2007 REACH Program Improvement Grantees

REACH Program Improvement Grantees - Fall 2007

Camp Fire USA Sacramento Sierra Council
Project: Youth Advisory Council
Camp Fire USA will provide youth and adult leadership to organize and develop a Youth Advisory Council in Rancho Cordova. In addition to supporting youth-led community projects, members will identify youth needs in the community and communicate those needs to policy-makers.

City of Nevada City
Project: Nevada City Youth Center
The Nevada City Parks and Recreation Department will create a youth center to increase access to meaningful after-school programs. A youth leadership team will be involved in planning, marketing and space design.

CommuniCare Health Centers/West Sacramento Youth Resource Coalition
Project: Neighborhood Beautification and Safety Improvements
West Sacramento youth will identify and improve blighted areas in West Sacramento through a partnership of the city, local businesses and community groups to increase youth safety in public spaces.

Community Pride Project
Project: Kids: How are we doing?
To enhance the quality of its Life Instructions for Teens (LIFT) Mentoring Program, the Community Pride Project will work with youth in South Sacramento to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

El Dorado Hills Community Vision
Project: Youth Voices: Diversity, Anti-teasing and Healthy Teens
El Dorado Hills youth will conduct live presentations at schools and in the community in an effort to make a difference in the way young people treat each other. Youth will write scripts, film their presentations and submit videos to schools and community organizations.

El Dorado Women’s Center
Project: TEACH Program
The Teens Educating Against Classmate Harassment (TEACH) Program will increase youth involvement in program planning, activity leadership and evaluation. A teen liaison will help youth with schoolwide activities, and TEACH youth will engage their peers in activities.

Harmony Health Family Resource Center
Project: R Spot
This grant will fund a collaborative among Harmony Health Family Resource Center’s “R Spot” youth group, the Allyn Scott Youth Center and Yuba College faculty and students to foster relationship building and leadership skills for youth in Linda and Marysville.

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Sacramento Region Affiliate
Project: Recovery Resource Guide for Youth
Building on successes of the Families Living Well Program and the Sacramento Region Recovery Resource Guide, the council will engage youth to create and distribute a substance abuse prevention resource guide for youth.

Regents of UC Davis/UC Davis Chicano Studies Program
Project: Woodland Coalition for Youth Graffiti Abatement Project
Working with the UC Davis Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer community-based art initiative, members of the Woodland Youth Council and Woodland Coalition for Youth will create two public murals in high-graffiti areas.

WEAVE Inc.
Project: WEAVE Youth Services Assessment
Youth throughout Sacramento will provide feedback about WEAVE’s current school-based domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and education services. The project will include a survey and youth-led focus groups.

Youth in Focus
Project: Wiring Up Youth
This project seeks to connect young people involved in youth-led action research projects by creating an online social network, where they will be able to communicate and share digital audio and visual information about their projects.

REACH Program Improvement Grantees - Spring 2007

By developing an internet-based evaluation tool, the Collings Teen Center in West Sacramento will assess the effectiveness of existing programming in promoting and supporting opportunities for youth. Programs will be evaluated on the basis of emotional and physical safety, relational connectedness, youth participation, community involvement and skill building. The center also will make these tools available to partner agencies that provide programming. The teen center offers a safe place for teens, discourages risky behaviors and provides opportunities for teens to develop healthy relationships with adults. After-school programming, such as work readiness, tutoring, computer training and healthy recreational activities, help to build competency and work skills.

Youth at EMQ Children & Family Services will participate in the “Explore & Excel” program, which is designed to engage youth in exploring shared interests, making friends and learning to work as a team while performing community service. Designated youth leaders from the newly formed EMQ Youth Council will learn about teamwork and skill building, and plan activities and a service project for 30 youth. EMQ serves 150 youth in Sacramento County, who are referred by Child Protective Services and Mental Health and Probation. These ethnically diverse children and teens have complex emotional, social and behavioral needs as a result of abuse, neglect and biological disorders. EMQ’s mission is to work with these children and their families to transform their lives and the systems that serve them.

Through its Hmong Women’s Circle/Hmong Men’s Circle, the Hmong Women’s Heritage Association will provide an opportunity for Hmong youth to take a proactive role in addressing serious social issues in the Hmong community. Using existing surveys, youth will identify the issues that are most prevalent and detrimental to the growth and learning processes of Hmong youth. They will research causes, warning signs, consequences, access to help and cultural influences, and then create an effective method to get the information to Hmong students and parents at school sites. The Hmong Women’s Heritage Association is a community-based organization committed to empowering Hmong women and their families in the Sacramento region to lead healthy lives.

