Karen Pittman to Speak at DreamMakers Breakfast

When it comes to youth development leaders, Karen Pittman is one of the first names that come to mind.

Karen is the co-founder and current CEO of The Forum for Youth Investment, which works with national, state and local leaders to help change the odds for young people. The Forum assists organizations that want to make fundamental change in their communities by providing research, advisement, technical assistance and initiatives.

When crafting strategies to best serve the youth population in Richmond and Petersburg, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond naturally turned to The Forum for Youth Investment.

“We worked with [Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond] on a regular basis to help them figure out how to operationalize the commitment to not only provide quality programming, but to improve outcomes, or change the odds, for young people,” Karen said.

Forum for Youth Investment co-founder Karen Pittman

With guidance and facilitation from the Forum, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond has spent the last two years establishing and working towards new organizational goals. Time was spent engaging the community through a series of conversations which helped identify needs and areas of improvement. New approaches to training staff and working with community partners were established, bringing with them fresh, innovative ideas.

One of the biggest shifts is that Boys & Girls Clubs has become both mission- and data-driven. Data management systems have been implemented so that staff can continuously evaluate programming and make adjustments to create the best possible outcomes for young people.

“The Clubs embraced the ‘big picture’ goals we proposed,” Karen said. “They never shied away from challenges, even when there were real-time talent and resource constraints.”

As Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond continues to grow, so does the relationship with The Forum for Youth Investment. Karen will be the guest speaker at the inaugural Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond DreamMakers Breakfast on October 25.

Karen will share her perspective on how organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs are working to ensure the best possible outcomes for young people in our community. The inaugural DreamMakers Breakfast will also provide an update on the Clubs’ mission, impact stories from Club members and engagement opportunities for those who wish to deepen their level of involvement.

If you’d like to join us for the DreamMakers Breakfast on October 25 from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at Country Club of Virginia or learn more about becoming a DreamMaker, email us at development@bgcmr.org.