News

NEW ORLEANS – The Mayor’s Office of Youth & Families (OYF) recently received a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support a range of initiatives.

“I am excited to partner with W.K. Kellogg, a vital philanthropic organization, that is helping the City in our drive to effect positive change for generations of New Orleanians. When I established the Office of Youth & Families, I wanted an agency that could better coordinate City services for our young people and the families that support them," said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. "This grant is a major step in fueling the work where the needs are the greatest.”

The grant will help several aspects of the OYF’s work. It will support initiatives that link vulnerable, system-involved youth with summer employment and year-round workforce assistance in order to improve economic mobility, safety and overall well-being. The OYF will be able to conduct a citywide youth master planning process in partnership with the Children and Youth Planning Board as well as the New Orleans Youth Alliance. This plan will establish a set of bold, strategic goals and metrics for youth relating to their safety, well-being and healthy development. The youth master plan will engage a vast group of diverse stakeholders in imagining a collective future for New Orleans’ young people and ensuring accountability around stated goals.

Also, OYF will be now be empowered to launch a “community hubs” initiative that incentivizes neighborhood-based partnerships among schools, early learning centers, libraries, recreation centers and health clinics to work collectively in order to improve child well-being.

“We recognize that we cannot do this hard work without the collective wisdom and support of everyone who has a stake in the success of our children and families – from our neighborhoods all the way to our philanthropic partners. We are so grateful for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s recognition not only of the challenges we face but our ability to improve lives when we have the right support,” said OYF Director Emily Wolff.

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About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal entrepreneur and innovator, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life. The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.