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| A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT |
| | Dear Friends,
With the holiday season comes the opportunity to reflect on our lives and our community. Most of us have much to be thankful for and look forward to a bright future. Thanks to the support of so many generous and kind people throughout the year, the young people served by City Youth Now can look forward to a bright future as well. With the generosity of our donors, CYN opens doors to opportunities, sheds light on promising pathways, and gives foster care and juvenile probation youth a chance to achieve full, happy lives.
CYN's programs reach a population that is often excluded from the opportunities that most young people are afforded. This year we continued to offer programs with education, employment and career options, while also providing emergency support to youth in need. Additionally, we expanded our programs to include new workforce development opportunities, including group field trips and career talks.
After serving as City Youth Now's Board President for five years, Didier Perez has stepped down from the position and is still serving as a very active board member. He helped to ensure my smooth transition into the role, and I am very grateful for his support. I look forward to bringing my experience in serving at-risk populations to the board, and leading City Youth Now into the next decade.
With San Francisco's job and housing markets becoming less and less accessible to low-income individuals, City Youth Now's mission to provide programs and services that promote stability, personal growth, and long-term success for youth in the San Francisco Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems is more important than ever. I hope you will join me in supporting our essential organization. Please feel free to reach out to me if you would like more information. I would be happy to connect.
Warm regards,Charles Higgins, MSW President of the Board City Youth Now charleshiggins@cityyouthnow.org
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This fall City Youth Now hosted 10 youth on a trip to the Salesforce office in San Francisco. Youth participated in a speed networking session, which gave them the opportunity to meet professionals who work in technology and learn about their career paths. The Youth discussed their ambitions and goals, and asked their own questions about Salesforce and different careers within the company. They shared positive feedback about this experience and are excited about the potential to visit again in the spring. It is our goal to continue to provide opportunities for youth to gain exposure to the workforce in our community. |
| | | | The Corner Store Grand Re-Opening |
| The Corner Store finally received a revamp after years of being open to JPD staff, the youth, and their families. CYN staff, as well as our amazing volunteers, devoted a day to reorganizing, providing new inventory, and painting the cabinets in our beautiful CYN logo colors! During our grand reopening, Maxine, our volunteer of 17 years, cut the ribbon for the "new" corner store. We had a great turn out with free coffee, donuts, and a raffle! Thank you to all who were involved and those that continue to support at-risk youth through their purchases. We invite you to come by the corner store this fall to purchase a new scarf, a cold drink or a special holiday gift. |
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Personal Empowerment Program |
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Youth Partnering for Education and Employment |
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CYN is excited to share that we have on-boarded eight new YPEE interns this fall! These youth successfully completed our intake process and have been placed at the internship site of their choice. We are excited to see their growth in their workforce development as they complete their hours and their professional development workshops.
As we eagerly on-board new interns, we are proud to share that four of our YPEE interns have successfully graduated from the program! These four youth have each completed 110 hours of work, as well as 6 professional development workshops. A few of these youth were also able to participate in our Salesforce field trip. At the end of their internship, each youth received a certificate of completion, as well as a $75 gift card to purchase professional clothing. We are so proud of all of our graduates and all they've achieved!
If you would like to refer a youth on probation or in foster care to our internship program, please email our Program Coordinator, Jocelynn Esteban: Jocelynn@cityyouthnow.org |
| | | | | Where did you intern and what was your role? TW: "I interned at Peace Parks, Potrero Hill Rec Center. I was a teen staff. I helped prep the food, wash dishes, serve food, sign people in, and do the shot clock for the basketball games." |
| Do you think this internship helped prepare you for an actual job?
TW: "Yes, because it taught me time management, getting better at communication, and maintaining a job." |
| What were some of the skills you learned at your internship? TW: "I learned more administrative work, being a better team player, and consistency." |
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Did you find the professional development workshops with CYN to be helpful?
