Yolo youth plan and carry out successful youth leadership conference
by Lori Perez
YCYLC Planning Team member, Woodland Coalition for Youth
On March 29 and 30, 77 youth and adults participated in the first Yolo County Youth Leadership Conference, held at Woodland Community College. The event was organized by the Woodland Coalition for Youth and was designed to inspire, motivate and give students practical knowledge about leadership development, attaining higher education and making career choices.
The leadership conference concept began when some local youth and adults attended a large youth leadership conference in Sacramento. The youth attending wondered why a leadership conference had never been held in Woodland, and the adults attending responded by saying that one had never been planned. The youth decided they would like to plan one.
Youth were involved in the entire planning stages of the conference, beginning with the desire to have a leadership conference. Youth decided what workshops the conference would have, what the schedule would look like, what fun activities to incorporate and even what our food would be. The youth involved in planning and facilitating the conference included high school student Angelica Saldana and middle school students Elizabeth Hechtman, Angel Barba and Sarah Brown. Angelica felt the conference was a huge success and that many youth from different backgrounds learned how to work together. During the conference, youth were involved by being co-facilitators of workshops, co-emcees of the conference and co-leaders of family groups.
Adult leader Lori and youth leader Angelica lead a family group activity to learn about networks.
The youth and adults on the planning team learned how to exercise their own leadership skills and how to build from each others' strengths. Some of what the youth attending the conference learned was how to lead meetings, prepare for job interviews, how leadership is involved in martial arts and how leadership is exercised in making good choices. Many of the youth stated that the conference helped them build confidence, and helped them realize the importance of building strong and healthy relationships with their peers and adults.
As a planning team we feel the conference could not have been possible without the relationships and partnerships built between each adult and youth. Adults on the team included Debbie Carrion from Club Live, Edgar Lampkin and Lori Perez from Yolo County Office of Education, Esther Guardado from the Woodland Public Library, Douglass Middle School teacher Ernesto Canales and Rogelio Villagrana from the Woodland Coalition for Youth. Our planning team is also very thankful to our sponsors, who have graciously donated their time and money to help make this event possible. We hope to hold our 2nd Annual Yolo County Youth Leadership Conference next year!
The Woodland Coalition for Youth is a REACH Community Action coalition. Learn about all seven Community Action coalitions on the REACH Web site. Visit the Woodland Coalition for Youth Web site.
back to top
Rancho Cordova youth present accomplishments, goals to city council
by Nicole Jarred
Community Collaborations Manager,
Folsom Cordova Community Partnership
On the evening of March 17, two youth from the Rancho Cordova Youth Advisory Council, Danielle and Rheana, presented to the Rancho Cordova City Council about their 2007 accomplishments and 2008 goals ... and they were incredible! They gave a 10-minute presentation, including a screening of their photo-documentary from a recent Digital Storytelling Workshop. A group of about 30 YAC youth, parents, siblings and coalition members attended the meeting in support of our speakers. We wanted to celebrate this success with the REACH community. Check out the presentation on the City of Rancho Cordova Web site. (Note: “Jump to” the presentation by the Folsom Cordova Community Partnership and fast forward. The REACH section is roughly between minutes 25 and 35 of the meeting.)
The Folsom Cordova Community Partnership's Cordova Community Collaborative is a REACH Community Action coalition. Learn about all seven Community Action coalitions on the REACH Web site.
back to top
El Dorado youth award GABY grants
from El Dorado Community Foundation
Since November 2007, members of the El Dorado County Grants Advisory Board for Youth (GABY) have been learning about what philanthropy is and how the grant making process works. They issued requests for grant proposals, reviewed all of the proposals submitted, interviewed the applicants and then spent an entire day making funding decisions. They presented a written summary of the 11 grants requested, along with their recommendations for funding of nine requests totaling $12,584. At the February board meeting of the El Dorado Community Foundation in Placerville, which oversees the El Dorado GABY, youth member Brittany Mills presented grant recommendations.
