Metlife - Youth Anti-Violence Initiatives

The Metropolitan Life Foundation  was established in 1976 by MetLife for the purpose of supporting various educational, health and welfare, and civic and cultural organizations. The primary objective of the Foundation is to assist tax-exempt organizations through a program of financial support, particularly in the communities in which MetLife has a major presence. Our goals are to strengthen communities, promote good health and improve education. The Foundation continues a tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement begun by MetLife at the turn of the century.
http://www.metlife.com/Companyinfo/Community/Found/

The Metropolitan Life Foundation's Positive Choices: Youth Anti-Violence Initiatives grant competition makes grants to nonprofit organizations for projects that provide education-based activities to address problems associated with youth violence. From 1994 - 1998, a total of $2.2 million was awarded to 19 organizations.

Winners of 1998 Metropolitan Life Foundation
Positive Choices: Youth Anti-Violence Initiatives

Metropolitan Life Foundation has awarded a total of $300,000 in grants to three nonprofit organizations. Each will either develop a new program or expand an existing one that reaches out to young people and educates them on the importance of violence prevention. The winners are: B.U.I.L.D., Inc.; The Community Board and Educators for Social Responsibility-Metro Area. Since the inception of the Positive Choices program in 1994, $2.2 million in grants has been awarded to colleges, universities and community-based nonprofit organizations.

The Grant Recipients:

B.U.I.L.D., Inc. (Building Urban Involvement and Leadership Development), Chicago
B.U.I.L.D. will use the Foundation grant to incorporate its Gang/Violence Prevention Program in four communities, including the Cabrini Green Housing Development and Uptown Community, that were supported by an earlier Positive Choices Grant. Focusing on the after-school component of the program, B.U.I.L.D. will partner with the Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Police Department, and other groups to offer positive, safe activities to youths recruited from 10 schools where its Gang/Violence Prevention Workshops are conducted. The activities will be in the areas of education, sports, recreation and employment.

The Community Board, San Francisco

The Community Board is using its grant to work with at-risk youth to create a product designed by youth for youth to teach conflict resolution and violence prevention skills. The young people will choose the format that suits them best, which could be a video, comic book, CD-ROM or some other material.

Educators for Social Responsibility-Metro Area, New York

The Foundation's grant will enable Educators for Social Responsibility-Metro to develop a pilot project in teaching conflict resolution and intercultural understanding through reading and writing. The Four R's Project (Reading, Writing, Respect and Resolution) will focus on integrating conflict resolution into the language arts curriculum, grades 1-5. It will foster children's emotional intelligence and academic achievement and develop needed resources for youth violence prevention.

Metropolitan Life Foundation
One Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10010-3690