Community Youth Development Initiative

Lead Partner:  John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, Stanford University

About the Community Youth Development Initiative (CYDI)

Launched in the spring of 2008, CYDI brings together over 35 organizations serving the Redwood City and North Fair Oaks community to help them accomplish more for and with youth communitywide than they can do alone. By implementing the following core strategies, we work to create a sense of shared responsibility across different sectors in our community so that all our young people will grow up with the knowledge, skills, and social attributes they need for success in school, work and life - and ultimately, contribute to their community:

• Build relationships to work towards a shared vision and common outcomes.
• Create an inclusive learning community that fosters effective youth development practices.
• Cultivate youth and community involvement and leadership.
• Utilize data to identify needs and track progress.
• Foster collaboration among organizations to promote creating thinking and leverage resources.

Current Activities

CYDI partners are involved in a host of activities throughout the year, including the following:

• Immigrant Youth Action Team (IYAT) – this youth adult partnership team works to increase the visibility, actions of, and resources for immigrant youth in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks.
• Professional Development Action Team – this team of youth service providers works to weave our collective resources to support adults working with youth. See some of our tools and below.
• Teens in Action Showcase – In partnership with Redwood City 2020’s Prevention Partnership, this annual event aims to support and highlight the work, passions and contribution of youth across our community.

Resources

"Compassionate Conversations" Tools and Resources
As part of our efforts to promote mutual learning and understanding across cultural experiences in our youth development work locally, the following site has been created to share tools and resources on this topic. Current members click here. If you are a Redwood City 2020 partner and would like to join this group, please contact mafernandez@stanford.edu

Contact Information

María Fernández, Policy and Program Senior Manager, John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, Stanford University
650-218-3140
mafernandez@stanford.edu