October 2019   e Newsletter

Dear friends, October is flying by and our team has spent most of these fall days out in the field alongside youth, adults, and families who are bringing the power of that special time spent outdoors into their daily lives as leaders, change-makers, students, and family members. In our October eNewsletter, we highlight the recent addition of Trip Leaders to our team, and the impact of they are making as leaders and role models. With backgrounds as YES volunteers, leaders in their community, and passion for supporting youth in the outdoors, Trip Leaders are trained to support participants of all skill levels, while helping out our committed program staff in myriad ways during programs.

This 20th year of YES has been a time of reflection, celebration, and reconnection with many of the people and partners who make up the YES family. I'm moved to think of each person whose involvement with YES has helped sustain and strengthen our work. Whether as a volunteer, donor, partner, participant, staff member, collaborator, or friend: when you support YES, you support a movement and a model for environmental stewardship and strong resident leadership in Richmond, and for access to the outdoors for underrepresented communities everywhere. There is a special opportunity to support YES right around the corner. Read on to learn more, and please save the date for Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, when our Board of Directors will match your donation - doubling your gift and your impact! Sincerely,

Eric Aaholm, Executive Director

Saying 'Yes' to YES The Shining Lights of our Trip Leaders Team

YES Trip Leaders are a special team of dedicated youth workers, outdoor educators, and role models who support trips within our Youth Leadership Pathway, making a big difference in the strength and impact of our programs, and our success in meeting our mission.  Trip Leaders support weekend activities like backpacking, kayaking, hiking excursions, Family Camps, and more. These leaders increase YES’s capacity and efficacy, and help full-time staff to balance time in the field with time managing programming, meeting one-on-one with participants, and providing mentorship and support to youth and families.

Trip Leaders have relevant work and life experience, and receive YES training to bolster their skills and knowledge. Through acts as simple as walking with a teen bringing up the rear of a group, Trip Leaders ensure participants feel supported, seen, and cared for. Other ways in which their work makes a difference are more complex. Nature is a healing and transformational space, but our work is rooted in the acknowledgement that not everyone has access to the outdoors, and therefore spending many days in the tech-free quietude of the forest can be uncomfortable or overwhelming. Trip Leaders are trained in trauma-informed healing practices and the history and context of Richmond, and are equipped to support a young person if these experiences arise during programming. After an outstanding run as a Trip Leader in 2018, Richmond resident and experienced youth worker Joanna Pulido joined YES's full-time staff as our Youth Engagement Specialist. This pathway to work is taking on even greater significance here in our third year working with Trip Leaders, as we celebrate the addition of three former YES participants to the Trip Leaders crew. While also working and attending college locally, these YES alumni are staying engaged, providing a model and an inspiration for our younger participants, and making the outdoors more diverse and inclusive. They are also our mission in action: after years as "YES youth", they are now entering young adulthood as empowered leaders, with the work experience, networks, and skills that pave the way to careers in environmental and outdoor education.

Reflections from Trip Leader Julie Sanders: "I found YES at a time when I was looking for fulfilling organizations to regularly volunteer with. I first volunteered at a Camp Day and loved the energy, mix of activities, the kids we worked with, and the community feel brought by the YES staff. I left that Camp Day saying I need more of this in my life . After digging a little deeper I found the Trip Leader opportunity, and I think it is an amazing way to build relationships with the YES community members. All the kids, teens, adults, and staff I have worked with have been so kind, warm, and have shared little bits of their stories with me. By being a Trip Leader I get to learn from Richmond youth about what makes them “them” and I get to share a bit of myself and how I love the outdoors and think it is an important part of youth development and confidence/leadership building. Working with the different age groups is humbling, empowering, and all around fun!"

New 20th Anniversary Video!

Check out our new 20th anniversary video! Debuted to our Rock in the Redwoods benefit concert audience in September, we're ready to share it far and wide! Featuring new footage, images from our first Family Camp in 2004, and an interview with founder Diane Mintz, we hope you'll watch and enjoy. Take five minutes to reminisce with us, and to be uplifted, to be reminded of hope and of the power of loving people and resilient communities.

Save the Date Donate on Giving Tuesday to Double Your Impact

Please save the date and donate to YES on Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, 2019! Our wonderful Board of Directors has teamed up to double the impact of your gift. Every donation up to $7,500 made to YES on December 3rd will be matched by our Board ! That means your donation will be instantly doubled, and you'll help us reach our goal to raise $15,000 in one day. Please save the date! Giving Tuesday is a world-wide day of giving to support the work you care about. This Giving Tuesday season, we are asking ourselves and our community: What would the outdoors and our Richmond community be like if everyone here had a seat at the table? Stay tuned for responses and reflections in the weeks leading up to the big day!

"Ever since camp, I see it in myself: I’m a more calm person, and I know what I want to do and I’m finding my true purpose. I’m spreading positive energy!” -Camp-to-Community teen participant

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YES Nature to Neighborhoods |(510) 232-3032 | www.yesfamilies.org