Mission
Groundwork supports the development of powerful youth, powerful families, and powerful communities so that all young people in the communities where we work have access to a full range of opportunities to lead a rewarding and fulfilling life.

Vision
Children are members of diverse families and exist within vibrant communities. We know that children have a better chance of a successful future if their families are strong; and we know that families can better support their children if their communities are strong. We center our efforts on ensuring that a community’s children get the supports they need to graduate high school and succeed in college. We undertake all of our programs – for children, for families, and for the community at large – in order to further this goal.

Core Principles
Groundwork is guided by four core principles:

1. We believe in the ability of young people to be learners, teachers and leaders. Our first priority is to develop the talents of the young people who participate in our programs, and we will do whatever it takes to succeed in that mission. Young people are active and critical participants in all aspects of the organization--not only as students, but also as counselors, teachers and program leaders.
2. We work hard for young people, and we hold ourselves accountable to them, their parents and our communities. Our aim is to build an organization that provides the highest quality services to young people and is the standard against which urban youth service providers are judged. The people of Groundwork will always work hard for our young people because our young people deserve nothing less. We hold ourselves strictly accountable to our students, their families, our communities, our neighbors, our funders, our partners and each other.
3. We respect the people and institutions of the neighborhoods in which we work. Groundwork is a neighborhood-based program. We do not strive to "save" neighborhoods, but to serve them as they work to build better lives for their young people. We strive to become both a part of and a partner with the neighborhoods that we serve; and we are committed to involving neighborhood residents and institutions as program leaders, vendors and staff.
4. We are committed to helping young people recognize their responsibility to develop themselves and improve their communities. We want all of the young people who participate in Groundwork--whether as students or staff--to accept responsibility for their personal development. At the same time, we will help our young people recognize their responsibility to their communities, their nation and their world.