National Demonstration Grant Awarded to THINK Together

The U.S. Department of Education announced that THINK Together has been selected to receive one of five national demonstration grants to study the positive effects on student achievement realized by aligning high quality supplemental educational services (HQSES) and high quality after-school programs funded under the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.

click graphic below to see official grant announcement

State Launches Web Site for Volunteers

click graphic below

The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University hosted a one day conference on nonprofit effectiveness this week in Los Angeles. Karen Baker, California's first Secretary of Service and Volunteering was the keynote speaker at lunch. Governor Schwarzenegger announced the appointment of Baker as the first state Secretary of Service and Volunteering last February.

The state has launched a Web site, CaliforniaVolunteers.org, which includes an online volunteer matching service. This service is fed with details on local opportunities by the various regional Volunteer Centers, United Ways, VolunteerMatch.org and other respective organizations that promote local volunteer opportunities around the state.

Volunteer opportunities at THINK Together can be found using the search function on CaliforniaVolunteers.org and selecting "Education & Technology" as the area of interest.

Lights On Afterschool @ Jersey Avenue Elementary

To celebrate "Lights on Afterschool," the THINK Together staff at Jersey Avenue Elementary School in Santa Fe Springs organized a "Career Day;" and parents and students created posters to express their support for the after-school program.

Students "dress up" for Career Day


Students & Parents create posters expressing support
for after-school programs

Junior Paramedics @ Warm Springs Elementary

A crew from American Medical Response (AMR) recently brought their Junior Paramedic Program to students, and their parents, in the after-school program run by THINK Together at Warm Springs Elementary School in San Bernardino.

Students take part in rescue scenarios

Students tour the inside of an ambulance

Robert Coster (AMR) with THINK Together's Junior Paramedics

For details on AMR's Junior Paramedic Program in San Bernardino County, contact Robert Coster via email or at 909.376.4033.

Made to Stick: creating memorable and lasting messages

"Stickiness" is all about "ensuring your ideas are understood and remembered, and have a lasting impact - they change your audience's opinions or behavior." -- The Tipping Point

Teachers, business executives, politicians, journalists and anyone struggling to make their ideas "stick" with an audience should read Made to Stick. It's an indispensable guide to creating memorable and lasting messages.

Among other things, authors Chip and Dan Heath examine: Why urban legends like the "Kidney Heist" have legs; Why Subway's ads featuring Jared caught on; Why virtually every society circulates a set of proverbs; Why some political ideas circulate widely while others fall short?

They conclude universally that sticky ideas have elements of these six key principles: Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, and Stories. And yes, these six compress nicely into the acronym SUCCESs.