The foundation's board was extremely impressed and pleased with the thoroughness of the young GABY members, and wholeheartedly approved their recommendation to fund nine of the 11 applicants. Foundation board members John Black and Fran Ward commended the youth for paying such close attention to the feasibility of the requests when deciding amounts to fund and for their funding diversity.
Members of the El Dorado County Grants Advisory Board for Youth
On the evening of March 12, GABY members, their advisors and grantees, along with families and friends, gathered to hear short overviews from grant recipients and to congratulate everyone on a job well done. The grant recipients are:
Colleen Moore
Project: Garden for Upper Room
Lucas Feil
Project: Flagpole at Pleasant Valley Fire Department
Corey Harkins
Project: Solar Education Traveling Display
Brenna Jonak
Project: Buckle Up Signage for Teen Safety
Andrew Kassabian
Project: Every 15 Minutes – Town Hall Meeting
Jonathan Morgan
Project: Drinking Fountain for Skate Park
Dustin Pfeiffer
Project: Youth Resource Web site
Lauren Cockrell
Project: Organic Garden at Union Mine High School
Erica Saxton
Project: Japanese Cultural Club at Shenandoah High School
The El Dorado Community Foundation, working closely with Sierra Health Foundation, New Morning Youth and Family Services, Sacramento Region Community Foundation and the University of California Cooperative Extension to develop youth leadership and philanthropy through the GABY program, feels strongly that the El Dorado GABY program has more than met their expectations and hopes to continue the program in years to come.
When posed with the question, “What do you think you gained on a personal level from your experience on the Grants Advisory Board?,” Reid Edlund, a student at Marina Village Middle School, answered, “I think that I gained some really good decision making skills. It's fun being around such good people, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the process!”
Each GABY member has been assigned to a grant recipient and will consult with them as needed in order to complete progress reporting and bring their respective projects to fruition.
Visit the El Dorado Community Foundation Web site for more information about El Dorado County GABY.
back to top
Funding Opportunities
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and State Farm offer Good Decision Service-Learning Grants for schools or community-based organizations working with children and youth ages 5 to 25. The $1,000 grants are awarded to conduct service-learning projects on either underage alcohol use prevention or vehicle safety. Applications are due May 1. Get information and application materials on the Protecting You/Protecting Me Web site.
Tiger Woods Foundation grants focus on providing opportunities to underserved youth, ages 5 to 17, with the average grant range between $2,500 and $25,000. Program areas include education and youth development. Upcoming application deadlines are May 1 and Aug. 1. Get information on the Tiger Woods Foundation Web site.
REACH Program Improvement grants up to $10,000 are available to nonprofit organizations in the California Capital Region to improve the quality of youth programs or increase the number of youth who participate in quality programs. Applications for the Spring 2008 funding cycle are due to Sierra Health Foundation by noon on May 15. Download application materials on the REACH Web site.
back to top
Resources
The California AfterSchool Network is a statewide coalition charting the course of after-school opportunities for California's children and youth. Get information about workshops and funding opportunities on the California AfterSchool Network Web site.
The Finance Project has published a report titled Using CDBG to Support Community-Based Youth Programs, which explains how the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is structured, how community-based youth programs fit into CDBG purposes and activities, and how communities nationwide are using CDBG to support youth initiatives. Get the report on the Finance Project Web site.
back to top
Calendar
April 28
5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Commitment for Success, a community convening
Presented by the Capital Region Ready by 21 Coalition
Samuel Pannell Meadowview Community Center, Sacramento
Get information on the Youth Development Network Web site.
May 15
Noon
Spring 2008 Program Improvement grant applications due
Download application materials on the REACH Web site.
July 9
REACH Regional Youth Development Conference
Save the date! See future issues of REACH e-news for details.
E-mail story ideas, funding opportunities, resources and calendar items to us at REACH.
back to top
|
