Year-in-Review from Cindy Sackett, Executive Director

This past year brought many challenges to Invest in Youth as students returned to classrooms in an uncertain pandemic environment. However, the board and I persisted and I am proud to report that we saw no interruption in services to our students with most student-tutor pairs meeting in person and a small group working online.

With the broad-based support from the Invest in Youth community, we were able to continue offering our enrichment programming, designed to spur students’ curiosity and engagement through hands-on, on-site learning opportunities. We are excited to report we will continue to thrive in this area and grow our enrichment programs in the 2022-2023 school year with additional STEAM partners. None of these successes would have been possible without our volunteer tutors, educational partners and donors.

heartfelt gratitude to our tutors

Invest in Youth cannot deliver the hundreds of programming hours each year without our expansive community of supporters, most notably our volunteer tutors. We were pleased to enroll 24 new volunteer tutors last year who joined our team of returning tutors, many of whom have been with us for ten or more years.

Each week tutors generously devote their time and energy to their students and this year was no different. This commitment has clearly produced clear quantitative results as we learned of dramatic differences in testing between Invest in Youth students and the general student population. We remain hopeful that we will continue to see these positive numbers in the coming year.

Eighty-five percent of tutors said they felt they had a positive impact on their students and 70% said they’d return this fall. Our tutors’ dedication and engagement inspire our entire community to continue our quest to narrow achievement gaps and drive educational equity. 

—Many students as well as tutors reported that their time together was a highlight of their week.—

We’d also like to acknowledge the partnership of our school administrators and partner teachers. It is in collaboration with them that we have been able to continue to provide services to our students, uninterrupted since the start of the pandemic. 

financial support drives our outreach

And of course, we would not have been able to continue our program without the generous financial support of our donors. Contributions from individuals, corporate sponsors and foundations have made it possible for Invest in Youth to reach more students with additional programming – as always – at no cost to families or schools. These partnerships translate into more access for students who need it most and time and space for us to grow. We cannot thank you enough. 

—Our steadfast supporters, including a diverse group of individuals, foundations and corporate
sponsors, allows us to continue serving the local community at no charge to families or schools—

We also are happy to report the success of our annual Golf Classic. Now in our 12th year, we were pleased to host over 100 golfers who helped pave the way to secure the financial stability of Invest in Youth as we enter our 25th year supporting some of the most deserving students in the local area. 

At Invest in Youth, we say that our students do not want us to walk in their shoes, but to believe in their journey. We thank you for believing in our journey and we will continue to make you proud.

With gratitude,

Cindy

If you would like to add to your 2021-2022 gift or join the growing list of supporters, please consider a donation through our GIVE link. Thanks to our partnership with the Paypal Giving Fund, donors giving through Paypal have no transaction fees — 100% of your donation goes toward serving our students.

ANNUAL REPORT NAVIGATION

Annual Report Home Page
Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement
Invest in Youth by the Numbers
2022-2023 and Beyond
Donor Recognition
Tribute to Our Founder
Student-Tutor Photo Gallery