Dear Whitney Bank,

Youth Village, Inc. is an after school program developed in 1999 to cater to disadvantaged youth
in our low-socioeconomic area. Our staff prides itself in developing vital life skills in the youth
we serve. We help them succeed academically, participate in arts programs, and fight childhood
obesity by teaching them how to eat right and exercise to stay healthy.

Because Youth Village, Inc. focuses on helping disadvantaged youth, many of our potential
students cannot afford the tuition. We have helped over 650 students in our area, and 20 are
currently enrolled in our program. We are asking Whitney Bank for tuition assistance to allow
students on our waiting list to participate in our afterschool program.

Mission Statement: Our mission is to lend our individual and organized aid to support, teach
and uplift the youth of our community in an educational, spiritual and moral manner by
providing them with a place to meet, fellowship and learn in a safe, adult-supervised
environment.

Grant Amount Requested: $24,000

Purpose of the grant: To provide tuition assistance to disadvantaged, local youth. This tuition
will allow the youth to participate and be supervised in an after school program and summer
camp that will help them with school and advancing academically, help them develop a love for
arts, and help them learn and use vital healthy-living skills.

Legal name of the organization (identical to name on IRS Form 990): Youth Village, Inc.

Thank you,

Nellie Bogar
Executive Director

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Proposal Summary
It is 5:30 p.m. on a typical Friday afternoon. Winter solstice provides an early start to the evening.
Muffled music and laughter seep through the windows at 312 Pelham Street. Several kids are on the stage
rehearsing for their upcoming fashion show. A few children are in a private room with a tutor, preparing
for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Others are tidying up different stations and
preparing to leave their “home away from home” for the weekend. These are great kids with amazing
potential. It is a blessing for them and their community that they have an opportunity to grow and flourish
in a safe, supervised, and educationally rewarding and stimulating environment. They are fortunate
enough to be enrolled at Youth Village.

Youth Village is located in a neighborhood where 65 percent of the residents are living below poverty
level. According to the Department of Juvenile Justice, this is a “high risk zip code area,” where many of
the children are referred to as “latch-key kids.” This means they lack regular supervision. Youth Village
operates in Okaloosa County where 1,800 youth are currently being detained for various crimes. The
Department of Juvenile Justice says most of the crimes committed by these youth occur in the after school
hours of 2-6 p.m. Nellie Bogar opened Youth Village's door so that these children would have another
option.

Youth Village is an after-school program and summer camp founded in 1999 and located in Fort Walton
Beach, Fla. The program serves local children ages 6-16 and is open during the school year from 2-6 p.m.
and during the summer months from 7:30a.m.-6p.m. Children receive a healthy snack when they arrive
and then alternate between the various educational stations. Some of them are paired with an individual
tutor to complete homework and focus on areas of deficiency such as reading comprehension. Others will
study in age-appropriate groups in preparation for their upcoming standardized test. The bookshelves are
filled with dozens of donated books. Colorful maps, charts and inspirational posters serve as wallpaper.
Computer stations line the wall leading to an inviting reading corner which is defined by a beautiful oak
tree painted into the vertex and filled with oversized pillows. The large theatrical stage, in the center, is
the only thing distinguishing the large room from an impressively-suited classroom.

Academics are the main focus during the school year but the summer camp dedicates more of its
curriculum to the arts. The focus of the Summer/Arts Education Camp is to provide programs that inspire
creativity, while building confidence and character. Summer sessions conclude with a community
performance where the children showcase their talents.

Whitney Bank funds programs that teach children and young adults the skills they need to succeed in life.
Youth Village facilitates a learning environment for the attainment of those skills. Whitney is committed
to improving the quality of life and building a strong community in the areas they serve by funding
organizations that contribute to the success of the community where their employees live and work.
Youth Village provides essential “life lessons” that would otherwise not be available to children in those
communities.

