While the world may think America to be the hub of prosperity, it is true that there are several problems plaguing America, especially its youth. The youth of every country is important as they are the generation the country banks upon to carry it forward. America might be a prosperous nation, but it is also true that seven million of America’s children, which is roughly twenty two percent of its children population lives in poverty. It is for children like these that the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation has worked for years to ensure that they are properly educated and are able to have a good life ahead of them.
Nancy Roob, the president of Edna McConnell Clark Foundation has been the driving force behind the organization’s good deeds. Roob has been instrumental in developing the foundation’s grantmaking strategy. The strategy involves making large and long-term investments in ensuring that a proper organizational capacity is built. This capacity is then used for the uplifting of a number of youth who are stuck in poverty and turn to a life of crime due to non-access to education of any kind. Her efforts have brought together 45 co-investors and secured an amount of $279 million in private and public funding for the foundation.
Before becoming the president of the foundation, Nancy Roob had done a lot of groundwork to ensure that there is a strong sense of community building within the organization. Under Roob’s vice-presidentship, a number of community building and stabilization programs were held in the areas of Harlem and South Bronx. These are two areas typically known for their underdevelopment and the price for that is paid mostly by children. There were several projects supported by this program, one of which evolved into the Harlem’s Children Zone and the success of which lead to the legislation to create Promise Neighborhoods all over America.
Roob is a perfect example of dedication and hard work and how the two could together be used to make a better society for the underprivileged. Under her, the foundation has done extensive work for not only poor children but also created awareness about teenage pregnancies, the alarming rate of school dropouts, lack of employment and several other problems which create division and inequality in the society. The foundation and Roob are perfect examples of the fact that if there is a will, there is definitely a way to bring people out of this darkness.
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