Signature Theatre, Inc.

Founded in 1989, Signature Theatre is a nationally known, Tony Award®-winning theater that produces contemporary musicals and plays, reinvents classic musicals, develops new work, and reaches its community through engaging educational and outreach opportunities.  

Musical theater is Signature's "signature," and the Theatre is known regionally and nationally for its musical productions, especially new musicals. Called a “the hottest theater in (and around) D.C. by THE WASHINGTON POST’S chief theater critic, Signature combines large-scale productions with its intimate playing spaces and is a leading force in U.S. musical theater. Signature is home to the largest musical theater development and production program in the United States and has produced 60 world premieres—including 29 new musicals—since its founding, many of which have gone on to achieve regional, national, and international success.

Signature presents more than 500 artistic events annually, including an eight-show subscription season, a popular cabaret series, and readings of new work, and The Signature Show, Signature’s variety show presented recorded and released on YouTube. Signature gives back to the community through education and outreach initiatives that engage Northern Virginia and Washington, DC’s increasingly diverse population. Programs include: SIGNATURE IN THE SCHOOLS, an immersive arts education program for high school students; EDUCATION RESIDENCIES that provide classroom training for schools and teachers; SIGNATURE CONSERVATORY, providing year-long private acting training for teens; OVERTURES and STAGE ONE musical theater training for emerging artists and teens; INSIDE SIGNATURE discussion and interview series events; and a Broadway in the Park concert in partnership with Wolf Trap, and special seminars, workshops, and master classes. Signature also offers discussion nights, Pride Night performances for the LGBTQ community, and serves the current and retired military and their families, first responders, and teachers with free and discounted tickets.

Signature Theatre is located in Arlington County, a 26 square-mile urban county with a population of 237,000, located directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC and adjacent to the Northern Virginia jurisdictions of Fairfax County and Alexandria City. Home to the Pentagon (the County’s largest employer), the region is Virginia’s most diverse with 23% foreign born residents. The diversity of the region is reflected in the students who speak 104 languages and hail from 116 countries.

Signature serves residents of Arlington, Northern Virginia and the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. The Theatre provides more than 400 jobs and generates more than $15 million for the local economy. Drawing approximately 100,000 area residents, Signature’s patrons reside in Northern Virginia (68%), suburban Maryland (18%), and the District of Columbia (14%). The rest reside outside the DC metropolitan area (6%) and come from all 50 states and 35 countries across six continents. 

Signature serves approximately 10,000 students annually through its Signature in the Schools and Education Residency programming, including students from Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William counties in Virginia, and Washington, D.C. 64% of student participants are nonwhite and 37% are low-income. 

Youth For Tomorrow - New Life Center, Inc.

Founded by Hall of Fame Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs 30 years ago, Youth For Tomorrow (YFT) is dedicated to providing children and families with the opportunity to focus their lives and develop the confidence, skills, intellectual ability, spiritual insight and moral integrity -- based on Godly principles -- resulting in positive changes to benefit the child, the family, the community, and the nation.  Through the generous support of private sector donors, YFT has the ability to provide services to thousands of children and families throughout the community each year through residential programs and behavioral health services.  

YFT's 215-acre campus headquarters is located in Bristow, VA with regional offices in Woodbridge, Manassas, Gainesville, Springfield,  Landsdowne and VA.  Many of the children who come to YFT have been physically and sexually abused, abandoned by their families, struggle with anger management and display aggressive behavior.  Many of the boys and girls placed in our residential care are 2-3 years behind academically and require special education services.  We build self-esteem by fostering success in academics.  We offer middle and high school curricula as required by our academic license under the Virginia Department of Education.  All classroom instruction is conducted by state certified teachers.  Residents requiring special education services receive instruction according to their Individual Education Plan.  A student-teacher ratio of 6:1 allows each resident to receive more specialized instruction.  This approach has produced a success rate the past two years of 84%.  These children took positive steps by matriculating into college, being reunited with their families, joining the military, or entering the workforce.  In addition to education, residents attend individual, group and family counseling sessions that are facilitated by licensed therapists and counselors.  Residents also receive substance abuse education with a strong emphasis on prevention.  

