Twenty years after the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future, America’s Promise Alliance, the nation’s largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth, yesterday hosted Recommit to Kids |The Summit for America’s Future, a daylong convening to refocus the nation on the needs of young people. Download hi-res photos from the events here.
Gen. Colin Powell and Alma Powell Urge Americans to Recommit to Kids as America’s Promise Alliance Turns 20
Convenes Education, Business, Nonprofit, Media, Faith and Youth Leaders in NYC to Refocus the Nation on Children
Releases New Collaborative Framework for Improving Outcomes for the Nation’s Children and Youth
NEW YORK (April 19, 2017) – Twenty years after the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future, America’s Promise Alliance, the nation’s largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth, yesterday hosted Recommit to Kids |The Summit for America’s Future, a daylong convening to refocus the nation on the needs of young people.
Headlined by keynote speaker President Bill Clinton, Tuesday’s summit highlighted 20 years of progress in the youth development sector, while driving attention to current challenges that prevent many children from reaching their American Dream and calling to action more Americans to join the cause.
Held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, more than 600 leaders joined the discussions, including representatives from business, philanthropy, nonprofit, government, media, education and the faith community, along with dozens of young people.
“While we have seen progress, the daily reality of at-risk children can seem like a conspiracy to destroy their dreams,” wrote Alma Powell, chair of America’s Promise, and General Colin Powell, who served as the founding chair of America’s Promise, in a letter to America released last week.
“Improving the lives and futures of children is a moral, social, and economic imperative in our country,” they wrote. “The well-being of children should be the common-ground commitment of our national life.”
Following the summit, the third annual Promise Night Gala, honored leaders and organizations making a difference in the lives of children in communities around the country, including Arne Duncan, Bryan Stevenson, Dorothy Stoneman, Kenneth I. Chenault, Common, Malcolm Mitchell, Parramore Kidz Zone in Orlando and five People of Promise honorees in their 20s. Singer/songwriter and honoree Andra Day, Kenny G, as well as youth artists from CityKids Foundation, Boys & Girls Harbor, Apollo Kids, among others, performed throughout the day.
To help support the work ahead, America’s Promise also released a new collaborative framework that offers a vision for how the people, organizations, and systems that surround young people can incorporate what’s been learned into sustainable, on-the-ground practices that will create greater opportunity to help more young people reach their full potential.
“We’ve seen and experienced progress, but the adversities young people face are deep and persistent. And deep and persistent adversities require smart and even more persistent responses,” said John Gomperts, president & CEO, America’s Promise, in regard to the new framework titled Our Work.
To learn more and get involved, visit www.Recommit2Kids.org.
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About America’s Promise Alliance
America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. Together with more than 400 national organizations and thousands of community leaders, America’s Promise focuses the nation’s attention on young people’s lives and voices, leads bold campaigns to expand opportunity, conducts groundbreaking research on what young people need to thrive, and accelerates the adoption of strategies that help young people succeed. GradNation, its signature campaign, mobilizes Americans to increase the nation’s high school graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020. For more information visit www.AmericasPromise.org.
19 April 2017
