In this issue:

1. Reflections of HEY’s 4th Annual Voices of Youth Celebration

2. Interested in Becoming a SF Court Appointed Special Advocate?

3. City College of San Francisco Guardian Scholars Summer Academy: Orientation, May 23, 2007

4. CASA/L.A.S.T. Transition House Walk of Hope on May 28, 2007

5. YTEC Leadership Annual Youth Conference on June 1st and 2nd

6.City College of San Francisco LERN 50 for Formerly Incarcerated Students

7. LGBTQ Youth Training

8. AHWG Job Opening

9. San Francisco’s Chronicle’s coverage of Foster Care

May 16, 2007

1. Reflections of HEY’s 4th Annual Voices of Youth Celebration

May 12th 4th Annual “Voices of Youth 2007: Success through Empowerment
This community carnival and celebration truly highlighted foster youth by giving them the spotlight, and we all were watching. There was plenty of free food, community resources, music, and games! We saw amazing performances from thought provoking poetry to animated skits and flavorful dance routines.  By providing a safe and productive environment for the youth to express themselves their voices were heard by many in activities surrounding the area. Throughout the day a variety of raffle prizes from clothing certificates to meal vouchers and museum passes were awarded to youth that attended.  Ultimately everyone walked away with a better idea about the youth truly affected by the foster care system and the community members that are dedicated to serving this population. Thank you to all the youth and community partners!  Hope to see you all next year!

Look for pictures from this event on our website at www.heysf.org soon.

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2.Interested in Becoming a SF Court Appointed Special Advocate?

You all know how important CASAs are in the lives of children living in foster care in San Francisco.  Please help us to fill our Summer Training Program so that we can serve more children in need.

This summer we will be offering a condensed 6-week CASA training program, with classes being held every Tuesday and Thursday evening (6-9pm) between July 10th and August 16th.

Please encourage your friends to pick up the phone or email us an R.S.V.P. for one of the four 45-minute information sessions offered this month.  They are a great way to learn more about:

• Volunteer opportunities
• The roles and responsibilities of a CASA
• What is entailed in the free 40-hour training program
• What is involved in the application process

Thursday, May 17, 2007
Afternoon Session: 12:00pm-12:45pm
100 Bush Street @ Battery, Ste 625

Evening Session: 6:00pm-6:45pm
100 Bush Street @ Battery, Ste 625

Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Afternoon Session: 12:00pm-12:45pm
Starbuck’s Coffee Company, 455 Market Street @ 1st

Evening Session: 6:00pm-6:45pm
100 Bush Street @ Battery, Ste 625

Visit http://www.sfcasa.org/training.htm to learn more about SFCASA and to download a Volunteer application.

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3. City College of San Francisco Guardian Scholars Summer Academy: Orientation, May 23, 2007

To all Guardian Scholars Summer Academy Participants:

The first mandatory orientation will be held on May 23, 2007 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at the City College of San Francisco Campus, Louise and Claude Rosenberg Jr. Library R301 located at 50 Phelan Avenue, San Francisco.  Please see the attached campus map for directions or visit www.ccsf.edu/Campuses.  At the orientation you will:

• Receive an orientation to the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) Campus
• Learn campus resources and services
• Meet Summer Academy teachers, students and community partners
• Review Summer Academy courses and activities
• Complete the CCSF Application
• Receive placement testing information
• Enjoy refreshments and food

San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) students please remember to bring your completed “SFUSD Request for High School Credit” signed by your high school counselor and guardian. 

The program is still accepting applications for the 2007 Summer Academy; please forward information to eligible students.  If you have any questions regarding the Summer Academy or orientation, please feel free to contact Maya Webb by phone (415) 242-2615, ext. 3310, or email mwebb@muse.sfusd.edu.

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4. CASA/L.A.S.T. Transition House Walk of Hope on May 28, 2007

Make this event a fun activity for you. Come out and participate in a great event that helps others in your community.  Your participation, in the 5K CASA / L.A.S.T. TRANSITION HOUSE “WALK OF HOPE”, supports abused and neglected children in Solano County. Organize a team of four or more people, choose a team name, team captain and register all of the team members. Your team can also help by setting a fundraising goal and asking friends and family to sponsor you and your teammates! Teams can be organized and registered in any of the 4 categories, YOUTH: must all be registered in the 5-17 age category, ADULT: must all be registered in the 18-54 age category, SENIOR: all team members must be 55 or older, and MIXED: must have at least one member from each of the 3 different age categories.  Each team member must fill out a separate registration form

To register please view the sign-up form and the flyer.

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5. YTEC Leadership Annual Youth Conference on June 1st and 2nd

This year's conference theme is Youth Voices Against Violence.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions. YTEC is looking forward to seeing  your youth on June1st and 2nd and working together to create some solutions for the issues of violence facing today’s' youth.  Please view the Save the Date flyer for more info.

6. City College of San Francisco LERN 50 for Formerly Incarcerated Students

This LERN 50 is part of an alternative to incarceration package the Second Chance staff is currently developing to bring before the courts and political officials.  They have already had some early success with the package. If they are able to populate these classes and keep developing the curriculum, they may eventually be able to create more resources or classes designed to meet the needs of our WayPass and Second Chance students. The bottom line is this: the more successful our work is, the more likely it is that we will gain funding for programs and services for formerly incarcerated students, which would allow all of us to support more students.   

Course Information:

Summer 2007
50576 003 Lec MTWRF 11:15-01:00PM 06/18-07/27 CLOU 266 Harrison, C

Fall 2007
70923 009 Lec T R 11:00-12:30PM CLOU 223 Harrison, C

If you or your students have questions, feel free to contact Cindi Harrison at 415/452-5532 or charriso@ccsf.edu.

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7. LGBTQ Youth Training

Thursday, May 17th, 2007 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Golden Gate University, Room 5207
536 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105 

Please view the flyer for more information

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8. AHWG Job Opening

AHWG is in the midst of finding a new Project Coordinator!  Please check out the attached job posting and forward it to anyone you know who might be interested.  Thank you for your help.  AHWG is accepting applications until May 16, 2007.  Information on where to submit applications is in the attached job posting.

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9. San Francisco’s Chronicle’s coverage of Foster Care

Please see the links below for the most recent coverage and as always you may contact me if you need links to previous articles from the past month.

May 2, 2007
Me lonely? Not now, thanks to the 'family finding' search—Internet search helps connect foster kids with their relatives

May 1, 2007
A dream deferred

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