11 to Watch in 2011: RIverzEdge

11 to Watch in 2011: RIverzEdge

If you've got the First Lady's attention, you know you've got something going on.

And so what better RI non-profit to watch than RiverzEdge, the gutsy, innovative organization that is poised, with a national spotlight on it, to continue to innovate and be a model for youth development programs nationwide.

With a creative approach to getting at-risk youth in Northern RI engaged in arts-related micro-businesses, where teens not only work, learn, are mentored, but are paid, the eight-year-old organization continues to post remarkable success numbers. Every RiverzEdge participant has graduated from high school (in a city with one of the state's lowest graduation rates), and since 2004, 100% of the program's seniors have been accepted into college, including some of the nation's leading art schools. More than 300 youth and community members in RI were served by the organization this year - and 700 have been since inception.

In 2010, RiverzEdge was honored by First Lady Michelle Obama, receiving a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the highest honor programs like this can receive in the US.

RiverzEdge continues to expand its businesses, which include silk screening, graphic design, photography/videography, apparel, stationery, and one-of-a-kind furniture. As 2011 opens, the mobile model will expand and allow RiverzEdge to pop up similar programs in other parts of RI.