Think Together’s New Year News Round Up
Think Together kicked off 2023 with front-page news in the Orange County Business Journal. The article highlighted how Think Together has approached the challenges and opportunities created by ELO-P funding from the state and the unique partnerships that have been established because of the funding stream. For example, at California State University, Fullerton, we’ve begun a partnership that enables CSUF students to work part-time as Think Together afterschool educators, teaching and designing curriculums based on their university studies for kids in transitional kindergarten through sixth grade.
In 2023, we hope to partner with other colleges and universities to help link students to job opportunities while in school and after completing their degrees.
In addition, Think Together’s growth and hard work have been recognized by the Orange County Business Journal’s ‘The List‘ where Think Together has been ranked as the #3 nonprofit in Orange County (rising from our #5 rank we received last year.) 2022 was a year focused on growing Think Together’s workforce to meet the need created by the expansive ELO-P funding provided by the state of California. ELO-P has been a significant “meet the moment” opportunity that Think Together has worked closely with partners to fulfill.
On the topic of growth, Think Together’s Senior Director of Talent Acquisition Holly Perry interviewed Kristi Eaton of Youth Today about staffing shortages across the state, the challenges that it creates for our students, and how Think Together is overcoming these obstacles to meet the historic moment and demand.
“We’ve really reevaluated that, because not everyone gets the opportunity to go and graduate from college at the same pace,” Holly said. “So, they’ll come on with us in a different role, gain experience, we’ll help with professional development, and then move them into a role that they might be really excited about.”
To round out the great news, Moreno Valley Unified and the City were recognized in a year-end round-up for notable moments in the City News Group. Last spring, Think Together, awarded Moreno Valley and Moreno Valley Unified School District our Champion of Change award as one of our largest and longstanding partners who has worked with us to elevate experiences for thousands of students in Moreno Valley.
It is incredible to start the new year nearly fully staffed thanks to so many contributors at our organization – it takes a village, but the hard work is worth it.
Stay tuned for more exciting news about Think Together this year.