Wyman – Making a Difference for Over a Century
It is not easy to find 126-year-old organizations today, and when you do, very few are more relevant now than when they began. Wyman Center, commonly called Wyman, fits that category. YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis celebrates its recent $75,000 Heritage Grant to Wyman, a St. Louis organization founded in 1898. YouthBridge Heritage Grants are awarded to child- and youth-serving nonprofit agencies that have been supported by individual YouthBridge fundholders. Heritage Grants are a mainstay of YouthBridge’s discretionary grant program, which is fueled by contributions and fees from fundholder accounts, repurposed to benefit the community instead of funding YouthBridge operations. Given its long history and evidence of community impact, YouthBridge determined that Wyman was a perfect fit for a Heritage Grant.
Beginning as Camp Wyman, a place for children to enjoy nature, nourishing food, and fun, Camp Wyman still exists and annually serves over 5,000 young people and adults on its 80-acre forested campus. Wyman has grown and evolved over the years, and since the 1990s, it has also offered place-based programs serving youth where they are. The agency now directly serves more than 1,600 teens in the St. Louis area and through partnerships, serves more than 3,000 in St. Louis and 30,000 across the nation each year.
Envisioning a day when all young people thrive, Wyman’s mission is to “connect teens to their voices, their strengths, and their futures through proven programs and supports.” This statement resonates with YouthBridge, but certain aspects strike a particularly heartfelt chord. YouthBridge’s leadership and fundholders agree that teens’ voices are valid and valuable, as evidenced by other YouthBridge-supported programs and grants. Every teen has strengths and deserves access to programs designed to build on those strengths. One of the ways Wyman is unique, and another reason for YouthBridge’s desire to support, is the agency’s use of proven, evidence-based programs. In fact, a previous Think Big for Kids Grant from YouthBridge helped with the development of programs emphasizing outcomes.
Today, Wyman’s efforts are focused on three major programs – Wyman Leaders Program, Teen Outreach Program® (TOP®), and Teen Connection Project® (TCP®). Just in time for “Make a Difference Day” later this month, Wyman President and CEO, Allison Williams, described how the Teen Connection Project® makes a difference in the lives of the youth they serve.
Allison explained, “It is widely recognized that many teens today face a crisis in mental health and social connection. The struggle existed before the pandemic but was greatly intensified by the isolation.” Teen Connection Project, a one-semester interactive program for high school students, focuses on connections, building skills, and well-being. The 12 lessons begin with simple opportunities for the group to get to know each other and continue through understanding the importance of connections, the barriers to connecting, and finally challenging and celebrating each other. External research has demonstrated that the program has resulted in stronger peer relationships, an enhanced sense of belonging, greater use of social coping strategies, and lower rates of depressive symptoms. In Spring 2023, 98% of attendees reported positive health and well-being, including feeling hopeful about the future. Hope for the future is essential for success, so the program is achieving its goals.
In addition to working with students in the St. Louis area, Wyman offers both Teen Connection Project® and Teen Outreach Program® to over 75 partner organizations across the country. Wyman’s partners receive intensive training and support, periodic program reviews, access to a data collection and monitoring system, and on-going technical assistance and training opportunities.
According to Allison, the YouthBridge Heritage Grant will be used for growing philanthropic revenue, fee revenue, and communication efforts. She continued, “It is such an honor to be chosen as a recipient of a YouthBridge Heritage Grant. We have appreciated their support for quite some time, and we look forward to a continued partnership.”
YouthBridge is proud to support Wyman’s continued efforts and looks forward to celebrating the agency’s accomplishments on Make a Difference Day 2024 and for years to come!