Whitney supports arts and cultural activities through educational opportunities available to low-income
individuals. Education is the primary focus of Youth Village, but in addition to academics the children are
involved in Service Learning Opportunities and several awareness programs. These programs include
drug and alcohol prevention, social skills, conflict resolution, developing positive relationships,
respecting oneself and others, and cultural diversity.

Youth Village has the capacity to serve many more youth than are currently enrolled. Since 1999 more
than 650 youth have been through Youth Village’s curriculum. That is over a third of the number of youth
being detained in the Okaloosa County Juvenile Center. Youth Village has empty seats at its computers,
there are FCAT workbooks still wrapped in plastic, and there are scores of books waiting to be read. But

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the empty chairs are not from a lack of children but from a lack of funding. Youth Village maintains a
wait list, but the $25 per week tuition proves to be the deciding factor as to whether they will remain on
or off “the street.”

There is immediate space available for 15 Fort Walton Beach children at Youth Village. An annual
sponsorship of one child is $1,600. This includes the after-school program and the full-time summer
program tuition. Youth Village is seeking annual sponsorship for 15 youth which totals $24,000. Upon
acceptance of these funds Youth Village could immediately begin providing an invaluable experience for
these children that would include stronger academic skills, personal growth and inspiration to become
their best.

Mission of the Organization

Youth Village’s mission is “to lend our individual and organized aid to support, teach and uplift
the youth of our community in an educational, spiritual and moral manner by providing them
with a place to meet, fellowship and learn in a safe, adult-supervised environment.”
Bogar’s mission is to uplift the youth of this community, aged 5-16, with a place to come after school
where they can feel safe, play, eat, learn and get support in their education.

History of the Organization

Youth Village began in 1999, originally as an after-school program for children to play and learn in an
adult-supervised environment in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It has now expanded into a summer camp as
well. Over the past decade more than 650 students have been helped by Youth Village. Bogar and her
staff provide a safe environment where today's disadvantaged youth can focus on their education and
flourish in a protected social scene.

Bogar is both founder and director and personally supervises these children daily. In these ten years, 73%
of Youth Village students have brought up their grades by a whole letter grade. The Florida Business
Partners for Juvenile Justice, Inc. honored Youth Village with a nomination for the 2003 Delinquency
Prevention Statewide Conference as one of the best programs in Northwest Florida which includes
Walton, Santa Rosa, Escambia, and Okaloosa counties.

Bogar participates in community service projects with Youth Village. Thus far the organization has made
two docu-dramas in conjunction with Cox Communications and the Okaloosa County Anti-Drug
Coalition. These short films produced by Youth Village’s students are made in an effort to spread
awareness about the adverse effects of alcohol and drugs and the negative impact of bullies. Bogar has
worked in conjunction with Striving for Perfection Ministries, Okaloosa Arts Alliance, Children in Crisis
and the fore mentioned, Okaloosa Anti-Drug Coalition in an effort to look out for the needs of these
children. Youth Village has succeeded in reaching their goals over the last ten years and looks forward to
developing new objective to aspire to. As Bogar often says,"...it takes a village to raise a child."

Need for the Project, in View of Related Work by Others

Youth Village is located in the heart of Fort Walton Beach. The organization serves Okaloosa County
schools, with most of the children attending Wright Elementary. In the 2008-2009 school year 1,743 kids
were held back from advancing to higher grade levels in Okaloosa County. In the community surrounding
Youth Village around 65 percent of the community lives below poverty level. There is a great need to
provide support to the helpless children. They need food, shelter and adult supervision when their
guardians are unable to provide basic necessities. Youth Village currently serves 20 children, but the
building can accommodate 90 children. The lack of tuition support has hindered Youth Village from
running at full capacity.

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Tuition for Youth Village is $25 per week throughout the school year. This money goes toward financing
all the activities, supplies, snacks and transportation. Some Youth Village families are not able to afford
this tuition, and many kids have had to drop out of the program.

