During their Spring Cycle 2017 of Grant Awarding, the Olin B. and Desta Schwab Foundation has partnered with the following organizations through funding the following programs that meet the Foundation’s funding priorities.

Fort Wayne Urban League

  • Program: Urban Youth Empower Program (UYEP)
  • Grant Award Amount: $13,550

UYEP (Urban Youth Empowerment Program) is designed to empower 14 to 24 year old youth through a 30 day career readiness curriculum, job workforce development and soft skills. The youth are placed in 8 week internships and/or direct hires during the summer. They are also case managed for one year after intake and acceptance to UYEP. This program impresses that they should never give up on their goals. In 2016, they enrolled and serviced 71 youth from 14-24 years of age and 63 completed. All but one were placed in an internship or directly into employment. Their UYEP program was the most successful program of all National Urban League affiliates.

Fort Wayne Youtheatre

  • Program: Arts in Education Outreach Initiative
  • Grant Award Amount: $5,000

The Fort Wayne Youtheatre will continue to expand and enrich their current outreach programming with Fort Wayne Boys & Girls Clubs, East Allen Community Schools, and youth centers through Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation. They offer a variety of free classes & camps in both stage theatre and backstage stagecraft tech (sound, lighting, scene design/building, prop construction, costuming, makeup, etc.). Participants work alongside theatre professionals and local artists. Participants will use theatre to improve their overall language arts skills that include public speaking and creative writing. Class activities include the study of technical production and support staff in the theatre, set design and painting, costume design and creation concepts, lighting design theories, sound equipment operation, properties design and construction, and overall exposure to a working theatre.

Indiana Tech

  • Program: 2017 Build & Learn Middle School STEM Camp
  • Grant Award Amount: $25,000

The IN Tech 2017 Build & Learn Middle School STEM Camp focuses in the fields of STEM: science, technology, engineering and math. The overarching goal of this program is to improve STEM education among young people in NE IN. Their goal is to enhance the knowledge of middle school students and promote a desire for career focused learning in high school and beyond. Students who attend the camp have course level instruction provided by Indiana Tech engineering professors and students have the opportunity to complete hands-on projects. The camp introduces the basic concepts of engineering and computer science to the community youth and encourages them to pursue STEM courses in high school and as a possible major in college. Female attendance are emphasized. The students work in college laboratories learning engineering and science concepts to construct a mini self-powered steamboat, constructing a table top robot, and applying chemistry by working with ploymers and more. They are exposed to the overall campus life experience which is very beneficial to 1st generation college students. Faculty from the College of Engineering and School of Computer Sciences are involved in shaping the curriculum and implementation of the program activities.

Junior Achieement of Northern Indiana

  • Program: JA Biz Town and JA Finance Park career-readiness tools and experiences
  • Grant Award Amount: $50,000

JA in A Day students receive info-graphic worksheets, JA Biz Town Finance Park students participate in Schwab Career Center and receive JA Biz Town JA Career Exploration Guide, JA Economics for Success program students receive “What’s My Future” magazine and JA holds a career essay contest each year.

Northeast Indiana Foundation d.b.a. Northeast Indiana Fund

  • Program: NE IN Strengths Network
  • Grant Award Amount: $80,000

The NE IN Regional Partnership, through the Northeast Indiana Fund, provides the backbone support to the area’s Big Goal Collaborative initiative. The most critical pillar of Vision 2030 is 21st Century Talent with its key priority, the Big Goal that aims at ensuring that 60% of NE IN residents have a high quality degree or credential by the year 2030. Barriers to connecting students to careers include lack of understanding of careers by educators, lack of understanding by students, and lack of soft skills among high school graduates. The Regional Partnership’s Strengths-based coaching effort (based on Gallup’s Clifton StrengthsFinder) seeks to overcome these three critical barriers by connecting the region’s New Tech high school students to Strengths-based coaching from both educators and community/business leaders. The funds will be used: (1) Purchase the Gallup Strengths-Finder Assessment for more New Tech students, parents, and Strengths Advocates, (2) Develop a replicable Strengths-based “train the trainer module (NE IN Strengths Coaching Module) to be used for training school administration staff, regional employers & parents to become Strengths Advocates to further facilitate the common language of Strengths in NE IN, (3) implement the NE IN Strengths Coaching Module in school corporations and parent groups or PTA’s, and Implement the NE IN Strengths Coaching Module with regional employers; and coordinate the connection of coaches to students. Participating employers will incorporate Strengths Coaching into their own professional development that will create a workplace environment familiar to students who have had the opportunity to invest in their strengths.

Region 8 Educational Service Center – College & Career Attribute Development Program ASK

  • Program: College and Career Attribute Development Program
  • Grant Award Amount: $110,000

The program helps schools create more college and career ready students by using The College and Career Attribute Development Program (ASK). Region 8 serves counties in NE IN including Allen, Huntington, Whitley, DeKalb and Noble. This program focuses on 6th to 12th grade students. Each student has a plan focused on the 5 attributes of a college an career ready student: (1) KNOW: Knowing themselves and their unique gifts and talents, (2) CONNECT: Connecting at least 3 areas of possible career pursuit after high school based on their perceived interests, (3) SELECT: Selecting what colleges, universities, CTE, 2-year vocational or trade schools best prepare the student for their future goal, (4) PLAN: Understanding the financial requirements to complete work, and (5) GO: Students will have a data folder that presents their credentials. Participating schools develop a school to career program that is firmly embedded in the school culture. Some of the more popular aspects of ASK that the schools are implementing are (1) student led conferences, (2) school wide career seminar who industry comes to the school, (3) college career conversations (C3), (3) learning career clusters, (4) project based learning exercises, and (5) leadership development/camp.

South West Allen County Schools (SACS)

  • Program: College and Career Attribute Development Program
  • Grant Award Amount: $38,000

The Development Program supports SWAC to digitize their curriculum while incorporating College and Career Readiness as a key strand in preparing their graduates after secondary education. A variety of classroom digital learning experiences are incorporated such as continuing to embed college and career planning within the classroom and advisory. The grant serves over 4,200 secondary students and their parents. More than 3,000 career interest, skills, and/or work value assessments are completed by their students in Grades 6-12 this academic year. ~90% of their current 9th grade started or completed an e-4-year plan in middle school. They will continue relevant professional development, embedding 21st Century Skills throughout the curriculum, holding C-3 college and career conversations , and using Indiana Career Explorer.