Camp
Sunrise Awarded the East Central Energy Operation Round Up Grant
YouthCARE
has been awarded a $2,500 grant from the East Central Energy (ECE)
Operation Round Up Program for the 2009 Camp Sunrise summer program.
Operation
Round Up is a program made possible be the ECE member-owners who
voluntarily round up their monthly electric bill to the nearest
dollar. The added pennies from each participant are combined in
a trust fund and awarded to various community service organizations
and projects which qualify under program guidelines and approved
funding categories.
Youth
Day at the Capitol
On
Thursday, March 5, 2009 six youth from YouthCARE joined hundreds
of youth from across the state for Youth Day at the Capitol. The
Group of two Youth Advisory Council Members Dillion Brendmoen
and Paying Moua along with four Youth Mentors Lul Abdullhai, Iris
Andrews, Kisha Easley, and Sharmine Murphy spoke with Senator
Scott Dibble from Minneapolis and Senator Sandra Pappas from St.
Paul about the importance of funding youth programming in Minnesota.
In addition to sharing their ideas with Senators, the youth participated
in a lively rally in the Capitol Rotunda.
For
more information about how you can support funding for youth programming
please visit the Youth
Community Connections website.
Kisha
and Iris
Mayor
R.T. Rybak and Dillion
Paying,
Dillion, Sharmine and Lul
Sharmine,
Lul, Iris, Paying, Dillion and Kisha
Group
Outside the Capitol
YouthCARE/Camp Sunrise
Represented at Minnesota State Senate Hearing
On Monday, February
16, 2009, three current YouthCARE participants- Shakiela Dillard,
Deomtrice Flowers, and Nick Flowers - attended a Minnesota State
Senate Hearing to show their support for continued funding for the
Minneapolis Summer Youth Employment Program. Nick spoke on behalf
of YouthCARE/Camp Sunrise, sharing the importance of his experiences
with the summer youth program. Nick stated that he "learned
a lot from my jobs at Camp Sunrise such as how to be a peer mentor,
how to get along with people differnet than myself and self control".
As of February 18, 2009 the State's proposed budget would cut up
to a million dollars from the Summer Youth Employment Program. If
you would like to get involved or need more information please call
Craig Luedemann, YouthCARE's Executive Director, at 612/338-1233
(ext. 20).
Camp Sunrise Youth
Garden Receives National Award
YouthCARE/Camp Sunrise was selected
from more than 1,000 kids' gardening programs nationwide to receive
a 2009 Youth Garden Grant from the National Gardening Association,
based in South Burlington, Vermont. This award-winning youth gardening
program will receive an assortment of books donated by the National
Gardening Association and a $250 gift card from The Home Depot,
which recognizes that today's youth are the future of American
gardening.
"National Gardening Association
is proud to support this terrific kids' garden", says Michael
Metallo, President. "This program was selected because of
demonstrated commitment to actively and creatively engaging youth
in the gardening process and to improving the community. We were
able to see from their application that the garden program will
be sustained for years to come."
For more information about the
National Gardening Association or the Youth Garden Grants Program,
contact; National Gardening Association (1100 Dorset St., South
Burlington, VT. 05403) or visit www.kidsgardening.org.
New Development Assistant
Beasy McGlothlin has been hired
as YouthCARE's new Development Assistant. As our part time Development
Assistant, Beasy will assist the organization mainly on grant
writing and researching grant opportunities.
Beasy first became involved with
YouthCARE in 2004 as a mentor to a Young Women's Mentoring Program
participant. She also served on the YouthCARE Board of Directors
and is a current volunteer with The Young Women's Mentoring Program.
In 2006, Beasy retired from a long and very successful 38 year
career in the insurance industry; Beasy worked 17 years with Country
and ended on a 21 year career with Travelers. Retirement has allowed
Beasy to follow her passion and dream of working with and organization
that serves to make a direct and lasting positive difference in
the lives of young people.
YouthCARE Board of
Directors Elects 2009 Officers & New Directors
2009 Officers:
*John Bachhuber - Board
Chair, Director Total Rewards, Medtronic
*Gleason Glover - Vice
Chair, Vice President - Sales & Marketing, Midwest Homes Services
*Shilpa Alva - Vice Chair,
International Logistics Manager, Ecolab
*Gary Bystedt - Treasurer,
Tax Consultant, Xcel Energy
*Lisa Turnham - Secretary,
Consultant
New Directors:
*Ellen Wolter - Principal Planning
Analyst, Hennepin County
*Kim Miller- Accenture
*Lica Tomizuka - Associate, Faegre
& Benson LLP
*Linda Vang - Assistant to Assistant
Vice President, University of Minnesota, Office for Equity &
Diversity
*Tim Wendt - Human Resources Business
Director, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
MNToP (Technology
of Participation) Leads Action Planning
for YouthCARE's 4th Annual "Celebration of Urban Youth"
On Friday, October 24, 2008 YouthCARE
staff, volunteers and MNToP facilitators worked together to brainstorm
and participate in the action planning process for YouthCARE's
upcoming "Celebration of Urban Youth" event.
MNToP (Technology of Participation) provides training and
facilitation services that develop and nurture a culture of participation
and build capacity for change in communities and organizations.
YouthCARE benefitted greatly from this process and the staff and
volunteers are excited to implement the action steps determined
during the meeting. In addition, YouthCARE would like to extend
our thanks to the MNToP facilitators who volunteered their time
and services to help lead an exciting discussion about YouthCARE
events going forward. If you're interested in learning more about
MNToP click here.