In 2011, YFT acquired its Mental Health License and launched several community based behavioral health service programs which include Crisis Intervention Counseling services, Diagnostic and Assessment services and Therapeutic Day Treatment.  Crisis Intervention Counseling Services are designed to help children and their families during times of intense trauma and adversity with therapeutic care to reclaim, rebuild and renew their lives.  Our services provide solution-focused trauma-informed services to families in crisis.  Professional staff works to build quality relationships for children within their family, school and community.  YFT's Diagnostic and Assessment services provide assistance to children and adolescents, ages 5-21.  Our professional staff assesses and develops a treatment plan to meet the individual needs of clients.  We provide risk assessments, psychiatric evaluation, medication management and appropriate mental health referrals.  Finally, YFT's Therapeutic Day Treatment program works within the Prince William County. Fairfax County & Loudoun County school systems to address the mental health issues of children who are experiencing emotional challenges without removing them from the school or home.  The interventions employed by our professional staff reinforce positive behaviors while reducing self-defeating and maladaptive responses to structure.  These tend to lead to substance abuse, delinquency, suicidal thoughts and violence.  The program's treatment strategies focus on helping students learn to control anger and aggression, enhance communication and social and interpersonal skills, make healthy choices and better decisions in their lives, improve daily living skills, impulse control, peer relations and problem solving skills and improve community responsibility and behaviors.

Through both residential and behavior health service programs, YFT served over 8,944 children and families in the last year.  Your generosity and concern for children will provide the resources to continue our mission of providing a safe home, comprehensive counseling, and a quality education to at-risk children and families -- 7 days a week, 365 days a year. 
 
Thank you for your consideration to support the mission of YFT and the children we serve!!

National Black Child Development Institute

ABOUT THE NATIONAL BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

For more than 50 years, the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) has been committed to our mission to improve and advance the quality of life for Black children and families through education and advocacy. 

With our 24-member National Affiliate Network, we develop and deliver strengths-based, culturally-relevant, evidence-based, and trauma-informed curricula and programs that focus on family engagement, health and wellness, and literacy. We support increased access to effective education by providing professional development scholarships for early childhood educators. NBCDI, the National Affiliate Network, and our members advocate and inform education policies at the federal, state, and local levels to ensure equitable systems for Black children and families.

NBCDI is a contributing and valued member of several early childhood coalitions at the national level, working closely with a range of partners and policymakers to advocate for positive, supportive and equitable funding and policy decisions that affect Black children, families and communities. We also produce a wide range of print and online materials, resources and recommendations to support local advocates, community leaders, parents and caregivers, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

OUR HISTORY

From our inception in 1970, NBCDI’s focus has been on achieving positive outcomes for vulnerable children who suffer from the dual legacies of poverty and racial discrimination. NBCDI was launched by the Black Women’s Community Development Foundation, whose leadership, in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, was deeply concerned about the unsatisfactory social and economic conditions facing families determined to raise healthy Black children. By organizing NBCDI as a national advocacy group, these visionary women created a unified movement to develop strategies to improve the life circumstances of Black children through policy change.  

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR WORK

NBCDI is dedicated to advancing our vision of a society that ensures a successful future for all children. Our initiatives, practices, and programs are intentionally designed to support racial equity for young Black children through program and policy initiatives that engage parents and caregivers as advocates for their children; raise the quality of the early childhood workforce; ensure new early childhood teacher education requirements build the capacity of Black educators and do not displace them; increase Black early childhood education policy leadership at the national level; and drive systems change by amplifying disparities affecting black children, highlighting best practices, recommending policy changes to address system inequities, and implementing advocacy campaigns to effect change. Below are descriptions of our signature programs, policy work, and other initiatives that advance equity in these areas.

Programs

• Family Empowerment Program. NBCDI’s Family Empowerment Program (FEP) is an evidence-based program that builds the capacity of parents and caregivers as leaders of their families and advocates for their children. 

• Good for Me! NBCDI’s Good for Me! is a strengths- and evidence-based program designed to promote culturally relevant healthy nutrition and fitness practices among Black families with children between three and five years old. 

