It is human nature to protect and provide for those we hold most precious, and that's especially true when it comes to children. However, helping young people fulfill their potential and teaching them to be responsible, successful adults have become enormous challenges. In today's world, kids face a host of negative influences unknown by previous generations. Unfortunately, the safety net is tenuous for many children, and without intervention and guidance they face daunting obstacles.

This was the motivation behind the New York Life Foundation's decision in 1998 to channel the majority of its resources toward organizations, programs and services aimed at helping young people.

Called Nurturing the Children, this initiative specifically focuses on:

• Safe Places to Learn and Grow
  Programs that provide safe havens during non–school hours and offer structured activities that:
  • Nurture young people's skills and capacities, including social skills, vocational interests and civic responsibility.
  • Protect youths from violence and other dangerous or negative influences.
  • Create peer groups in which youths exert a positive influence on each other.
  • Provide opportunities for children and youths to contribute to their communities and society.
  • Increase opportunities for youths to understand and use technology, such as computers and the Internet.
• Educational Enhancement
  Programs that prepare young people for higher education or the workplace and equip them to be responsible citizens. Activities in this program category:
  • Enrich academic performance and educational commitment.
  • Enrich young people's knowledge and understanding of their culture and the cultures of those around them.
  • Provide a foundation in basic skills, such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, technology and communication.
  • Enhance thinking skills, such as creativity, decision-making, problem-solving and reasoning.
• Mentoring Children
  
  • Programs that offer young people sustained relationships with caring adults and/or peers who serve as positive role models. Mentors may be parents, extended family members or other caregivers; community members; teachers; older peers or others who spend time with youth.