The Los Angeles River looks like a storm drain and sometimes smells like a sewer. But for hundreds of local students, it's an unparalleled outdoor classroom, thanks to the L.A. River School program. This story is from What Kids Can Do.

From a program that uses peregrine falcons to teach inner city kids about nature, to one that turns public school parents into trained advocates for change, each year Connect for Kids profiles dozens of ways that people are working on behalf of children. For our year-end story, we checked back with some of them to see how they are faring.

Violence prevention, childhood depression, the importance of mentors and more—these are some of the stories from Connect for Kids that drew reader response over the past month. See what everyone had to say, and feel free to join the conversation.

For ten teenagers from rural Mississippi, a summer in and around the corridors of power of Washington, D.C. provided life lessons, and new friendships. Read about their experiences in this story from What Kids
Can Do.

When four women from a poor Milwaukee neighborhood documented their lives on camera for two weeks, the result was an eloquent portrait of their community—and a change in the women themselves. Connect for Kids has awarded the resulting documentary, My Family, My Neighborhood, My Story, the first-ever Fight Family Poverty Award. Caitlin Johnson spoke with the initiators of the project. Read her story, then watch the film from your computer.

Child care subsidies are one of the main supports offered to low-income parents under welfare reform. But two recent reports reveal that effort involved in remaining eligible for the subsidy can endanger parents' ability to hold down a job. Here's a summary from the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project.

Young people in the rural Upper Peninsula area of Michigan are taking on the roles of both learners and leaders through their work with 8-18 Media, a youth journalism project based in Marquette. Learn about their efforts, and read an example of 8-18 Media's work.

In this story adapted from What Kids Can Do, unleashed teen power is driving change in a small Maine town, once a center of the sardine canning industry—now an innovator in aquaculture.

Ten baby bass, looking for a good home. That's the starting point for a hands-on science program centered on the Du Page River in Illinois. Victor M. Cassidy reports that the lessons learned are far-reaching.

With their demonstrated power to improve school performance, after-school programs are deservedly popular. But some schools are choosing to go beyond the 3-to-6 model, becoming community centers with programs for the whole community. This story was adapted from the September/October 2001 issue of The Children's Advocate.