Dear Friends,
Spring is here and YES is a busy beehive. The phones are ringing and children and families are coming through our doors every day, excited to sign up for summer camp. But our youth don't have to wait for summer to get outside. It's spring break for Richmond schools this week and, at this very moment, YES teens are backpacking in Point Reyes National Seashore and our Richmond Rangers are on a camp out in Tilden Regional Park!
These experiences in nature are opportunities for our youth to stretch themselves, build positive relationships, and develop essential character and leadership skills that will support them into adulthood. With guidance from our YES staff and community providers, YES youth are putting these skills into practice and finding their voices in their classrooms, their neighborhoods, and our broader communities.
This month, we celebrate Sara and Nia, two young women whose journeys with YES began as campers, and who have since persevered to become strong leaders for change among their peers. Read on to join me in celebrating their growth and accomplishments.
Most Sincerely,
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Eric Aaholm, Executive Director
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Overcoming Challenges, Developing the Confidence to Lead
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Sara’s warm and welcoming manner is one of the first things you’ll notice if you come to the YES office on a day she’s working. Stay a little longer, and you’ll see more sides to her - sides she couldn’t have imagined just two years ago. Since November, Sara, a 15-year-old Camp-to-Community teen participant, has been working with YES as our first-ever Youth Engagement Teen Leader.
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Sara first participated in YES Family Camps at age three, and was a Summer Camp until she reached fourth grade. Two years ago, her mom brought her back to YES during what Sara describes as a rough time in her life. With the support of her mom and our staff, Sara reconnected with YES and joined Camp-to-Community (C2C).
She recalls, “It was so nerve-racking to be around people I didn’t already know, but after a while it got comfortable” and YES became a safe place with fellow teens and YES staff who she could trust.
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Now, two years later, Sara is excelling as YES's Youth Engagement Teen Leader.
Sara and her fellow C2C teens are tackling the pressing issue of childhood obesity and Type-2 diabetes in our community
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with a particular focus on Sugar Sweetened Beverage consumption. Supported by YES staff, the
teens educate middle school students
about the importance of reducing sugar consumption and increasing water consumption. They lead activities that are fun and eye-opening.
Sara says,
“When you finally show them how much sugar is in the drinks – they’re all mindblown! I can see how I’m impacting them.
We also talk to them about diabetes, and they all say ‘I’m not drinking that anymore’ because for most of them, at least one person in their family has diabetes.”
As our Youth Engagement Teen Leader, Sara collaborates with YES staff and demonstrates her growth in confidence, independence, and leadership. She plans and facilitates programming, conducts outreach to participants, staffs the YES table at community events, and is
a leader for younger YES campers on day and overnight outdoor trips, where she pushes herself to “speak up and take charge!”
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Looking back at how far she’s come since rejoining YES, Sara says
“I’m definitely more outgoing than I was then
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Two years ago, I couldn’t have done what I’m doing now with C2C and speaking in public.
The more YES gave us chances to talk and lead, the more I opened up from my shyness. I still get anxious, but I push through it.”
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YES Alumnus Accepted to Internship, Mississippi-Bound
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YES is proud to announce that Nia, former camper, Camp-to-Community teen participant, and 2016-17 Peer Advocate, has been accepted as an intern with
The Encampment for Citizenship,
a summer social justice and youth development program for teens from all over the country!
Through YES, Nia was an Encampment participant in 2016 and 2017, traveling to Massachusetts both summers for an experience that profoundly affected her. This year, following a rigorous application process, Nia will travel to Mississippi to join The Encampment staff in implementing their three-week "immersion experience in participatory democracy."
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Nia assists with environmental education activities at YES Family Camp, spring 2017.
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Congratulations, Nia! We know your leadership as an intern will support and inspire other teens, and that your presence will be a great gift to them.
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YES Nature to Neighborhoods |(510) 232-3032 | www.yesfamilies.org
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