Elevating Work for Boys and Young Men of Color

Team members Lori McClung and Rebecca Cohen are busy traversing the country to help grantees in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Forward Promise initiative develop powerful communication strategies and outreach tools. Lori and Rebecca have led strategy sessions with Little Rock, Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis, and Phoenix.  “ Much of what we are doing with them is helping with their communication strategy and supporting efforts to solidify their active partnerships, with goals that range from developing internal protocols and keeping accountability as a backbone organization to publicly launching their effort, to showcasing their work nationally to help with sustainability and policy change,” says Rebecca.  Each grantee organization is participating in a collective impact approach with other organizations in their communities to fundamentally change how their neighborhoods or cities engage with and provide services to young men and boys of color. Approaches range from restorative justice to college preparation, and ACS is there to help groups define their messages, identify promising practices and strategies, and setting the tasks and timelines to ensure the work is impactful.