12/05/2007

Friends for Youth WinsTwo Federal Grants!

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These are exciting times at Friends for Youth. With the award of not one but two Federal grants, we will be able to triple the number of at-risk youth served.

With the benefits of mentoring becoming more and more apparent, the award of these Federal grants acknowledge that the Friends for Youth mentoring program provides an important contribution to the prevention of substance abuse and delinquency while helping youth in so many other ways as well. These grants were awarded by the Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-free Schools, and from the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Friends for Youth is expanding to meet the growing number of youth we will be serving, adding new program coordinators and recruitment staff. Our biggest challenge will be find more mentors. If you ever thought about becoming a mentor, or know someone who might be interested, how would be a great time!

Helping a young person achieve their potential is enormously rewarding - just read Lisa and Jim's story. Look for more news on our growth and expanding services at www.friendsforyouth.org.

12/01/2007

Mentoring as a Couple: Lisa & Jim's Story

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It sounded like such a commitment - three whole hours for a full year. What if we get busy? Is this going to be fun or an obligation? What a difference can you make in someones life in just three hours out of 168?

Boy, were we surprise when we met John and realized how much fun we could have together. We started reading the newspaper with fresh eyes. We looked at things we normally would have passed over and comment to each other, "John would enjoy that - let's go next weekend." We hiked and biked, attended the circus and movies, read books, went to see our local teams play- the Giants, A's, Raiders 49ers, Warriors and Saber Cats. When we got tired of watching other people play sports, we participated in a Friends for Youth group activity where we played Fantasy Baseball and actually played on the field with former Giants players, Vida Blue and Rich Murray. We enjoyed the Friends for Youth ice-skating party so much that we celebrated John's 11th birthday at the skating rick with his brothers.

We had the opportunity to be there for many firsts, such as John's first professional baseball and football games and his first plane ride at Hiller Aviation Museum. Within one year, we not only got to know John for the wonderful person he is, but we got to know his family and his school. Though the activities we did may have been more exciting, it was school projects like building a mission and writing a book report that helped us see what a creative and intelligent person John is and gave us faith in knowing he is going to achieve his goals in life. It is debatable whether John got more out of the friendship or we did, but one thing is clear, we are going to know John for a long time and be there to cheer him on as he graduates from school and achieves his goals. Even though we don't see each other every single week, we know we are there for each other and John holds a very special place in our lives.

For more information on becoming a mentor with Friends for Youth please email info@friendsforyouth.org or call 650-368-4444.

46 Boys and 10 Girls are waiting for mentors. Could 1 be waiting for you?

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