Partnering for empowerment

Ensuring a Happy Holiday
​Parties, peppermint flavored treats, chilly weather, merriment and cheer; these are some of the things that our mind conjures up when we think “December”. For most of us, we are lucky to have warm, positive memories reinforced by great holiday experiences. However for many youth, this is not the current reality of their childhood.
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If you’ve spent any time with Swift Youth Foundation, you know that we strive to foster positive mentor relationships between youth and college-bound teens in efforts to try and improve the current reality of many youth. Swift envisions a future of youth and teens that are equipped with the leadership skills to reach their full potential and are inspired to carry out a lifelong commitment to their communities. Where you are now is not where you need to end up.

Swift is best known from the Camp Swift program that started it all. In the beautiful Prescott forest, elementary school aged campers and teen mentors come together to learn grow, and dream big. We inspire all youth we serve by providing them with skills that reinforce their self-worth and equip them for their future success.  In the last 30+ years, Swift has been fortunate enough to grow in an effort to continually serve our youth through positive, year-round programming and build on the positive foundation that is established through the Camp Swift experience. Fun is truly just the start. 

​There are many great entry points for a youth to begin their journey with Swift.  One of these entry points is the annual Holiday Party.

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Expanding on our partnership with local Title 1 schools, Swift ‘adopts’ a number of classes to ensure that as many youth as possible may experience a happy holiday that they deserve. The reality for most of the children attending the Title 1 schools will not be receiving gifts from their families this holiday season. Unfortunately, when families barely have the resources to feed their children, they simply do not have the funds to purchase gifts for the holidays.
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Swift strives to brighten the spirits of the classes that are ‘adopted’ by throwing a holiday party for students in which they get to have fun with friends, play and learn through engaging activities, and receive a present just for them.
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Partnering for Empowerment
The Swift Youth Foundation wouldn’t be able to provide this amazing, holiday experience without the support of awesome volunteers and phenomenal community partners. This year Swift was fortunate welcome a new community partner, Axway.

Axway generously
donated all of the student’s gifts for the 2017 Holiday Party.

Swift Youth Foundation and our partners, like Axway, share the belief that ensuring the success of our youth requires a community effort. This investment by for-profit businesses and companies is more than writing a check to a charity- it’s an investment to positively impact surrounding communities, especially the communities and causes that matter to members of their team.

Axway’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focuses on “respecting and supporting our local and global communities, our team members and the environment” (axway.com). Supporting Swift is just one of the ways that Axway is positively impacting the community in Phoenix. They also help local teenagers create resumes and build interview skills as well as coordinate donations for Homeward Bound, a partner organization of Swift as well. By providing the opportunity for team members to contribute and have the option to take time to serve the community, for-profit businesses and companies connect their team to the social impact they are creating.

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​The Impact
2017 Holiday Party recap, by the numbers-

• Gifts given to brighten the spirits of 41  students directly served by Swift’s Holiday Party

 

• 39 volunteers who engaged with students to maintain Swift’s target ratio of 3:1 for optimal engagement

 

• 10+ years  of hosting the Holiday party, just one of the ways we provide life-changing experiences to youth and teens since 1980

 

• Holiday cheer spread- too many smiles to count!

Swift Youth Foundation is truly grateful for our many partnerships and the to welcome Axway as our newest community partner.

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