as mentors. Children and officers get to know each other as individuals through playing team sports like baseball. Using our character education curriculum Healthy Choices, Healthy Children, mentors help youth build decision-making skills by discussing consequences in real situations. This is crime prevention at its core: foster positive relationships between youth and police; teach young people to set life goals; keep them engaged in positive out of school program; and show them choices for a successful future. Together with partner staff, law enforcement volunteers provide supportive relationships, a safe environment, and opportunities to belong and build skills—all features of an effective youth development program.
The kids who come to summer camp participate in Badges for Baseball during the rest of the year, and summer camp is often an incentive for those kids who are truly making positive choices. So, summer camp is really one component of a comprehensive program. We engage a third party to evaluate our programming each year, and since your contributions are supporting kids participating in this program, we thought you'd like to know the type of impact your gift will be making. As an example, we'd like to share last year's evaluation results with you.
In 2009, the Foundation worked with independent evaluators, Keswick Advisors, to evaluate Badges for Baseball. We asked parents, teachers/mentors, and law enforcement volunteers at 25% of program sites for their observations regarding changes in the behavior of youth participating in our program. Here is what they noticed:
• 80% of adults saw participants working harder as a result of program participation. • 74% saw participants behaving more responsibly and being able to give good reasons for their actions. • 67% noticed participants setting short-term goals, showing a willingness and ability to plan for the future. • 91% of law enforcement officers noticed participants becoming more comfortable in their interactions with officers.
These real life changes in behavior and decision making are the reasons behind everything we do. At the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, we believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right, and we will continue to evaluate and improve our programs to give youth important tools that they can use everyday to be successful.
Thank you for helping to create these opportunities for deserving kids across the country!
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