Enlarge Participants in Leaf & STEM get to enjoy the summer weather as well as gain educational experiences.

Posted: June 19th, 2009 Brant Aycock

This month we would like to highlight one of the eleven new Crossroads Charlotte initiatives that was announced during our press conference on June 5, 2009.

Partners in Out-of-School Time (POST) is an organization that ensures all school-age children and youth in Mecklenburg County have access to high-quality programs, activities, and opportunities when school is not in session.

Leaf & STEM is a community-wide initiative offered by POST as their Crossroads Charlotte Initiative that will expand opportunities for youth in afterschool and summer programs to use the outdoors to explore Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

Leaf & STEM offers free training, curriculum, and resources to afterschool and summer providers to target the need for youth exposure to high-quality outdoor/STEM education beyond what can be provided during the school day.

By providing youth with experiences to explore STEM subjects in an informal learning environment, Leaf & STEM has the potential to provide young people with increased access to jobs in these fields.

Sign your organization on to the Leaf & STEM Pledge today! By committing to attend free staff training and implement a free curriculum in your afterschool or summer program, you can become a part of the Leaf & STEM movement.

To learn more about Leaf & STEM, visit the WEBSITE or view the BROCHURE .

Posted: June 4th, 2009 Tracy Russ

Crossroads Charlotte released results of a new social capital study conducted by UNC Charlotte’s Urban Institute and announced new initiatives by organizations in the community designed to increase levels of social capital in Charlotte Mecklenburg.

Eleven organizations announced new initiatives including: American Red Cross – Greater Carolinas Chapter; AT&T; Catawba Lands Conservancy; Centralina Council of Governments; Charlotte Chamber; Communities in Schools; International House; Leadership Charlotte; Partners in Out of School Time (POST); Piedmont Natural Gas and Queens University of Charlotte. To download a summary of these new organizations and their initiatives, CLICK HERE.

The 2008 Social Capital Benchmark Survey was commissioned by Foundation For The Carolinas and conducted by the Urban Institute at UNC Charlotte as a follow-up to a study conducted by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam in 2001. Foundation President Michael Marsicano released the results of the study during the event after introduction by Urban Institute Executive Director Jeff Michael. The current study will be used as a benchmark/evaluation tool for Crossroads Charlotte and will be repeated in 2011. To download a summary of the report, CLICK HERE. To download the complete study, CLICK HERE.

The findings from the 2001 survey indicated that Charlotte ranked 39th out of the 40 communities studied in interracial trust. Both studies measured various indices of social capital in the community, including social trust, inter-racial trust, diversity of friendships, giving and volunteering. The results of the current study will demonstrate how the influx of diversity within Charlotte’s borders and the current economic downturn have affected these topics.

Crossroads Charlotte is a community project that asks organizations and people to respond to four possible futures about the community’s future.

Major funding for Crossroads Charlotte is provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Strategic leadership for Crossroads Charlotte is provided by Foundation For The Carolinas, with program management led by Community Building Initiative.