June 17, 1999 | Read Time: 5 minutes
With the recent release of its annual report, America’s Promise, the organization created to carry out the goals set two years ago in Philadelphia by the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future, looks like it is becoming a formidable presence on the American philanthropic scene. But in the wake of school shootings in Colorado and elsewhere, the new army mobilized by retired General Colin L. Powell “to help American young people achieve success in life” appears to be facing battles that are tougher than ever.
As General Powell notes in the new report, “our contemporary culture is such that even children who enjoy the advantages of loving parents, stable neighborhoods, and good schools can just as easily absorb the wrong lessons as those who are disadvantaged” (The Chronicle, June 3). The recent events involving student gun-play underscore — and perhaps even inspired — General Powell’s observation. They also reveal some of the challenges confronting his strategy for dealing with the problems of America’s youth: for if his observation about culture is true, then how much can the outpouring of mentors, tutors, community service, and other activities promoted by America’s Promise realistically be expected to accomplish?
To be sure, judging from the report, the organization’s accomplishments are impressive. After a rocky beginning, America’s Promise now seems to have hit its stride; more than 400 corporations, organizations, and federal agencies have committed time, money, or other resources to it. Hundreds of states and cities have also joined in the cause by pledging to fulfill five major promises to young people that were agreed to during the Presidents’ Summit: “an ongoing relationship with a caring adult; a safe place with structured activities during non-school hours; a healthy start; a marketable skill through effective education; and an opportunity to give back through community service.”
According to a study that it commissioned, America’s Promise has already reached over 10 million young people; it has also produced nearly $300-million in donations and volunteer hours for its efforts (though some of that might have been forthcoming anyway). Civic energy clearly has been aroused, and any doubts about General Powell’s commitment and his willingness to use his considerable influence to obtain support from the nation’s leading business and political figures should now be put to rest.
What cannot be dismissed, however, is the question of whether America’s Promise can really deliver on its promises.
One problem is that implicit in the establishment of America’s Promise is the notion that America’s vast network of youth organizations — from long-established ones such as the Boy Scouts to newer organizations such as Do Something and YouthBuild — need to do better to meet the challenges facing today’s young people. But while America’s Promise clearly is bringing additional resources and energy to bear, how much it is doing to foster strategies that improve upon the work of existing programs is difficult to see.
The activities being carried out under the banner of America’s Promise are well-meaning and wide-ranging, but they rarely look innovative. Judging from the new report, problems of managing large-scale programs or measuring effectiveness seem much less central to the organization’s concerns than directing money and volunteers toward the people and organizations involved in its efforts. And, notably underrepresented among the groups in America’s Promise are faith-based charities, which some observers believe hold special promise for making a difference in the lives of children and teen-agers.
Another problem is the organization’s stance toward the influence of public policy on the nation’s young. Whether the recent high-school shootings make a persuasive case for tighter gun controls (as liberals believe) or more discipline and dress codes in the schools (as conservatives contend), changing some laws may be essential to achieving the kinds of “safe places” for young people that General Powell and his associates wish to see.
Likewise, insuring that youngsters receive an effective education will take more than an army of tutors in the nation’s classrooms. It will also require better-trained teachers, more-rigorous academic standards, and more opportunities for parents to choose schools for their children.
None of those can be attained without entering the political fray. Yet initially, like its leader, America’s Promise seemed determined to steer clear of it. The group is now planning to begin lobbying, both for funds for its own activities and for legislation to help children. If it is to make a real difference, however, it will have to be willing to take on issues that are among the most controversial in American politics today.
Finally, the organization has yet to deal fully with the reality that many of the nation’s corporations also help shape the culture in which today’s children are raised. One of the lessons that a wide range of observers — from President Clinton to the religious right — drew from the high-school shootings was that the images contained in movies, recordings, and computer games are having a bad effect on the young. Yet among America’s Promise’s supporters are Disney, Sony, Time Warner, and other media giants whose products have attracted criticism. They no doubt have made strong commitments to encouraging their employees to spend more time as volunteers, but if General Powell’s crusade is to attain its goal of giving all children a healthy start in life, those companies will have to be persuaded to change some of their business practices as well.
Although what America’s Promise has already done is by no means unimportant, success in fulfilling the five promises championed by General Powell’s citizen army will depend on effectively meeting all of these challenges. For its next stage, the campaign needs to go beyond massing forces to figuring out how to deploy them most effectively.
Leslie Lenkowsky is professor of philanthropic studies and public policy at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, in Indianapolis, and a regular contributor to these pages. His e-mail address is llenkows@iupui.edu.