Mills Middle School students in Rancho Cordova are working with adult staff members to design an Intramural Sports League for their school. This project addresses the school’s challenge with overcrowded after-school activities and limited sports team participation due to transportation issues, financial restraints and low grades. The Intramural League will offer sports such as flag football, basketball, hiking, fishing, martial arts, track, soccer and volleyball. The league will provide a safe environment for students, while teaching teamwork, improving students’ skills and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. Mills Middle School is a Title 1 Targeted Assisted School receiving federally mandated funding due to its high poverty and English language learner population.

Through its Youth Services program, the Sacramento Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross will expand on the Leadership Through Service component of its Safe Kids Initiative. Originally started with the high school-aged population in mind, Leadership Through Service opportunities now will be available to 7th- and 8th-grade students at St. Robert School in Sacramento. The 7th- and 8th-graders initially will be trained in life-saving skills and will participate in focus groups, assessment and planning. Upon certification, student teams will learn how to instruct preparedness and basic aid concepts to K-6 students through courses that include First Aid for Little People, Home Alone and Don’t Be Scared, Get Prepared. Red Cross staff members will serve in an advisory role by providing materials, equipment and support.

With previous funding from Sierra Health Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, Soil Born Farm Urban Agriculture Project has developed two areas of youth programming in its signature program, Connecting Food, Health and the Environment. After a full year of piloting the Garden Leadership Club and the school-day health and wellness Exploration program, Soil Born Farm will add a “Train the Trainer” component for youth leaders and mentors, develop a peer mentor program and advisory team, and build capacity among adult mentors. This combination is designed to help youth better self-identify as leaders. The farm and education center, located in Sacramento, promotes health and experiential learning opportunities at school sites and at two urban farms.

REACH Program Improvement Grantees - Winter 2007

Through a new youth mentor program, the El Dorado County Youth Commission will provide an opportunity for youth ages 11 to 18 to learn communication skills to help them become change agents in their community. The idea for this program came from a realization that many youth find it difficult to speak to adults in interviews, presentations and conversations. The training program is designed and implemented by the Youth Development Network.

With a goal to increase access and use for youth ages 10 to 15, Fairytale Town in Sacramento will begin its Pilot Planning Program for Middle School Students. Fairytale Town staff members will work with a group of 15 middle school students to identify needs for this age group and develop a program for them that is meaningful and interesting. Since it opened in 1959, families with children between 0 and 10 have been the primary visitors to the park.

Family Connections El Dorado will create a new component to its Mentors Plus program, in which high school students will design lessons and activities to help middle school students transition to high school. The younger students (ages 11 to 13) will receive support from caring older peers (ages 14 to 16). In the past, Mentors Plus was available for middle school students only and lessons were adult-led. This new component creates an opportunity for youth to lead.

The Girl Scout Council of Napa-Solano will continue its work for low-income girls in Vacaville and Fairfield through the Solano County Outreach and extension Recruitment Effort (SCORE). This grant will help fund phase two, which will include the installation of computers and graphic design equipment in A Girl’s Place in Fairfield. The facility will provide a centralized location for a technology training collaborative for youth-service organizations.

Through its Youth Council Assessment Initiative, Housing with Heart will identify the needs of low-income youth at three affordable housing communities in the Sacramento Valley. The project will give resident youth an opportunity to assess their own needs through the use of youth councils. Based on the youth assessment, Housing with Heart will develop a program to add to its existing services. The organization serves 550 families at the three housing communities.

The NextGen Youth Ministry will increase youth participation and leadership in an innovative program that offers safe places for young people to learn and talk about issues that affect their lives, such as drug use, sexual promiscuity, emotional boundaries, personal responsibility, job readiness and skills for building healthy relationships. This project also aims to engage parents in these same topics to help them understand what their children are facing.

The Roberts Family Development Center in Sacramento will enhance its Service Learning Program by implementing youth-initiated service projects, increasing staff’s youth development skills and increasing parent involvement. The project will provide opportunities for youth to be leaders in their community, while learning valuable life skills. The center serves more than 120 families a day through an after-school program, a childcare center and classes.

Based on observations and student feedback from its pilot Youth Leadership Program last year, Soil Born Farm Urban Agriculture Project will incorporate a new summer leadership program. Changes include earlier student recruitment, providing stipends for youth leaders and increasing the number of student participants. The farm and education center, located in Sacramento, promotes health and experiential learning opportunities.