• Read to Succeed. NBCDI’s Read to Succeed program is designed to promote early literacy and language development by supporting families with children between birth and eight years old to establish home libraries with culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate children’s books. 

Policy Work

• Council on Black Health Initiative. NBCDI partners with the Council on Black Health and four other leading organizations (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., 100 Black Men of America, Inc., Black Women’s Health Imperative, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) to advance and promote the health and wellness of Black children and families. 

• Delivering on the Promise. Our Delivering on the Promise initiative is designed to ensure that advocates and policymakers at multiple levels of government take action to end suspensions and expulsions in early childhood settings, increase access to trauma-informed care, and increase professional development on racial bias and positive discipline practices. 

• NBCDI Policy Fellowship. The purpose of the NBCDI Policy Fellowship is to deliver a new cadre of highly qualified policy leaders who will bring more diversity at the senior and executive levels in national child and family advocacy organizations. 

• Responsible Transformation of the Early Childhood Education Workforce. NBCDI launched the Responsible Transformation of the Early Childhood Education Workforce initiative to (a) examine the impact new credentialing requirements may have on Black early childhood educators; and (b) explore how best to increase access to high quality early childhood education by implementing a degree requirement for early childhood educators in communities that serve Black children by strengthening, not displacing, the current workforce. 

• State Affiliate Model. NBCDI is developing a State Affiliate model, which will address a critical need for more state-level advocates with a commitment to Black children and families and deep grassroots connections in Black communities, and make the priorities of elected and appointed officials at the state-level more responsive to the needs of Black children and families. 

Publications

• 50th Anniversary State of the Black Child Report. NBCDI is preparing a 50th Anniversary State of Black Child Report that will provide a synopsis of the state of Black children in all 50 states, and will convene a National Advisory Committee to frame the indicators in the report and inform policy recommendations and advocacy strategies. 

• State of the Black Child Report Card. NBCDI has released the State of the Black Child Report Card series in Georgia, Ohio, Texas, and Washington State. The report cards provide advocates with high-priority policy recommendations to improve education, health, and family support systems for Black children and families statewide, and advance policies that have a positive impact on Black children and families and their outcomes.

Convenings

• Annual Conference. NBCDI’s annual conference brings together nearly 1,000 stakeholders for a multi-day conference designed to educate and equip advocates, educators, elected officials, researchers, business leaders, families, caregivers, and partners. 

• National Black Child Development Week. National Black Child Development Week (NBCDW) is a time of national awareness, collective action, and community mobilization to address and advance issues impacting Black children and families. 

• Virtual Learning Series. Our Virtual Learning Series focuses on subject matter and themes meaningfully connected to NBCDI priorities, including education, mental health, and civic engagement. The series affords NBCDI stakeholders, Affiliates, educators, donors, community partners, practitioners, legislators, children and families an opportunity to connect and engage in content intended to provide critical insight and thought leadership that will educate and equip participants with knowledge, tools, and skills to effectively advocate for Black children, families, and communities during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

OUR NATIONAL AFFILIATE NETWORK

NBCDI's 24 Affiliates, bolstered by thousands of members, are the heart of our organization, engaging in successful program and policy work by reaching deeply into Black communities in cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, and Sacramento. To support them as they strengthen their capacity and engage in effective programming, NBCDI provides financial resources, professional development and technical assistance from our national office, located in Silver Spring, MD. Our Affiliates are:

