Newton Youth Success Collaborative Announces $10,000 Grant

Newton Youth Success Collaborative is excited to announce it recently received a $10,000 grant from the Boston Bridges Initiative to expand its successful I’m Amazing program that matches adult mentors with students to provide career exploration programming.

The Newton Youth Success Collaborative was started in 2021 by parent volunteers, Bridget Ray-Canada, IJ Anyanwu, and Kate Carpenter Bernier to connect students and families, and expand programming and mentorship opportunities from middle school through post-secondary degree completion.

“Our goal is to close the suburban opportunity gap,” said Bridget Ray-Canada, former Newton school committee member and Newton Youth Success Collaborative co-founder. “According to longitudinal data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), White and Asian Newton Public School grads have a 76% graduation rate from college, but their Latino and Black peers have a 36% and 50% post-secondary completion rate, respectively. We believe that by partnering and working together as a community Newton can change that -- as post-secondary degree attainment is critical to our students' economic future.”

“Last year we applied for and received a $5,000 grant from Boston Bridges Initiative to

build career awareness programming and mentorship for middle school and high school students of color,” added co-founder Kate Carpenter Bernier. “This year we seek to triple the size of the program which can serve as a model for other suburban communities, and this incredibly important grant from Boston Bridges Initiative is critical in helping us achieve this goal.”

“We are very impressed with the work being done by the Newton Youth Success Collaborative and their I’m Amazing campaign,” said Kimberley Anderson, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Boston Bridges Initiative. “$10,000 is the largest grant we have ever issued to any organization, and we are confident the funding will be used effectively as the group collaborates with volunteers, the Newton Public Schools, the City of Newton Department of Youth Services, and other local businesses and nonprofits to help as many students as possible.”