Thrive Foundation For Youth
—THE FULL POTENTIAL OF YOUTH UNLEASHED
the opportunity
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Over the past two decades, the Kings have sought to help youth to realize their full potential, or to “thrive.” In the early phase of their philanthropy, the Kings focused their attention in the field of positive youth development, which intentionally highlights the assets, interests, and abilities of youth and adolescents, rather than emphasizing the negative outcomes that youth need to avoid. By investing in quality research as well as on-the-ground experience, the Thrive Foundation for Youth meaningfully contributed to the advancement of the field of Positive Youth Development and worked to bridge research and practice in youth development.
More than 20% of America’s 42 million youth live below the federal poverty line, and nearly half of American youth live below 2x the federal poverty line. Evidence suggests that being poor makes it more difficult to thrive, impacting the academic achievement, employment opportunities, exposure to violence, and mental and physical health of youth. In recent years, the Thrive Foundation invested its resources in changing the trajectory of the lives of disadvantaged youth across the United States. While the Thrive Foundation for Youth is no longer actively making grants, its legacy and impact continues in the field of positive youth development.
Caring adults for disadvantaged youth
Bridging research and practice
the initiative
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When it was actively making grants, the Thrive Foundation guided disadvantaged youth to reach their full potential by strengthening the presence and impact of caring adults in their lives. The foundation partnered with successful programs in which caring adults support adolescent youth, and in which evidence-based research was applied in practical ways. Built on earlier research in positive youth development, the Thrive Foundation invested in the critical relationship between young people and the caring adults in their lives.