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice refers to the locale of this facility as a "high risk zip code
area" where the children are known to be "latch-key children" who are left alone many hours throughout
the day. Youth Village gives these children a place to eat, learn and be watched. For some of the children,
the food they receive at Youth Village is the only food they eat. The Florida Department of Juvenile
Justice declares that 40 percent of the children enrolled at Youth Village are influenced by negative home
environments and criminal family histories. Some other factors that influence the children are frequent
truancy, lack of parental control, grade retention, and low academic achievement.

Youth Village's primary focus is on education. By providing the children with a positive environment
where they are able to ask questions and learn, the organization has seen significant improvements in
overall grades. Youth Village participates with the kids in Pre-FCAT preparation starting in January.
Youth Village also assists in teaching the kids computer skills, sports, nutrition and fitness. They also
provide a mentoring program for preteen girls. Reading comprehension is a major priority. In the
Okaloosa County School District, 4,000 children scored below proficiency in the 2008-2009 school year.

Project Description
Bogar's goal is to keep the children off the streets and out of trouble, by providing them every opportunity
she can to succeed in school and life. The staff teaches reading, science and math and they prepare the
children for the FCAT that all students in Florida take each year. As well as focusing their efforts on
academics, the staff encourages the children to be involved in the arts. They have several workshops
which include writing, acting, dancing and singing. At the end of every summer Youth Village hosts a
free community-wide musical production to showcase the talents of the children.

Youth Village has also recently incorporated a fitness and healthy living curriculum into their program.
They were chosen by the National Institute of Health to be a sponsor for We Can!, a national public
education program to combat childhood obesity. Youth Village is currently the only We Can! sponsor in
Okaloosa County.

Youth Village is helping disadvantaged youth succeed in academia and teach the children valuable life
skills. Currently the organization is funded solely by local foundations, community support and private
donations. Many of the local children cannot afford the tuition, so these donations are incredibly
important. With more funding, Bogar hopes to increase the number of children she is able to serve. The
organization has helped over 650 local children with 20 currently enrolled in the program. The building in
which Youth Village operates has a potential occupancy of 90. Funding will not only help provide tuition
for the program currently running at 25 percent capacity but also help the program expand and allow the
staff to take the children on academically stimulating field trips to further their education.

Audience Served
The primary audience that the grant will serve is the low-income community surrounding Youth Village.
This includes the families of potential Youth Villagers that are located in Okaloosa County and cannot
afford tuition. Within the community, the focus will be on the at-risk children. With the grant,
scholarships will be created which will allow more children to participate. With a positive after-school
environment, the children will be less likely to get into trouble during high-risk crime times and in turn
have a positive impact on their entire community. Making sure children have positive role models is
imperative to their personal growth and Youth Village will be able to ensure this if they are able to reach
more children.

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Goals, Objectives, and Action Plan

One goal Youth Village has is to expand and reach more children. We hope to increase the number of
children enrolled to 35 students, versus the 20 we currently have, in the 2010-2011 school year.
- With more children enrolled in Youth Village and programs like it, the number of juveniles
being arrested in Okaloosa County and the number of juveniles being held in detention
centers will decrease dramatically.
o Youth Village will make outreach visits to local schools.
o Try to recruit more qualified volunteers to help with the children.

With tuition support of $24,000, students can participate in the already implemented programs that will
benefit and protect them.

Another goal Youth Village has is to help each child succeed in his/her academic career. This goal is one
of the most important and has continually been attained with students that have been a part of this
program in the past.

- Youth Village aims to have 70% of their students increase their grades by one letter grade
within the school year and advance to the next grade level.
o Parents and teachers will notice a 73% increase in academic grades after this
upcoming term.
o Students will have a 50% higher score on FCAT after the one-on-one attention and
individual tutoring is received in the next year.

One final goal of Youth Village is to develop life skills that will help the students blossom into
responsible, accountable adults. We hope to increase awareness in 75% of our students regarding drug
education, fitness and life skills over the next school year

o Supervisors will witness an 80% increase in awareness of the hazards of drugs and
alcohol after two weeks.
o Students will increase their knowledge of healthy eating habits and fitness by 90%
after 30 days at Youth Village.

