Woodland Youth Council receives anonymous yuletide surprise

by Lamar Heystek
Coordinator, Woodland Coalition for Youth

An elderly man of modest means stopped by the Yolo Family Resource Center on Dec. 17 bearing what he called “a little Christmas gift” – a $500 check made out to the Woodland Youth Council, a group of two dozen young people dedicated to working with adults to make positive community changes for youth.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, is a four-year Woodland resident who was moved to share his modest savings after reading about the Woodland Youth Council’s recent canned-food drive in The Daily Democrat. He found more information about the Woodland Youth Council at www.woodlandyouth.org, the Web site of the Woodland Coalition for Youth, the organization that supports the youth council through a grant from Sierra Health Foundation’s REACH program.

The yuletide benefactor earmarked his donation for the Woodland Youth Council’s Access Mini-Grant Fund, which sponsors youth of lesser means who wish to partake in various activities that promote youth development, including recreational, cultural and educational activities. Every month, the Woodland Youth Council board issues grants from $30 to $100 to eligible youth, who must then report to the board on their involvement within a month of completing the activity. More information on the program can be found on the Woodland Coalition For Youth Web site.

We are simply grateful that people are aware of the work of our youth. Our heartfelt appreciation for this generous act of benevolence cannot be expressed in words.

As a REACH Community Action coalition, the Woodland Coalition for Youth will make community-wide changes for youth to ensure they are safe and healthy, have positive relationships with caring adults, have meaningful opportunities to participate in the community and develop the skills they need to be successful. The coalition will facilitate these changes through the creation and coordination of a youth leadership center, mentoring programs, policy development, service learning and other youth-led opportunities.