Out-of-school time superstars: positive experiences for young people don’t stop when school’s out at these United Way partner agencies

During summer months and year-round, out-of-school-time (OST) programs are indispensable to working families, providing peace of mind that children are safe, learning and having fun while parents are working. In our region, OST providers – with funding from United Way – are offering creative and engaging programs where young people are exploring careers, developing key job skills and even making their own money.

United Way recently hosted a special convening for funded partners in the education space, bringing together providers for an afternoon of networking, collaboration and storytelling. Read on for insights from three partner agencies about what they offer youth and what their staff took away from the event.

I think what makes our programs so special and effective is we meet students where they’re at.

YWCA Greater Pittsburgh

Dawnise Kozen, director of Opportunity Pathways Programs, leads four programs for young people at YWCA Greater Pittsburgh (YWCAGP): STEM Impact, Middle School PATHmakers, High School PATHmakers and Career Pathways.

“We intentionally prioritize serving underrepresented communities to expand access and create equitable opportunities for all students in Allegheny County,” Kozen says.

With STEM Impact, a “train the trainer” model, YWCAGP offers interactive STEM curricula to other after-school providers in Allegheny County. Its Middle School PATHmakers program provides high-quality OST enrichment activities to students in grades five through eight. YWCA’s newest initiative, the High School PATHmakers program, offers students bi-weekly programming focused on career exploration, financial education and 21^st century learning skills. The Career Pathways program includes trips to local trade schools, corporations, colleges and universities.

Staff use feedback from PATHmakers students, parents and guardians, and community partners in developing and improving programs.

“I think what makes our programs so special and effective is we meet students where they’re at,” Kozen says. “Every year we ask our students through surveys and focus groups what they like about the programs, what they would like to change, what they’d like to see.”

United Way has long supported the YWCA’s middle school program, Kozen says, and this funding helped the organization expand its programming throughout the region and into more school districts. She and her colleague were able to network with other attendees at the United Way convening, and made new connections with The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Tech25. Thanks to those connections, YWCA was able to offer a corporate trip for PATHmakers students to Tech25 and a guest artist will be visiting a summer camp at YWCA’s Homewood Education Center to lead activities.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania

Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania is one of the largest OST providers in the region, serving more than 10,500 youth annually across Allegheny and Somerset counties. Its programs span preschool, before- and after-school care, summer camp, teen mentoring, workforce development, STEAM and sports.

Vice President of Advancement Zoia DiMillo says Boys & Girls Clubs also includes teen participants in program design. Surveys of young people tell

staff what barriers, such as a lack of transportation, are holding students back from opportunities to build for success in school and life.

“With teens, we provide stipends, bus passes and credits for Uber and Lyft rides, because what teens told us was that in order to come in for programming, they often have to make the difficult decision to not take a part-time job – whether to help contribute to their households, save for college or build responsibility,” DiMillo says.

Boys and Girls Clubs’ teen programs are designed to help young people build essential workforce skills, strengthen their health and well-being, develop as leaders and stay on track academically. Stipends are based on program completion and attendance.

“it’s a nice way to acknowledge and reward their hard work, because our teen workforce pathways can be very intensive,” DeMillo explained.

DiMillo says she appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with other providers at the United Way convening.

“It was just a great learning experience, and I think Damon and Ana Kay [United Way’s Building for Success in School and Life team] do an excellent job creating space for candid and transparent conversations while serving as true thought partners.”

Waypoint Youth & Community Center

Waypoint Youth & Community Center in West Newton first got its start offering after-school and summer programming for students in grades five through 12. In 2021, Waypoint launched the Outpost Rivers Edge Eatery, an entrepreneurial internship program that now employs 30 high school- and college-aged participants.

Students in the program learn goal setting and resiliency skills while working at the Outpost Eatery, a burger restaurant in a repurposed shipping container along the Great Allegheny Passage. The program has been so successful that Waypoint has added a food truck and a dessert trailer program called Trailhead Treats.

You think you’re in the trenches and you’re kind of in it alone. And then you get in a group like that and realize ‘we’re getting it done.’

Now in its second year, Trailhead Treats is an immersive small business experience for young adults, who develop a business with guidance from a coach.

“We give them six months in our food trailer along the GAP trail with a coach and a budget and pay them a guaranteed $14.25-an-hour while they build the business from the ground up,” says Waypoint CEO Chris Morse. “The kids absolutely take ownership of the space.”

Sales from the student-run ventures ensure that every kid can attend the youth center for free. Morse stresses the importance of the Center’s daily meals for students who might be facing food insecurity at home. Volunteers, staff and students cook and sit down for a meal together every day.

United Way was one of Waypoint’s first supporters when it opened in 2018, Morse says. It’s still the only OST provider in West Newton.

“To have United Way in our sphere and have our back has given us this legitimacy,” Morse says, adding that the convening at United Way was an especially valuable reminder that other organizations are facing the same challenges and still providing outstanding programming.

“To hear the work that they’re doing, it’s just incredible,” Morse says. “You think you’re in the trenches and you’re kind of in it alone. And then you get in a group like that and realize ‘we’re getting it done.’”