Our plan is to sustain students in a safe environment for the after school hours so they can grow and
develop into responsible individuals in our community. We will accomplish this by having:

• Substitute teachers, homework help, and study halls prepare the students to spend more time with
their studies.
• The use of programs and seminars to help educate and guide the children with general awareness
of peer pressure, self-sufficiency, responsibility and positive morals.
• The incorporation of mentors and counselors to help students lead healthy lifestyles with
ambitions, values, respect for others, conflict resolution and life skills.
• Tutoring and service learning exercises allows students to build stronger Math and English skills
to study for the FCAT.

Expected Quantifiable Outcomes or Results

The expected outcome of this grant is to receive money that will go towards Youth Village's tuition
assistance which will allow more children to enter the program. With more at-risk children being able to
attend Youth Village, the community will see an improvement in grades and crime rate. If Youth Village

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is able to serve more families, there will be an overall better feeling of togetherness for the whole
community. For the kids to have mentors and a safe place to grow, they are more likely to make positive
changes in their lives and not make decisions that harm themselves, their families and the community.

Method of Evaluation of Proposed Outcomes

It is extremely important to Bogar that her program succeeds in helping the children. They have an annual
"report card" to judge the yearly success and to help decide what needs to be altered. The staff helps the
children fill out forms at the beginning and end of each project. The Executive Director and Program
Supervisor continue to monitor programs on a daily basis. To ensure that the programs are helping the
students, the children are individually tested on knowledge of the food pyramid, healthy food and snack
choices, how to read a nutritional label, and on different exercises. Each student will participate in a
fitness test, their grades will be monitored and they will be quizzed on their computer skills. Youth
Village feels that all the skills they teach help and continue to implement new programs every year.
Through testing and monitoring each student, Youth Village is able to see the difference they make in
each child's life.

Other Sources of Support for the Project

The following organizations have previously, or are currently working with and providing support to
provide a better life for at-risk children with Youth Village:

• Striving for Perfections Ministry provides the 3,000 square foot facility and monthly utilities for
Youth Village as well as the fenced-in play area. This is a continued contribution from the S4P
Synergy, Inc., a non-profit arm of the church that started in 2005.
• Shelter House of Okaloosa/Walton Counties provides counselors who participate weekly to guide
the children ages ten and older in such topics as communication, boundaries, relationships, abuse,
conflicts and group guidelines.
• Okaloosa Arts Alliance (OAA) provides workshops, promotions and seminars as it is now
Okaloosa's designated arts agency.
• The Alpha Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Rho Omicron Lambda Chapter). This is a group of local
businessmen who provide mentorship to the youth of the community, particularly the boys of
Youth Village, the majority of whom live with only their mothers.
• The Okaloosa County Anti Drug Coalition provides guest speakers who make presentations and
distribute literature about the adverse effects of drug and alcohol abuse.
• There are seven weekly volunteers who work with the children: two AmeriCorps members who
specialize in math and reading, Okaloosa County School Teacher substitutes, and three high
school students.
• Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation annually recognizes Youth Village as a non-profit
facility in need of financial support, and makes a monetary contribution each year, which varies
dependent on the events in the fundraising season.

The Plan for Continuing the Activity Beyond Whitney’s Support

The continuous support of the community is important to Bogar and the children. It is an ongoing struggle
to put Youth Village in the forefront of people's minds. Each child that is offered this opportunity for
protection and guidance has more possibilities and moral support than other children who did not receive
the same support. Youth Village has, for the past two years, received continued support from the Destin
Charity Wine Auction Foundation which includes Youth Village in their annual charity allotments.
Depending on their auction and fundraising for the year, contributions vary. The more children that can
be supported through this proposal can potentially allow this community to have stronger moral citizens.
The opportunity that Whitney Bank can create through supporting Youth Village is substantial to each
child affected, including those currently attending Youth Village and those who will enroll in future.

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