1. BCDI‐Albany – Albany, NY

2. BCDI‐Atlanta – Atlanta, GA

3. BCDI‐Charlotte – Charlotte, NC

4. BCDI‐Chicago – Chicago, IL

5. BCDI-Cleveland – Cleveland, OH

6. BCDI‐Dallas – Dallas, TX

7. BCDI‐DC Metro – Washington, DC

8. BCDI-Denver – Denver, CO

9. BCDI‐Detroit – Detroit, MI

10. BCDI‐Fort Lauderdale – Fort Lauderdale, FL

11. BCDI-Greater Tampa Bay –Tampa Bay, FL

12. BCDI‐Greensboro – Greensboro, NC

13. BCDI-Hampton Roads – Hampton Roads, VA

14. BCDI‐Houston – Houston, TX

15. BCDI‐Los Angeles – Los Angeles, CA

16. BCDI‐Miami – Miami, FL

17. BCDI‐Mid Hudson – Wappingers Falls, NY

18. BCDI‐Milwaukee – Milwaukee, WI

19. BCDI‐Nashville – Nashville, TN

20. BCDI‐New York – New York City, NY

21. BCDI‐Paramus – Paramus, NJ

22. BCDI‐Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA

23. BCDI‐Sacramento – Sacramento, CA

24. BCDI‐Seattle – Seattle, WA

YMCA of Metropolitan Washington

The YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, one of the first YMCAs in the United States, founded in 1852, is one of the largest social service agencies serving residents in Washington, D.C., southern Maryland, and northern Virginia. Our mission is to foster the spiritual, mental, and physical development of individuals, families, and communities according to the ideals of inclusiveness, equality, and mutual respect for all. 

The YMCA provides services related to youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility through our 12 branches and program centers in the metropolitan region. In Virginia our health and wellness facilities are YMCA Alexandria, YMCA Arlington, and YMCA Fairfax County Reston, and our youth development program center is YMCA Loudoun County. In Maryland, our health and wellness branches are YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase and YMCA Silver Spring, our youth development center YMCA Ayrlawn, our social services center YMCA Youth & Family Services, and our resident camp YMCA Camp Letts. In the District our health and wellness facility is YMCA Anthony Bowen, and our youth development centers are YMCA Calomiris and YMCA Capital View. 

In addition, the Y's Community Health Department offers cooking and nutrition classes for youth, adults, seniors, and families as well as diabetes prevention and blood pressure self-management classes. Our Fit & Well Seniors program decreases isolation among seniors in the District and provides them with a wellness-focused outlet for socialization in an exercise environment to help reduce the risk of secondary diseases exacerbated by sedentary lifestyles.  In the District and Arlington County, the YMCA DC Youth and Government and YMCA Model General Assembly Programs help teenagers make positive changes in their communities through civic engagement.

In 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic began, more than 1,350,000 men, women, and children in the metropolitan Washington area participated in the YMCA’s programs and services, and the Y distributed more than $2,100,000 in financial assistance to individuals and families who otherwise could not afford to participate in our fee-based programs. In 2020, in the first six months of the COVID pandemic, we distributed over 135,000 pounds of produce and meals to over 13,000 families in communities in the District, Silver Spring, Alexandria, Arlington, and Reston. YMCA Youth and Family Services provided tele-therapy to over 1,800 youth. Fit & Well Seniors made 100 to 300 calls a day to seniors to break their social isolation. Four Ys provided emergency childcare services to essential workers, and three hosted blood drives for the American Red Cross.

The YMCA has a reputation for developing innovative programming to serve children and youth, with a special concern for those at risk. Launched in 2004, PHD (Physical, Healthy and Driven) is a childhood obesity prevention program that paved the way for our youth wellness programming. Designed for children ages 6-14, it combines assessment tools, fun games, exercises, nutrition education, and family involvement to teach children how to be healthy and to inspire a love for it! In 2019, more than 37,000 children participated in PHD.

Thingamajig is a process, a public event, and an awards ceremony. Every summer, since 1994, Thingamajig has begun in the YMCA’s traditional summer day camps where STEM-themed activities open doors to strategic thinking and challenge youth to invent practical solutions to everyday problems. Generally, youth from the Y’s camps bring their inventions on an all-day field trip to the annual Thingamajig Invention Convention in Prince George’s County, where they choose from 75 STEM-related workshops. The convention includes an element of competition among Y camps and publicly recognizes youth inventors and creators for their achievements. The awards ceremony recognizes the best inventions to help youth see themselves as inventors and scientists. In 2019, 4,000 youth attended the Thingamajig Convention. Because of the COVID pandemic, in 2021 and 2020, the convention was held virtually.