Our Next Generation, a community nonprofit serving Milwaukee youth and families, announced it has entered a partnership with PROMISE, a national initiative working to improve services for youth receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This exciting collaboration will allow Our Next Generation staff to bring many additional opportunities to High School's we serve as well as the youth who are currently served by Our Next Generation, as well as extend the reach and ability of the agency to impact additional youth in the Milwaukee community.

 "We believe that enthusiastic collaboration among community-serving agencies is vital to successful community development," said Our Next Generation President & CEO La Toya Sykes. "We welcome this opportunity to partner with the PROMISE initiative and are extremely excited about the opportunities it will provide for students in our city."

Wisconsin is one of six sites participating in the US Department of Education's demonstration of a promising path to success for youth receiving Supplemental Security Income. Wisconsin Promise will help youth and their families meet their school and work goals in order to better their income and financial stability, and reduce poverty. The collaboration with PROMISE is consistent with the mission of Our Next Generation's High School program, which seeks to provide students with the information and support they need to make informed decisions about post-secondary education and career opportunities.

We are privileged to fuse PROMISE into our agency to reach our families and community members beyond our normal scope. To promote our new found partnership, we will advertise all of the wonderful benefits and opportunities as an agency program. We will hold workshops to ensure our families as well as community members have accessible access to essential information regarding adequate benefits. At each of Our Next Generation (ONG) community events and workshops, we will provide opportunities for families to sign up for PROMISE benefits immediately. We plan to visit all high schools in the Milwaukee area to ensure individuals and families are becoming involved. We want our families and community members to become empowered and utilize all available resources offered. PROMISE is an amazing program and the collaboration will create a sense of pride and ownership for all participants.

About Our Next Generation
Our Next Generation, Inc. is a non-profit, community-based organization providing academic mentoring and associated support programs for kindergarten through high school youth in central Milwaukee. The organization serves nearly 600 neighborhood children from 25 schools and is supported by hundreds of volunteers providing thousands of hours of time annually. Its programs focus on improving educational outcomes and life skills by building an effective, collaborative team of parents, families, teachers, volunteers and staff through one-on-one relationships. For more information, visit http://www.ongkids.org/ or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.  

Taurus Rutherford Jr., Program Leader; La Toya Sykes, President and CEO; Sessie Agbley, Community Partner Coordinator; Rukiya Alexander, Associate Director of Programs

Promise is working closely with the Beloit School District to let youth and families know what Promise has to offer! We anticipate reaching many eligible participants through district mailings, and appreciate the Beloit School District's participation in this project.