Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development Launches New Website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:Lisa Maholchic

Phone: 301-270-1700 ext. 109

Email: lmaholchic@theinnovationcenter.org

Site contains free downloadable toolkits, research, and programming resources

-- Users can read and participate in blogs and interactive communities--

Takoma Park, MD, December 8, 2008 – The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development has launched a new, user-friendly website – www.theinnovationcenter.org -- that offers readily available resources and interactive features to help foundations, youth organizations and community groups create and run social justice-oriented youth programs.

Available online today, the website serves as a go-to source for the Innovation Center’s youth leadership and social justice programming. It includes resources on program development, evaluation and youth-adult partnership. The Innovation Center has worked in partnership with a wide range of communities to conceive and implement programs that link youth leadership and social justice, and the new website shares many of the successful strategies.

“The Innovation Center’s new website is a portal for supporting social justice and generating social change in a way that’s good for young people and good for communities,” said Wendy Wheeler, founder and president of the Innovation Center. “This website offers practical tools to help national youth organizations as well as local, on-the-ground groups be better able to achieve their goals.”

A Go-To Space for Youth Leadership
Included in the new site is the Kellogg Knowledge Well, a collection of tools, activities, and online communities for collective leadership and youth-adult partnerships. Sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Knowledge Well comprises downloadable reports, research, and tool kits for organizations to access as needed at no cost. Organizations from around the country already have embraced the Innovation Center’s existing toolkits, and the Kellogg Knowledge Well will enhance and build upon the Center’s highly-regarded work.

Visitors to the site can join the discussion at Wendy Wheeler’s new blog (www.theinnovationcenter.org/blog) in which she shares expertise and ideas derived from more than 20 years in the field of youth, community, and organizational development. Throughout her career, Ms. Wheeler has worked to build dynamic and effective programs for young people and to create a fair and just world. As founder and president of the Innovation Center, she seeks out, nurtures and brings to scale exceptional strategies to support young people, strengthen communities and promote social justice.

“We want our work to be available to the public at large,” said Ms. Wheeler. “The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development exists for the benefit of communities, and we are excited to provide a place where all professionals involved in youth development can share ideas and interact with each other,” she added.

The Innovation Center continues to offer, free of charge, its downloadable catalog of products and services. Print copies of most tool kits and publications can also be ordered for a fee. Of interest to individuals, foundations, community organizations, academics and policy makers, the materials are designed to strengthen work with young people and their communities. Individual, customized consultancy tailored to an organization’s unique needs can be contracted upon request. Services include leadership training, research, programming, and program evaluation.

About the Innovation Center
The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development connects thinkers and leaders of all ages to develop fresh ideas, forge new partnerships, and design strategies that engage young people and their communities.

• We help innovative programs become strong, sustainable ventures. We seek out community organizations around the world to find creative ideas and promising practices in the youth development field. We offer technical assistance and practical guidance to organizations that want to deepen, expand, and launch new initiatives.
• We turn theoretical knowledge into practical know-how. We study what works in youth and community organizations around the world. We translate what we learn into practical materials—training programs, tool kits and other vehicles—to strengthen organizations, advance the field of youth development, and promote social justice.
• We use what we learn from community organizations to inform research, funding, and policy. We bring what we learn on the front lines of youth and community development to the attention of national leaders. We build on the experiences of community organizations to help develop research agendas, and consult with foundations, academics, and policymakers to design, launch, and evaluate new initiatives.
• We connect people and ideas to create change. We connect local organizations, academics, policymakers, and funders to learn, teach, support, and inspire each other. Through face-to-face programs, online activities, and learning events, we develop powerful alliances that cross interest and project lines.
• Results are new practices that strengthen community and youth development and promote social change.

For more information, contact the Innovation Center at www.theinnovationcenter.org, info@theinnovationcenter.org or at 301-270-1700.