Nearly two years ago, Jennifer Limas was sitting in the Girls Inc. Makerspace & STEM Lab with the nonprofit’s corporate sponsors. The Near Southside facility, meant to inspire girls exploring science, technology, engineering and math, housed a different group: a panel of superintendents.
When the panel was asked what they needed on their campuses, Limas vividly remembers Crowley ISD superintendent Michael McFarland’s response.
“What we really need is Boys Inc.,” Limas recalled him saying. “I see the power and the impact and the difference that Girls Inc. makes on the campuses that they’re at in Crowley ISD. And if we could have that same impact with our boys and young men, if you could take your expertise and make that same impact, it would be campus-changing for us.”
The nonprofit didn’t end up going with that name. Nevertheless, that area-wide interest in supporting young men in the same way the organization was supporting young women led to a systemic restructuring.
Last year, the nonprofit’s board of directors created Vantage Point, a mentorship and leadership pilot initiative designed for young men in grades 3 through 12.
Leadership also created The YouthVantage Alliance, an overarching organization overseeing Girls Inc. of Tarrant County, Vantage Point and Tarrant County Kids, the nonprofit’s 40-year-old coed childcare programs.
The restructuring of the 50-year-old nonprofit took place under the radar, said Limas, who serves as the president and CEO of YouthVantage and who previously held the same roles for Girls Inc. But that was almost by design. The nonprofit wanted to make sure that the flagship girls development program was not damaged or interrupted in any way.
“The entire goal was to create a structure that allowed Girls Inc. to continue to shine and to keep the integrity of that intact,” Limas said.
Vantage Point’s pilot program began last school year at H.F. Stevens Middle in Crowley ISD, with a focus on leadership mentoring, and A.V. Cato Elementary and Irma Marsh Middle in Castleberry ISD, which introduced a STEM-based component.
The structures are intentionally designed based on research and local anecdotes, said Anthony Hernandez, vice president of Vantage Point.
When YouthVantage leaders ask school administrators and community leaders how boys and young men are doing, concerns around lack of connection rise to the surface.
Although men and women experience similar levels of loneliness, an American Institute for Boys and Men survey found that men are more likely to feel they don’t have enough close friends or family, and as a result may feel like their place in the world isn’t relevant.
For Hernandez, Vantage Point serves as a response to the question: What are we going to do to solve this issue?
“We want to treat some of those underlying causes and not just the symptoms,” he added. “That can be strong mentors (and) exposing young men to more careers, career fields, college readiness tools, STEM education, things like that.”
The full-day programs at the two districts are done in conjunction with school leadership, Hernandez said. At Castleberry ISD, Vantage Point staff work with administrators to determine which boys would most benefit from the program. The STEM activities serve as a conduit for relationship-building between the young men, Hernandez said. At Crowley ISD, the leadership-centered programming focuses on the boys’ sense of self.
With the program in the second year of the pilot initiative, leadership at YouthVantage is excited by the engagement seen on the campuses. Part of it is simply having more male role models on these campuses. At A.V. Cato Elementary, a school of about 700 kids, the Vantage Point employee assigned full time to the district is the fifth male adult in that school, Hernandez said.
“They are very excited to do the science demonstration after school, even after learning all day,” Hernandez added. “So kids are showing up.”
For now, Limas and YouthVantage’s board have no plans of adding a fourth organization under the nonprofit’s umbrella.
However, with 50 years under its belt, the organization now feels better equipped to respond to the community’s needs with YouthVantage as a primary institution.
In the 1980s, the addition of Tarrant County Kids to the Girls Inc. umbrella felt as if it confused the integrity of both programs, Limas said.
With YouthVantage, leaders there feel better equipped.
“It’s a big responsibility, but I think it’s one that we feel that we’re ready to take on,” Limas said.
Ismael M. Belkoura is the nonprofit editor for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from North Texas Community Foundation. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org.
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