• To empower youth in Norfolk to build the independent, resilient character they will need to earn success and enjoy happy, fulfilling lives as adults.
• Cut the poverty rate in Norfolk by one-half within one generation.

Frederick J. Robinson

During the last ninety years, The Barry-Robinson Trust, an organization founded by Norfolk businessman Frederick J. Robinson, has been driven by its Catholic heritage and mission to improve the lives of children and their families. Currently, the organization’s programs include The James Barry-Robinson Institute, which provides residential treatment to military-connected youth at The Barry Robinson Center, and foster care services for Hampton Roads children and teens. The Trust also established Saint Patrick Catholic School in 2005, with the mission of cultivating future generations of courageous and compassionate student leaders. Barry-Robinson has now launched Next Step to Success (NSTS) as a bold initiative to tackle the high rate of intergenerational poverty in Norfolk.

The impetus behind the start of Next Step to Success was our Chairman’s service on the 2013-14 Mayor’s Commission on Poverty Reduction in Norfolk, during which he took a “deep dive” into the magnitude and nature of our chronic, intergenerational, and seemingly intractable poverty in Norfolk. Over one in four….. Norfolk children are dwelling in poverty (more than 50% in certain zip codes), and the overall poverty rate in Norfolk is almost twice the state average.

Although people are prone to say “they” should do something about this poverty (whoever “they” are), these cold, hard facts have haunted us for the past ten years. Thus, we decided that “we are they.” In recent years, we have quietly prepared to launch an initiative aiming to equip at-risk youth in Norfolk with the practical knowledge, character strengths, and life skills needed for them to escape or avoid poverty as adults.

Rob McCartney, CEO, states, “The team at The James Barry-Robinson Institute is honored to continue its service to the Norfolk and greater Hampton Roads community with programs that lead with compassion and hope.” Next Step to Success is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that offers teens a wide range of activities that will inspire and propel them to become more confident and capable versions of themselves. Through highly intentional programming, teens will learn strategies to maximize their chances for success. Life skills and character strengths such as resilience, grit, growth mindset, learned optimism, self-control, teamwork, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making are central to our program. Next Step to Success is an affiliate of The James Barry-Robinson Institute and the Barry-Robinson Trust.

What’s Your GRIT Goal?

At Next Step to Success, a GRIT Goal is more than something a young person hopes to achieve—it is a meaningful, long-term goal they choose for themselves and commit to working toward.

Through the GRIT Goal process, youth learn that big accomplishments happen one step at a time: they choose a goal that matters, create a measurable plan, build consistent habits, push through setbacks, and celebrate their progress while continuing to grow.

Along the way, our Success Coaches provide encouragement, accountability, and guidance, but the goal—and the work to achieve it—belongs to the young person. Whether their GRIT Goal is academic, personal, athletic, creative, or career-focused, the process builds the discipline, confidence, agency, resilience, and perseverance they will carry far beyond NSTS.

Students who persevere in the pursuit of their grit goal can earn private coaching to advance them further along the path to achieving that goal.

The goal is the destination. GRIT is what they build along the way.