Mission, Vision, and Strategies

Empowering Children
to Thrive

The Child Growth Project Mission Statement:

The mission of the Child Growth Project (CGP) is to help children thrive by succeeding in school, having supportive adults in their lives, learning to live a healthy lifestyle, and having their needs for adequate food, clothing, care, and other basic needs met as they grow to adulthood.  We seek to accomplish our mission by:

• Providing tutoring, English as a Second Language instruction, and college preparatory services to students

• Granting scholarships to students to attend private schools and public or private colleges and universities

• Linking children with volunteer adult mentors and role models

• Providing financial or material support to children lacking adequate food, clothing, care,, and other basic needs

• Equipping children to resist negative peer pressure

• Connecting at-risk[1] children with community and publicly funded social services

Our Values:

• Every child deserves to be supported and have their essential needs met[2]

• Every child deserves to feel loved, nurtured, and cared for

• Every child should have the opportunity to develop and grow to realize their full potential

• Every child should feel safe and be protected from abuse, neglect, trauma, and other adverse childhood experiences (ACE)[3]

• Children who are at-risk should receive specific assistance designed to mitigate their risk factors

• No child should be discriminated against based on their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or gender orientation

Our Vision:

Imagine a world where every child is loved, nurtured, and cared for ... where every child has the opportunity to grow to their full potential ... and where every child is safe, protected, and thriving.  That's the kind of world we want to help create.  We invite you to join us in helping create such a world.

Corporate Status and Governance:

CGP is a nonprofit organization registered in the State of Ohio.​  CGP is governed by a Board of Directors who serve voluntarily.

Notes:

[1] Children at-risk are children who experience negative life circumstances such as poverty, homelessness, improper nutrition, maltreatment, disability, serious health conditions, mental health and emotional problems, or chronic stress.

[2] According to psychologist Abraham Maslow’s theory of need, each individual moves through a hierarchical level of physiological, safety, love and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization levels in order for success to be achieved in their lives.  To thrive, it is necessary that an individual’s needs be satisfied at the lower levels before they progress to the higher, more complex levels.  We believe every child should receive the support they need to progress successfully through the hierarchical need structure.

[3] Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are potentially traumatic experiences that children may have that can result in a child suffering from toxic stress.  Toxic stress can compromise the development of a child’s brain, immune system, and stress-response systems. These changes can affect children’s attention, decision-making, and learning resulting in children being unable to thrive and succeed.  Examples of ACE include experiencing or witnessing violence, having a family member commit suicide, growing up in a household with substance abuse or mental health problems, and instability due to parental separation or incarceration.