Archive

From 2006 to 2010, Sierra Health Foundation committed $8 million through the REACH Youth Program to support the healthy development of young people in the Greater Sacramento region. Now that the main phase of the work has drawn to a close, we're pleased to share the program evaluation report - Engaging Youth in Community Change: Outcomes and Lessons Learned from Sierra Health Foundation's REACH Youth Program.

Young people in Sacramento and Yolo counties are helping their communities through 34 service projects, thanks to the Grants Advisory Board for Youth (GABY). Once a year, GABY provides grants up to $500 each for youth-led projects. Download a list of funded projects below.

GABY supports young people to learn about giving, serving and taking action on issues they care about. This year, GABY is led by a group of sixteen young people who are interested in making a difference in their communities. They were responsible for reviewing grant applications and choosing projects for funding.

The seven REACH Community Action coalitions in the implementation phase of their work have put the finishing touches on their 2008-2009 annual reports. These unique, colorful documents highlight the goals and accomplishments of the coalitions’ second year of implementing their youth action plans. The coalitions now are distributing the documents to educate community members about their work to improve the health and well-being of young people in their communities, and to increase coalition membership and support.

The Grants Advisory Board for Youth (GABY) is accepting proposals for grants up to $500 to support youth-led "living well" activities that benefit schools, communities and neighborhoods in Sacramento and Yolo counties. Grant proposals are due Dec. 16.

GABY also offers an e-learning course for youth to learn the Gift of Giving, Learning to Serve and Grantmaking for Living Well.

Learn more about GABY grants and the e-learning course on the GABY 2.0 Web site.

As part of its commitment to the health and well-being of youth, Sierra Health Foundation has awarded $450,000 grants to two Northern California coalitions to help improve the lives of young people.

As part of their REACH Community Action planning grant work, the Vacaville Youth Roundtable REACH Coalition and the Youth Development Community Action Coalition of Yuba-Sutter conducted community assessments to determine the strengths, challenges, resources and readiness to improve conditions for youth in their communities.

The coalitions each created a Community Profile with the findings from this work. Download the reports below!

Learn about the REACH Youth Media Project and watch four youth-produced documentaries on the RYMP page of this Web site!

Sierra Health Foundation partnered with an evaluation team based in the California Communities Program at UC Davis to evaluate the REACH program. The evaluation team completed its interim report, which focuses on implementation of the REACH Community Action grant in seven communities: El Dorado Hills, Galt, Meadowview, Rancho Cordova, South Sacramento, West Sacramento and Woodland.

Download the REACH interim evaluation report.

A final evaluation report will follow in about two years.

Grants Advisory Board for Youth (GABY) grants from $50 to $500 are available for youth-led projects that focus on the environment in Sacramento and Yolo counties. Proposals are due to Sacramento Region Community Foundation by Feb. 27, 2009. Learn about these grants and the GABY e-learning course on the Sacramento Region Community Foundation Web site.