Arthur Blank Family Foundation

St. Helena, South Carolina , March 29, 2003 -- Nearly seven in 10 surveyed Lowcountry youth say that they have nowhere to go between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. A new study released today, Are We Listening? Lowcountry Youth: A Status Report, finds that out-of-school programs for Lowcountry youth are underfunded and inadequate, threatening the healthy development of local youth and limiting their opportunities for success.

This study finds that access to out-of-school services is limited due to transportation issues, with large numbers of Lowcountry youth left unsupervised and unsupported during afternoon and evening hours. Findings and recommendations are being released today at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island and at a series of community forums throughout the four-county area through April 1, 2003.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, Heritage Classic Foundation, and Hilton Head Island Foundation combined efforts in May 2002 to launch the benchmark study on the status of out-of-school opportunities for youth in Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper Counties.

Cornerstone Consulting Group was commissioned to collect and analyze data to assist the partnership in its decision-making process around what can be done to create a comprehensive program to improve opportunities for youth in the Lowcountry. The study began in June 2002 and concluded in November 2002. It focused on youth, ages 6-19, from all economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds.

"What we heard from children and parents alike is that there have been too many studies, and not enough action when it comes to the unmet needs of youth in the Lowcountry," said Dianne Garnett, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. "It's time to make a difference. We must replace this hopelessness with hope by acting on this research now."

The four foundations supporting the study are calling for renewed public/private commitment to improve youth development and youth services with the following six recommendations:

Declare a public/private commitment to improve youth development and youth services.

Take steps to begin the creation of a youth development system that will coordinate and support youth programming across the region. Efforts will be coordinated with regional and statewide initiatives relating to out-of-school time.

Make a commitment to staff development to support youth work professionals.

Focus on the areas with the greatest need to create new services for youth.

Establish a grant program to support capacity building within smaller grassroots youth serving organizations.

Broaden the partnership to include the public sector, business interests, the faith community and others with the intent to create lasting, systemic change.

The Cornerstone report also includes:

County profiles comparing data across the four counties by population, income, and school achievement.

A description of out-of-school opportunities identified through a survey, interviews, and focus groups with community-level assessments of the capacity in each county to meet the needs of youth.

A description of issues related to youth development and youth programming taking into account history, culture, economics and social issues.

A set of recommendations about how to best proceed in designing and implementing an effort that addresses both the individual needs of each county and the common needs of all four counties, with insights about effective implementation strategies.

About the foundations:

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, based in Atlanta, strives to create opportunities for underserved youth and to be a catalyst for positive social change.

The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry serves Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and JasperCountiesin South Carolina. Founded in 1994, the mission of the community foundation is to strengthen community by connecting people, resources, and needs.

The Heritage Classic Foundation, founded in 1987 has helped influence and enrich the way of life for the needy and the culturally-inclined, as well as lending support to many medical and educational institutions.