Friends for Youth's Annual BBQ

This past sunny Saturday Friends for Youth hosted its annual BBQ and picnic activity at Coyote Point. About 30 amazing mentors and mentees brought yummy and healthy side dishes to share from beautiful colorful salads to fancy finger sandwiches. Everyone got to enjoy the outdoors and have hot dogs fresh off the grill. Friendships got a chance to know each other better as they flew kites, jumped rope, played board games, and completed a not so easy Alphabet Scavenger Hunt. 

Tidemark Makes an Impact at Friends for Youth

Last week Friends for Youth teamed up with local start-up Tidemark to conduct a “waitlist activity” for our youth. 

There are about 50 youth waiting to be matched with a mentor at this time, and this was an opportunity for a group of them to enjoy an evening of bowling and pizza alongside a group of Tidemark employees. With the help of the fun and encouraging Tidemark employees some youth bowled for the very first time, and the activity was a great success.

Friends for Youth is grateful to Tidemark for sponsoring this opportunity for our youth!

Mentoring and Teaching - Both Appreciated This Week (and All Year!)

Happy National Teacher Appreciation Week! Friends For Youth would like to thank all our Senior Friends and for all mentors in both formal and informal programs for being both teachers and friends to their mentees. While our mentors enjoy hanging out with their mentees, they are also committed to being positive role models who help to provide guidance for these youth in our communities who are in need of more support. By the end of the year in our program, at least 88% of our mentees visited a college campus and talked about their future. This just goes to show that mentoring does, in fact, work.

Additionally, when mentors instill the belief in their mentees that learning can take place anytime and anywhere, they can be that teacher outside of the classroom who provides that extra bit of guidance once the school day is over. Simple things such as showing their mentees where they work, taking a trip to the museum, or going out to a ballgame are just a few of the many ways in which mentors can help to promote learning. Even baking cookies together includes lots of learning moments! So long as mentors and mentees are engaging in activities that allow for meaningful conversations to occur, there is no ceiling to the amount of learning which can take place. 

So, here’s to you, Senior Friends and mentors around the world! Thanks to each and every one of you for being there for your Junior Friends and mentees. Your kind hearts and willingness to impart the valuable life lessons you have learned with the youth in your community is truly appreciated!

Guest post written by our Communications and Social Media Intern, Josh Tiongson

Making the Most of Mentoring: The 14th Annual Mentoring Conference

Thank you to all those who participated in the 14th Annual Mentoring Conference! From the attendees to the presenters, the mentee panelists to the Oracle facilities staff, everyone came together to make this year's conference a dynamic, educational, nurturing event.

Special thanks goes to all keynote presenters, including Ulrich Schmid-Maybach and Nicole Tung. Mr. Ulrich Schmid-Maybach spoke about the Maybach Foundation's mentoring program, which matches up promising young people with experts in various professions. Nicole Tung, a Maybach Foundation Mentee, spoke from Turkey about her experiences there as a photojournalist.

Keynote presenters Michael Karcher and David DuBois presented on their book, the 2nd edition of the Handbook of Youth Mentoring. Detained in Chicago because of a storm, DuBois joined via internet.

"We are so honored to be among such esteemed mentoring professionals here today," Friends for Youth Executive Director Becky Cooper said in her opening remarks. "It is all of you that give us hope for our children's futures."

Mentor Tip

Today is Earth Day.  Read some of its history or figure out a way to celebrate Earth Day like walking or biking to your destination, planting a tree or pull some weeds (rather than using pesticides!), or picking up trash at your local beach or creek or in your neighborhood.  Have fun!

New SAFE Training Certification Project Announced in Child Abuse Prevention Month

Prevention is the best hope for reducing child abuse and neglect and improving the lives of children and families. Strengthening families and preventing child abuse requires a shared commitment of individuals and organizations in every community.

Friends for Youth has been the leader in the youth mentoring field in developing guidelines for programs to implement in order to select volunteer mentors who are safe. Based on research over the years to produce our resource SAFE (Screening Applicants for Effectiveness): Guidelines to Prevent Child Molestation in Mentoring and Youth-Serving Organizations  – and more recently for our chapter, Mentor Screening and Youth Safety, included in the new second edition of the Handbook of Youth Mentoring – we help organizations do better by offering recommendations about screening and monitoring tools and process and developing policies and procedures to ensure compliance. Last year, we launched our SAFE Campaign designed to raise more awareness of the issue and raise money for a second edition of our most popular resource, SAFE. You can still view the resources, statistics, tips, and interviews with influential people in the field about the importance of preventing child abuse in mentoring programs.

NEW IN 2013: CERTIFIED SAFE TRAINERS

This year, we’re excited to announce the launch of our SAFE Training Certification project. As we look toward the future of youth mentoring programs and the continued importance of the highest standard in mentor screening and youth safety, Friends for Youth is now prepared to equip a new generation of Certified SAFE Trainers and reach even more mentoring professionals and programs located across the United States and around the world. Friends for Youth is offering the first training and certification for a select number of youth mentoring professionals who serve in training and support capacities from national, state, and regional organizations. These technical assistance providers will convene prior to Friends for Youth’s annual conference on April 17, 2013, for a day of advanced training by Friends for Youth expert staff and frequent collaborator Sgt. Steven McEwan of the San Jose Police Department. Participants will also engage in high-level discussions and collaboration, receiving all current training materials and copies of the resource.

Please contact Sarah Kremer, Mentoring Institute Program Director, at 650-559-0200 or sarah@friendsforyouth.org to inquire about being in the first (or next) cohort of Certified SAFE Trainers!

Spotlight Friendship: Jessica, Asit + Alfred

 Asit and Jessica were matched with their Junior Friend Alfred in March of 2012. They’ve truly had an awesome Friendship. 

   This trio has done some awesome activities together from rock climbing to mini-golfing. During some activities Asit and Jessica’s dog Sierra joined in the fun. 

   The trio also attended many Friends for Youth activities, such as Jump Sky High, our Beach Party, and the “We’re All Made Out of Stars” planetarium visit. They also took advantage of free tickets for the circus, A’s games, and other events. 

   Asit, Jessica, and Alfred’s laughs and good times under the sun are far from being over. They are planning on being in each others life for a very very very long time.