Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, StriveTogether received the global Schwab Foundation Social Innovation Award for Collective Social Innovation. StriveTogether President and CEO Jennifer Blatz was present in Davos, Switzerland, to accept the honor.
“The Social Innovators of the Year 2024 represent a diverse group of entrepreneurs and innovators who are driving the change we need to create a more sustainable, inclusive future,” said Hilde Schwab, co-founder and chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. “The collective potential of this community offers a beacon of hope for acting with purpose and collaboration during fragmented times.”
In partnership with the World Economic Forum, the Schwab Foundation is the foremost global community of pioneering social innovators driving systemic change. As a 2024 Social Innovator, StriveTogether joins a community of organizations whose collective work has improved the lives of more than 890 million people in over 190 countries since 1998. StriveTogether is the only U.S. organization to receive the award for Collective Social Innovation.
For more than a decade, StriveTogether has led paradigm-shifting work to enable communities to get better, more equitable outcomes for children. What once seemed impossible — bringing multiple sectors together around a shared result — has become common in the nearly 70 regions that make up the Cradle to Career Network.
StriveTogether’s origins began in 2006, when a group of local leaders in Cincinnati were concerned about education and economic mobility outcomes. They realized that creating another new program would not lead to population-level change. From these conversations, they forged a partnership with a new approach to social change, one that transforms the systems of opportunity like education, health care, housing and more. This work expanded into the national Cradle to Career Network.
“Across the country, communities are using data, creating a shared vision and collaborating across sectors in new ways that are making a measurable difference in the lives of children and families,” Blatz said. “This award recognizes the depth of their work and validates StriveTogether’s unique, proven approach to changing systems, improving outcomes and putting more young people on a path to economic mobility.”
StriveTogether supports network member communities to build civic infrastructure — a collective accountability for eliminating disparities and creating opportunities. Civic infrastructure ensures that every child is supported to thrive through equitable access to education, employment, health care, housing and more.
Economic mobility in the United States is declining. According to Opportunity Insights, only half of children grow up to earn more than their parents — and for young people experiencing poverty and young people of color, these outcomes are often worse. Members of StriveTogether’s national network are improving the critical cradle-to-career outcomes that lead to economic mobility.
“At StriveTogether, we believe that success is possible for every child when we address the systemic barriers that get in the way,” Blatz said. “Together, we’re building a future where a child’s potential isn’t dictated by race, ethnicity, zip code or circumstance.”
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About StriveTogether
StriveTogether is a national network of nearly 70 communities across 29 states and Washington, D.C. working to build a future where a child’s potential is not dictated by race, ethnicity, zip code or circumstance. The organization provides coaching, resources and rigorous approaches to create opportunities and eliminate inequities in education, housing and more. Together, the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network reaches 14 million youth — including 8 million children of color and one in five children experiencing poverty. For more information about StriveTogether, visit StriveTogether.org.