TW:"Yes, because they taught me how to manage my money and it gave me more hands-on experience with work skills." |
| What did you like best about your internship site? TW:"That I actually felt like an employee for them and that I wasn't pressured to do things that I didn't want to. Everyone had fair jobs to do." |
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| | | Where did you intern and what was your role? SL: "First I interned at AFSF [Architctural Foundation of San Francisco]. My role there was to build houses and stuff on the computer. My next internship was at the City Youth Now office. I was an assistant and did office work like filing and sorting things out." |
| Why did you choose this site? SL:"I chose AFSF because I really wanted to learn something about architecture and it was fun. I then started at CYN because they were flexible and generous with me." |
| Do you think this internship helped prepare you for an actual job? SL:"Yes of course. Every internship does, or should. It helped with a lot of skills, I know how to do office work now. It helped me with Salesforce and make connections too. |
| What did you like best about your internship site? SL:"It was cool here [CYN]. I also liked the trip to Salesforce. It was a very friendly environment." |
| Did you find the professional development workshops with CYN to be helpful? SL: "Yes, they were helpful, I appreciated it very much. It got me prepared for things that I need for my next job." |
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Once again, a huge thank you to Bread and Roses for putting on yet another amazing performance for the youth inside the JJC! Thank you to Adi Gobert, Natalie John, and Daniel Eriks from Speakesē, a native bay area band, for taking the time to perform to our youth. They performed some of their original songs, as well as covers from well known artists, which the youth loved. Thank you to Francesca from Bread and Roses, for connecting us to more great artists! |
| | Salesforce Inside the JJC |
| CYN and youth housed inside of the juvenile justice center had the opportunity to collaborate with Salesforce! An amazing group of Salesforce employees visited the Juvenile Justice Center to provide mentoring and assistance with resume building for the youth. Each of the volunteers split into groups and worked with each individual youth. They also discussed their own journeys and what led them to working at Salesforce. Thank you again to the volunteers who came to support and connect with our youth! |
| | | The youth inside the JJC got a chance to hear from one of our local community colleges, City College of San Francisco. One of their amazing representatives came to discuss the different programs CCSF has to offer, as well as their admissions process and extracurricular resources and programs. Thank you, again, to CCSF! |
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| | | | Lilian
What are some of the things you are most grateful for this holiday season?
"I am grateful for my family and my friends, and getting time to see everyone that I love! I'm also grateful for my cat, Macy"
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| Amanda
What are some of the things you are most grateful for this holiday season?
"I am grateful for understanding family members because their support has helped me with doing more that will be beneficial for me later in life." |
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| What have been some of the main tasks you have worked on in the office?
"I have worked on updating the website with new information, organizing the closets, creating posters and infographics, and helping brainstorm new policies for the City Youth Now programs." |
| What is one thing you have enjoyed the most during your time at CYN?
"I have enjoyed being in the office and being a part of the work being done to help the youth of San Francisco. I can really tell how much care and thought everyone puts into this organization, and it has been great to be a part of it. |
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| What is one thing you have enjoyed the most during your time at CYN?
"The people that work here and all of the kids I have been able to help inside Juvenile Hall" |
| How have you supported CYN during your internship?
"I have been assisting in graphic design and marketing. I've also helped with fundraising and putting together the Giving Tuesday Campaign." |
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| | What are 3 things you are grateful for during your internship? "I'm grateful for the warm and welcoming office environment, the amazing people I get to work with, and seeing the direct impact that City Youth Now has on kids in San Francisco."
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| What are 3 things you are grateful for during your internship? "I'm grateful for their willingness to help any youth that comes through their door, the supportive environment from the help of staff, and the opportunities and necessities that they are able to provide for youth."
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| | | | | Every year, CYN provides holiday gifts to at-risk youth in our community. This year we will be providing oveer 300 gifts and could use support with wrapping. If you would like to volunteer to wrap gifts this holiday season, we will be wrapping on Thursday, December 12 at 10 am at the CYN office. If you are interested in joining us or would like more information, please contact us at 415-753-7576 or info@cityyouthnow.org |
| | | | | | Before you go, don’t forget to follow us on social media for local news and updates on foster care and juvenile justice youth.
Visit us online http://www.cityyouthnow.org/ | Follow us at: |
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