YLD – William L. Clay Scholarship and Research Fund

The WLCSRF Youth Leadership Development program (WLCSRF YLD) is a new initiative to help students envision and plan for their future. WLCSRF YLD supports middle school students in three areas of growth: Confidence & Character, Career Exploration & Civic Engagement, and Effective Communication.

Program Foundation:

Character & Confidence

Program/Activity:

Best Start-All About YOUth

Community Partner:

Changing Children’s Worlds Foundation

Goal: Youth develop strong social emotional skills – interpersonal, self-awareness, self-control – to become their best selves and do their best out in the world.

Program Pillar 1:

Dreams & Plans

Program Activity:

Career Exploration & Civic Engagement

Community Partner:

TBD

Goal: Youth explore careers & callings that fit their interests and talens while considering their future impact on community.

Program Pillar 2:

The Through Line: Effective Communication

Program/Activity:

Public Speaking Leading discussions, interviewing, debating, etc. Writing Storytelling, reporting news, chronicling history, etc.

Community Partner:

Oratorical Contest Partners

Goal: Youth engage through the power of spoken and written words to educate, bridge divides, motivate action, and affect change

WLCSRF YLD intends to complement the good work of community partners already in progress and proven effective. The long-term goal of the program is to grow our collective consciousness and collaborative action to renew hope, expand opportunities, and achieve transformational change for our children, families, and neighborhoods to make St. Louis a first-choice city.