Connecting Generations reaches approximately 2,000 Delaware students each year through programs we deliver & support.
A positive relationship can change a child’s life. We make positive relationships happen.
Students Impacted FY 2023
Schools and Community Partners
Programs
Creative Mentoring
One-to-one, school-based mentoring with a wide reach. Connecting Generations was created in 1990 by Robert A. Kasey, Jr., a retired DuPont executive who wanted to bring caring adults into the lives of young people. What started as a handful of mentors at a single school, has grown into a state-wide program that supports thousands of students at 100 schools throughout Delaware, including programs using high school students as mentors.
We know mentoring works:
- Over 70% of students improve behavior, attendance and/or grades. 70%
Creative Education
Social Emotional Learning and Character-building workshops that address critical needs. By actively participating in interactive and engaging group sessions, children learn how giving respect creates a safe learning environment that can lead to improved self-esteem, confidence, and academic success. Our workshops are designed to help students acquire skills aligned with the 5 core competencies of social emotional learning (SEL) – Self Awareness, Self Management, Responsible Decision-Making, and Building Healthy Relationships.
These character education programs support efforts to improve school climate, enhance the Positive Behavior Support Programs (PBS) in schools, and assist schools in addressing Delaware’s anti bullying laws.
Since piloted in 2006, the program has served over 22,000 students in 60 public schools and community organizations throughout Delaware.
Creative Collaborations
Our Creative Collaborations partners with organizations across the state to design programs to support youth in special populations like our mentoring for youth in foster care and sibling workshops created to provide support to the siblings of children with special health care needs. It is the goal of this division to provide programs that reach the often times underrepresented and undeserved youth in our communities.
For more information on how this works, contact Executive Director Cassandra McKay by email.
Our Mission
Delaware students need additional support in school. In the 2021 school year, 17% of Delaware’s public school students were from low-income homes. That’s more than 35,000 students!
In addition to poverty induced stresses, many of these students (as well those from higher income households) experience adverse home conditions such as substance abuse, family instability, severe health crises, and neglect. More than two thirds of the children in our country under the age of 16 have been exposed to at least one adverse childhood experience such as violence, abuse, or neglect and in Delaware, 43% of our children under 17 have been exposed to at least one adverse childhood experience. Yet 1 in 3 children will grow up without a positive adult role model in their lives. We know these children need additional help to stay on grade-level and succeed in school. Most schools don’t have the resources to provide one-on-one support or focus on character development and noncognitive skills. By partnering with schools, other nonprofits, and businesses who will help them discover their strengths, overcome adversity, become their own advocates, and realize their full potential.
“Connecting Generations provides the tools that children need to become emotionally strong, resilient, and socially competent individuals who can successfully navigate school and life.”
“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” — Steven Spielberg
“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey