My Dearly Beloved San Francisco: A Love Letter

My Dearly Beloved San Francisco, 

As a little girl when I finally began to understand the true meaning of your beauty, you took my breath away.  The diversity and colors. The joy and the happiness but yet a beautiful struggle. As the years went by I finally began to wonder at what you truly have to offer.

So I began my adventure, high and low. I saw all but great wonders. You are truly beautiful but yet inside you are a disaster. The anger that you hold within yourself it scares me. What secrets do you hold that darken you? I want to know. I want to help you, why have you become so cold?


My love don't let me go.

I want to help you, for I am the change for the future. Trust me my dear, don't lose faith.  You are my strength. You and me will become the great change for unity. I want to help you in any way possible. I don't want to see you struggle.  The people, the youth, you cause them pain. Why is it so expensive to stay?

I told myself no more. My family had to move. Then that's when I knew it was time to help you and there i was, the one sign that gave me a clue, going to YEFAB was on great way to help you.

Love,
Stacy

_____________________________________________________________________________
Stacy Martinez is a member of the Youth Empowerment Fund Advisory Board (YEFAB). She wrote this as part of a love letter exercise. Each YEFAB member was prompted to write a letter to the city of San Francisco sharing what they love, what they want to change and why they have been called to action. Stacy is a Junior and Student Body Vice President at John O'Connel High School. Read more about Stacy and other YEFAB members here.

Coordinators Corner: Their City, Their Teacher

WE'RE BACK!

After a brief hiatus we're back with more YEF news, tips and resources for all of our readers and community partners. We're starting a new series called "Coordinators Corner" to highlight some best practices our staff has learned and would like to share with youth workers in San Francisco and beyond.

We want to bring you blogs that will help you support your youth plus encourage communication and collaboration among the amazing organizations in SF serving young people. So, leave a comment with a question or a new topic you'd like to see us cover and we'll do our best to share content that will be helpful.

San Francisco Mapping Activity

Living and working in a major city like San Francisco we can get so consumed with the hustle and bustle of routine that we often forget that our lives only cover so much of the 46.9 square miles SF has to offer. Humans are creatures of habit and none more than young people.

Youth in San Francisco--as in any other place-- have their own routines.  They have their favorite hang out spots (T-Pumps high on the list) and their frequented routes from school to home to after school sites and then back home again. While they might see more diversity of culture and class in their daily route than a teen in a small town or suburb, their own experience only tells a part of the story of the city.

YEF Advisory Board (YEFAB) map their lives in SF

Often in youth empowerment programming, we want to highlight and uphold the knowledge-rich experiences of young people. However, it is also important to show them a wider world of diverse experiences outside of their realm of consciousness. The balancing act between providing programming that does both can be exhausting.

Doing a mapping activity that pinpoints where youth spend most of their time, allows them to both share their experience with the group and highlights the places and experiences that they might not see in their daily lives.

Suggested Mapping Activity Steps:

• Print out or create a digital map of San Francisco (or your own city).
• Ask youth use pieces of paper or digital pinpoint to indicate where they live, go to school, work, hang out with friends and shop (create more categories that might reflect the activity goal)
• Have youth share with the group their points.
• As a group look for patterns (where are there a lot of pins, where are there not as many, why?).
• Have youth do research or explore an area they are unfarmiliar with and present back to the group at a later meeting.

*For more info on how to make your own map and other urban civic engagement resources check out the "Make Your PLACE" curriculum made available through Catlin Gabel.

POWER DAY

On April 10, 2013, San Francisco's very own YEFAB (Youth Empowerment Fund Advisory Board), YAC (Youth Advisory Council), YOUTH WARRIORS, and YOUTH COMMISSION were able to gain an opportunity to go to the State Capitol and do some power work for the state of California. There we were able to bring up numerous legislative bills to our State Senators and Assemblymen, and other political aids that concern youth issues. As youth ourselves, we know what is happening in our current community best because we live the life everyday. What better was it than to voice our actual opinion to our state representatives, and not have to hear from a full room of adults that may have the capability to experience youth issues currently.  I am proud to say that our leaders were very pleased with our visit, and we as youth were given the opportunity of a lifetime. I want to thank Nayad and Prishni for bringing us there and the whole YEF for bringing us there as well. We hope to be able to do this again in the near future!

Youth Commission Off-Site Meeting on Education!

  On Monday, May 6th 2013, the San Francisco Youth Commission had an off-site meeting at the Ernest Ingold Boys & Girls Club. This meeting was directed towards Education issues, specifically credit recovery options for the upcoming school year. We discussed & looked at the data on the Class of 2014 & how many students are off-track to graduating. Also how the new A-G requirements come into play with this issue. That's why there are many options for students to make up credits, online & in a classroom. There was also a conversation on the new school meals in SFUSD schools. The Student Nutrition Services came to get some input from the Youth Commission, whether it's an improvement or if there still needs to be changes made. Overall, it was a very informative & productive meeting. It was also nice to have the Youth Commission host a meeting within the community so that the public could come & share their thoughts on what's being discussed. HOORAY FOR YOUTH VOICE & REPRESENTATION! For more information on the San Francisco Youth Commission or information on upcoming meetings, visit their website at www.sfgov.org/yc or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SFYouthCom.

May Day Rally

May Day

International Workers Day

May 1, 2013

On Wednesday, May 1st, as a form of celebration for all workers worldwide, countless numbers of demonstrators marched from the Mission District to San Francisco’s City Hall, fighting and screaming passionately for better working conditions, fair and adequate wages, health care, and lastly, immigration reform. The crowd consisting of labor activists, immigrants and supporters waved posters, signs and the American flag; banged drums; and chanted in English and Spanish, saying “Stop Deportation” and “Si se puede” (meaning “we can” in Spanish).

 We, Yefab, were able to join this wonderful celebration with numerous other supporters to voice our opinions and join the efforts in fighting for equality and justice for workers around the world. As a local San Franciscan, I have never been to a May Day protest before and this year’s was my first. Witnessing everybody’s burning passion to seek for change and equality is inspirational and invigorating. I was also fortunate to meet a Vietnamese female activist who openly befriended me and even exchanged stories and life lessons with me in seconds. The beauty of advocacy work is not only in fighting for a positive change, but also in the relationships and connections you build along the way. Through this experience, I learned that the diversity, open-mindedness, and compassion in San Francisco are perks that make our city so vibrant and free.

AWESOME SITE-VISIT

         

            On Tuesday, April 23, Christian and I were finally able to meet the wonderful youth leaders of Project WHAT!. That day the youth leaders and their adult ally met at the Main Library to discuss some of the final things needed for their summit. Throughout the meeting, the youth leaders were always on task by contributing their ideas to making the summit even better. Although they were discussing about logistical things, the atmosphere in the room was still very light and happy. There were jokes and laughter throughout the meeting which made the time fly by. I enjoyed seeing how comfortable everyone was with one another as if they are one big, happy family.   

            During this meeting Christian and I were able to see how diligent and passionate the youth leaders of this project really are. Everyone had great input and was really supportive of one another. I am really glad that I was finally able to put faces onto the amazing youth who are behind this project. I still cannot believe their summit is happening in a couple of weeks. All the youth leaders have worked so hard in producing this summit and I am very excited to see their hard work pay off!

GET PUMPED

Project WHAT!’s summit, Beyond Bars: Our Lives, Our Rights, is finally happening on Saturday, May 18^th at the San Francisco Main Library from 10 am – 2:45 pm! At this summit, the knowledgeable and passionate youth leaders of this project will enable the participants to gain a better understanding of how the criminal justice program works and allowing them to see through the eyes of youth with incarcerated parents. The youth leaders will lead a variety of workshops that will further enhance your knowledge about issues concerning youth with incarcerated parents. Here, you will be able to share your story, hear others story, and ultimately come together as a community to stand up for change. Beyond Bars: Our Lives, Our Rights is not only going be a great educational experience, but it will also consist of a lot fun as you will get to meet new people and win many prizes!    

If you are interested, please remember to register at projectwhatsummit2.eventbrite.com by May 10^th. Hope to see you there!

L.E.A.D. (Leadership Exploration Academic Development)

Being an program officer for L.E.A.D at my own high school Phillip and Sala Burton High is amazing! I get to experience firsthand how the mentor's and mentee's interact with each other. L.E.A.D is a club developed by students in my school to help the different age groups come together and learned from one another. The juniors and seniors are the mentors helping the sophomores and freshmen to better understand both the high school and college process. To help better the team bond and leadership skills, L.E.A.D fundraises money to help its students go on environmental trips outside San Francisco and have different types of experiences than their peers.   

While in the L.E.A.D meeting last Thursday I was given insight into how much perpetration and participation it takes on both the youth leader’s side and the participants side to make everything happen, both groups of youth where very interactive with each other in planning their upcoming trips such as hiking and camping. Feedback was given to the youth leaders to help better their next trip. It was amazing to see how far L.E.A.D had come since the beginning of the year and knowing that my friends helped it come this far made the joy I felt for them even sweeter.        

WORKATHON ALL day ALL the time PLEASE!

On March 30, 2013, tens of high school students from all over San Francisco, attended the 17th Annual Workathon held in the Chinatown community by Chinatown Community Development Center. Students from Galileo, Washington, Lincoln, and even students from organizations such as Adopt An Alleyway, gathered together to make an impactful change on this day. Workathon is all about promoting environmental change and about breaking perceptions. Once percieved as a community that wasn't environmentally friendly, youth in around San Francisco, fought to make an environmental change for not only the lives of those in the community but also those in San Francisco. During Workathon, teams were created, and youth went around the community CLEANING UP. Some groups went around to clean the alleyways by picking up some of hte litter on the ground/ Some groups went around to repaint walls that had graffitti on them, and some groups went to paint a mural. WIth all these youth gathering together, many adults were inspired by their acts. Storefront managers were encouraging kids to continue their work and even asked a couple of them to paint a couple other walls that had graffitti. In addition to repainting walls, a mural was created in which it would be put on a wall in Chinatown to show Chinatown as a community that is environmentally friendly. Hands showed the way to the community that was clean in both the streets and alleyways. This was a vision for youth in Chinatown, and on March 30th, that vision came to LIFE. Being a part of Workathon for the first time was truly inspiring for me. To see so many youth from different communities gather together to make a better change was empowering, and since this is an annual event, YOU should come the next Workathon!

Below are some pictures and videos that I have attached for everyone to experience the BEAUTY of WORKATHON!

Pictures:

With that in mind, if you want to help create change in the Chinatown Community especially environmental help, please come to CLEAN-UP hosted by Adopt-An-Alleyway, a youthled group that is a part of Chinatown Community Development Center. Almost every month, on the first Saturday, they have CLEAN-UP Saturday in which they go around this community to promote environmental wellness. To find out when the next CLEAN-UP is, keep checking our blogs please!

Summer Opportunities Fair

John O' Connell presents:

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES FAIR

Are you looking for a job or internship this summer? Looking for experience in the work field for future job or career opportunities? Then head on down to John O' Connell High School this Thursday for the upcoming fair for jobs & internships that will be available this coming summer & even class enrollment while living on a college campus! This isn't only a great opportunity to apply for these amazing choices, but a chance to meet new people! Organizations that will be present include: Conscious Youth Media Crew (CYMC), Youth Works, Summer Jobs, & many more!

When: Thursday, April 18th, 2013

Where: John O' Connell High School, 2355 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA

Location in building: The Atrium

Time: After-School 2:30pm-4:30pm

OPPORTUNITIES: CHINATOWN URBAN INSTITUTE

Are you interested in being an empowered leader in beautiful San Francisco? Do you wish to take action against injustices? An opportunity has appeared! The Chinese Community Development Center is now accepting applications for YOU to be a part of Chinatown Urban Institute, but wait a minute.. WHAT IS CHINATOWN URBAN INSTITUTE? The Chinatown Urban Institute is a community engagement and learning program facilitated by CCDC. The mission of the this program is to educate and empower San Francisco's emerging youth leaders ages 18-24 to understand and take action on community- based urban planning issues, using San Francisco's Chinatown as a "studio". Through an inquiry-based approach, 12 fellows will learn the history of Chinatown and skills core to community planning as a tool for social justice and advocacy. Sessions include seminars, walking tours and interactive fieldwork components to give the participants hand-on experience in grassroots community planning.

Some requirements and information about what it would mean to be a part of the Chinatown Urban Insitute are the following:

1. This is an 8-week program that runs from June 18-August 9,2013
2. Fellows are expected to commit 20 hours per week including sessions, projects, readings, and participation in the Chinatown community.
3. After the summer program, fellows are expected to continue their engagement with the Chinatown community through 10 hours of community servce after which they will recieve a $500 STIPEND for their participation.

So, what are YOU waiting for? Hurry and apply for the Chinatown Urban Institute! The deadline to turn in your application is April 26,2013. Please go to http://chinatownurbaninstitute.weebly.com/ for the application.

TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY, AND MAKE A CHANGE! BE ONE OF THEM!

That's Not Love Talent Show Site Visit

On March 31st, of 2013, I visited one of our grantee's, That's Not Love Talent Show. The goal of their program is to educate San Francisco about domestic violence. They hope to show this through a talent show and a play. The talent show will be held on June 21st, and the play will be held on July 13th. As I came in, I was welcomed by their whole group where we all introduced ourselves! We than carried on into their activities where I observed how they ran their meetings

Overall I was excited about how their project was turning out and was pleased with the progress that was made! They made their meetings exciting by playing a game called Chubby Bunny due to the holiday of Easter. Exciting as it was, they were very focused with their work.Throughout this visit, I observed them working on and discussing their outreach, and practicing their play which was very interesting! Come to their events on the dates mentioned above! More details will be available as they come. I am very excited to visit them again and had a very pleasant first site visit.

It's time to get our WORKathon on!!!

It's time for change and this change starts with YOU! This Saturday, March 30, 2013, join Adopt An Alleyway in its work to help clean the Chinatown community! This Saturday, from 9AM-1PM, youth will gather together to clean the alleyways, and repaint the walls that once had graffitti on them.You will get to experience not only what it is like to live in this community, but also become aware of its needs. On this day, you will be able to create murals and simply help out the community by doing simple deeds such as cleaning the alleyways so that plastic cups and plastic bags aren't everywhere. To promote the wellness of the community and to bring youth together, Workathon works to create environmental change! SO COME OUT TO NOT ONLY HAVE FUN, BUT TO BE A PART OF THIS ACT OF CHANGE! To volunteer, contact Wendy Chen at wchen@chinatowncdc.org

Feedback Circle

Last week, YEFAB took part in a very meaningful activity that really helped all of us as members grow. Our YEFAB group have been working together now since August 2012, and we believed that it was time for us to reflect on what we have done in the months that we have been together. We have given our best efforts to get the best results in our community, and we wanted to know how we have contributed to our community and how we can grow, as both team members and as individuals. So, in doing so, each member went around and gave each team member a compliment for what they have done fabulously, and what they could improve on. This construct would then help remind us that while we have many strengths that make us very productive and special in our own way, there are ways that we can shape those strengths and make room for improvement. We each got a chance to write down our thoughts and gave each member a little goodie bag to take come, with all our posted notes we have written for each of us to contemplate on. With the feedback circle, we are able to move on with more progress, because we now have the tools to do better, and to be better. 

The Out Reaching has Begun

YEFAB is looking for new board members for it's 2013-2014 group of youth leaders. Applications are out now and if anyone is interested they can contact Gillian at gbogart@dcyf.org. All of the yefaber's have begun their outreach in their schools and other places such as YMCA's and College Track. I was able to help out Gillian this Monday with outreach at my school Burton High during our opportunity fair. Despite the many stalls that filled up Burton's gym we were able to talk to many interested youth who signed their name to receive an application from Gillian via email. We were also able to talk to many motivated youth about the leadership opportunities YEFAB offers youth with their extensive leadership work reviewing grant proposals   made by youth for youth. Many of the youth were surprised the impact YEFAB has on youth-based organizations in San Francisco, due to which many of them are so motivated to join the next group of YEFAB's youth leaders.

Haiti Solidarity Celebration and Fundraiser

Come join the Haiti fundraiser and solidarity celebration!

The event will be held at 

Holy Innocents Church (in Noe Valley)

on Saturday April 6th 

from 3:00-5:00 PM. 

Celebration will include: 

• Food made with organic produce from the gardens of Mission High School and Pie Ranch
• Wine from Homewood Winery
• Performances by Batala, San Francisco, a samba reggae performance group and other student artists.
• A student led Report back about last year's delegation
• A Haiti Action Committee report concerning the current political situation in Haiti
• Finally, there will be a silent auction featuring unique items like framed Haitian art and wine tastings with local vintners

Reserve your tickets now! 

Purchase an extended solidarity ticket package and get a free glass of wine! 

Buy tickets at - http://haitisolidarity.eventbrite.com/

-Erica

YEFAB Goes to the Resource Fair @ ISA

At ISA tabling for YEF

   

    The International Studies Academy @ Enola D. Maxwell, better known as ISA hosted a Resource Fair on Thursday, March 7 from 3:30-4:30. ISA wanted to provide their students with information about programs in the city. I think it is important to join youth programs because through them you develop important skills, build character and get the chance to network. Many youth organization where in attendance such as Parks & Recreation, CHALK, and right beside us was Horizons Unlimited who had a briefcase (as seen in the image) filled with fake drugs! For informative reasons of course!

    Gillian and I set up a station with flyers and YEFAB applications...along with stickers and candy! Giving out information about YEFAB and our Mini Grants was a very fun learning experience. It was amazing seeing how youth are interested in helping our community and it made me realize how great our program really is. There are not many programs that depend on and encourage youth voice like YEFAB. 

This experience let me put into action the different skills we YEFABers have been learning in our meetings such as public speaking. I hope that through this outreach we get the next YEFABers!

4th Annual Youth Advocacy Day

YOUTH ADVOCACY DAY!

Youth Advocacy Day is a historic day of civic engagement by high school students all across San Francisco. They get to learn about city government through youth-led workshops & also get to meet city officials. This way, they're able to discuss various issues face-to-face with the people who are able to take some action here in the city. This whole day is full of excitement & YOUTH EMPOWERMENT! It's not only a way to get your voices heard by the officials, but to meet new people that share the same interests & passion as you! Let's not forget to mention the awesome group of people who created this day, thanks to the Youth Empowerment Fund (YEF) of the Department of Children, Youth & Their Families (DCYF). Next Wednesday will mark the 4th Annual Youth Advocacy Day so bring your mind, body, & souls because it's going to be one to remember. See you there!

WHEN: MARCH 20TH, 2013

TIME: 7:30AM-5:30PM

PLACE: SAN FRANCISCO MAIN LIBRARY, 

100 LARKIN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94102  

CORO Exploring Leadership Program

There are great opportunities all over San Francisco and it could be quite challenging to pick just one thing. Today I am choosing one to tell everyone! Coro Center for Civic Leadership is hosting its annual summer program called the Exploring Leadership Program. This program is looking for students entering their 11th or 12th grade school years who are amazing and show potential as the leaders of their neighborhoods, communities, and or school. This program will teach young people various professional skills, build leadership, and help them learn how to take part in advocacy, community organizing and more!  Also, you will have an opportunity to earn $800! 

This program runs from June 17-August 12, and if you want to learn more details about this great opportunity, please contact Clifford Yee, director of Youth Programs, at cyee@coro.org or call 415-986-0521 extension 102.

If you want to apply, go to www.coro.org/apply . Hurry and don't wait until the last minute, because applications are due Monday, March 25. Good luck and Enjoy!

Re-entry to Life: Photographs by Artist Yvonne Yeh Gee

Robert, Yvonne and I at the "Re-Entry to Life" reception.

As we grow, we are constantly plagued by social stigma to commit ourselves to a profession to sustain ourselves. Every so often, though, an event changes our perceptions and desires for our life as Yvonne Yeh Gee's photography exhibition, Re-Entry to Life, so touchingly displays. "After my work injury, in the midst of emotional and physical stress, the camera was my "Re-entry to Life.", explains the author. "With each click of the shutter, I healed." A reception for the exhibit took place on February 21st at Mama Art Cafe located 4754 Mission street. Many unique people came together from the bay area to experience the night. "I find it incredibly amazing that you can believe you understand something, but as you continue to learn more your perceptions drastically change" Alberto, a man who has familiarized himself with different regions of Mexico through travel, exclaimed to me. "You see something that you find interesting, and you make it into something that has meaning to you" said Julian Cash, author of The People of Burning Man,  to the exhibiting artist. The exhibit will be on display for the month of February. Be sure to come and experience a person's "Re-Entry to Life".

Exhibit the night of the reception.