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The Eckerd Family Foundation is committed to supporting programs and organizations whose work reflects the principles of positive youth development. We believe that today's youth deserve the support that comes from an entire community, not just a school, program or activity.

The Eckerd Family Foundation subscribes to The National Collaboration for Youth's definition:

Youth Development is a process which prepares young people to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through a coordinated, progressive series of activities and experiences which help them to become socially, morally emotionally, physically and cognitively competent.

Positive youth development addresses the broader developmental needs of youth, in contrast to deficit-based models which focus solely on youth problems such as, preventing youth violence, reducing teen pregnancy, or keeping kids off drugs.

Positive youth development yields a set of desired youth outcomes measured by the competencies that are being developed. Youth development programs prepare young people to deal successfully with the challenges of adolescence, prepare them to be independent and to accept the responsibilities of parenthood, work, career and good citizenship. Attention is focused on the following areas:

Social competencies, such as work and life skills, problem solving, communication skills
Moral competencies, such as personal values and ethics, a sense of responsibility and citizenship (including participation in civic life and community service)
Emotional competencies, such as a sense of personal identity, self-confidence, autonomy, and the ability to resist negative peer pressure
Physical competencies, such as physical conditioning and endurance, and an appreciation for and strategies to achieve lifelong physical health and fitness
Cognitive competencies such as knowledge, reasoning, ability, creativity and a lifelong commitment to learning and achievement

This strategy recognizes that youth are part of the solution - that their opinions are valuable and they deserve a voice in formulating the policies and activities that may define their future.

The Foundation may, from time to time, choose to focus closely on particular groups of youth by pursuing initiatives or through special projects.

Youth Engagement
Decades of research on youth development has demonstrated over and over again that involving young people in decision-making helps them achieve mastery, compassion and health. Research provides evidence that engaging young people in decision making has positive effects on adults and organizations as well. The Eckerd Family Foundation believes that youth engagement is also essential to improving outcomes for individual youth in their transitions to successful adulthood.