UCAN's mission is to provide communities with avenues for growth opportunities for success, a voice for justice and a hand to hold. UCAN will identify, train, nurture, link, mobilize and provide resources as well as opportunities on behalf of children, families, and communities.

Our mission is to operate a neighborhood resource center for at-risk and underserved members of our community. We will jointly develop and implement innovative programs and services that will strengthen individuals, youth, families and communities within our service area.

The mission of the Foundation for Dreams, Inc. and Dream Oaks Camp is to provide fun, educational and recreational experiences in an outdoor camp environment to enhance the lives of children ages 7-17 with physical and developmental disabilities and serious illnesses.

The mission of the Inland Empire United Way is to to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities. Through the KidSmart initiative, our goal is to help all kids achieve success in school. We believe all children deserve the tools that will inspire and prepare them for a better future. Our top priority is the success of disadvantaged children. Every kid can succeed. We are working to ensure that they do.

CFK has organized several of our articles and links to other resources into a handy summer guide. Looking for summer activities, reading ideas, camp information, safety tips, and other resources? It’s all here.

This report from the Extended Learning Opportunities Project profiles five summer learning programs that have contributed to improved student achievement in high-poverty schools.

At age 30, the Head Start program is on the defensive, facing criticism and efforts to change its basic structure. But Head Start also has its passionate defenders such as Jerrie deRose, who sent us this e-mail after seeing a profile of the Rosemount Head Start program in Washington DC on our Web site.

In Eureka, Arkansas, an ever-growing after-school program demonstrates that by supporting kids, a community can tap into an often-ignored source of strength: kid power. Elizabeth Bartlett reports on how Eureka Kids is creating teen leaders and community-minded young people.

Librarians and teens do have something in common: both are saddled with persistent public images impervious to reality. But the images are poles apart. Can the prim, silence-enforcing Librarian reach out to—and learn from—the reckless, noisy, Teen? Connect for Kids Editor Susan Phillips interviewed Deborah Taylor of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Library about the library’s expanding commitment to youth development.

Mental health for toddlers isn't about putting two-year-olds on the couch. It's about healthy cognitive and emotional development for every child, development that provides the foundation for learning even before young children tackle their numbers and letters.