Xcel Energy Volunteer
Recognition Event
On Tuesday, October 7, 2008, YouthCARE
recognized the commitment and hard work contributed by Xcel Energy
volunteers for YouthCARE's Camp Sunrise Program.
A sincere thank you to the Xcel Energy employees
who gave their time and energy to help teach and support Minneapolis
and St. Paul youth as Volunteer Counselors, Business Partners,
School Year Volunteers.
We also want to extend our deep gratitude to the following Xcel
Energy Departments who have dedicated time and services for
the Camp Sunrise Program: Riverside Training Center
Minneapolis Chestnut Service Center Garage
Rice Street Garage
Safety Department
Vegetation Management Department
Communications Department
Community Affairs Department
The Xcel Energy Foundation
left to
right: Jim Gilroy, Laurel Boerger, Amanda Sirek, Shiela Frazier,
Ceace Haagensen, Jason Ostby, Gary Bystedt, Doug Shoemaker
2008 Bruce A. Palmer
Distinguished Volunteer Service Awards
Ceace Haagensen
and Bruce "Bud" Palmer
Noke Sivoravong
and Bruce "Bud" Palmer
On Friday,
August 22, 2008, YouthCARE hosted Visitor's Day at Camp Sunrise.
Over 100 program alumni, family, friends, volunteers, community
members and YouthCARE supporters came together to enjoy the famous
Camp Sunrise eggrolls, food, activities, cultural events, and
to celebrate another successful summer at Camp Sunrise. During
the program, Representative Jeremy Kalin reminded us about the
importance of the camp experience and how we can each do our part
to maintain our rivers, lakes and forests for future generations.
Junior Camp Staff beemed with pride as they described their work
experience, the new friends they've made and the lessons learned
while living at Camp Sunrise.
Executive Director, Craig Luedemann, presented Ceace
Haagensen and NokeSivoravong, two very committed
volunteers, with the 2008 Bruce A. Palmer Distinguished Volunteer
Service Award for their years of dedicated
service to YouthCARE! Ceace, a former Volunteer Counselor and
YouthCARE Board Member, currently works in the Community Affairs
department at Xcel Energy and is an amazing resource for YouthCARE.
Noke, a former camper, Counselor, and Camp Sunrise Director, currently
works at the Minneapolis Community Technical College with the
Power of You program and serves on YouthCARE's Board of Directors.
New Office Manager
YouthCARE
is very pleased to announce that Danelle Hubbard has been hired
as YouthCARE's new Office Manger! As our full-time Office Manager,
Danelle will assist the organization in a wide variety of areas
including accounting and bookkeeping, personnel and payroll, volunteer
program management, managing Board and Committee meetings, data
entry and more!
As many of you already know, Danelle has a long history of involvement
with YouthCARE/Camp Sunrise including her participation as a Camp
Sunrise camper from 2000-05 and Head Camp Counselor the last two
summers. Danelle's sister, September Hubbard, was also a Camp Sunrise
camper and junior counselor and her mother, Petra Regino, was one
of Craig's campers "back in the day" as well as a YouthCARE
Board member. Danelle has completed two years of college at Augsburg
and will continue her studies on a part-time basis as she works
here full-time.
Left to right: Shena Willbrandt,
Jenni Zickert, and Emily Burck
YouthCARE
is excited to have three very capable and committed staff members
leading the Young Women's Mentoring Program team. Jenni
Zickert, the Program Director, was Program Coordinator of
the Young Women's Mentoring Program from 2000-2003 and has been
Director since February 2008. Emily
Burck, Adventure Girls Leader, joined the team in February
as well and is excited to work with young women and watch as they
learn to support and empower each other to be leaders in their communities.
Shena Willbrandt,
Girls Group Leader, has extensive social work and youth development
experience, focusing on girls and young women. Together, this dynamic
trio recently completed a very successful summer program with the
2008-09 Youth Mentors and we are all looking forward to another
great school-year in the Young Women's Mentoring Program!
2008 High School Graduates Congratulations
from YouthCARE!
Arda Thao
Brittany Harper
Chris Yang
Elizabeth Erickson
Jerry Sisson
Jorge Segovia
Joua Vang
Kee Vang
Leng Xiong
Mai Yia Moua
Maizoua Vang
Mary Vang
My Vang
Neng Vue
Pahoua Xiong
Paker Xiong
Paris Koehler
Selena Pasillas
Terry Lee
Xcel Energy Presented
with the 2008 "Quality of Life" Award
for 34-year partnership with Camp Sunrise
On April 29, 2008, Xcel Energy
was presented with the 2008 Quality of Life Award from the Minneapolis
Regional Chamber of Commerce at the 17th Annual Quality of Life
Awards Dinner.
The Quality of Life Award is a public way of congratulating local
businesses for going above and beyond the normal call of business
to provide desirable places to work and creating a positive difference
in the community. Xcel Energy was celebrated for their 34-year
partnership and work with YouthCARE's Camp Sunrise program, a
youth development program focused on bringing together diverse
youth to live and work in an outdoor multicultural community.
Todd Klingel, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Chamber of
Commerce commented on the ceremony saying, "The Chamber
is thrilled to recognize such fine examples of leadership around
philanthropic giving in our community." To see the Xcel
Energy and Camp Sunrise video clip shown at the awards
ceremony, click
here.
Picture on left:
Xcel Energy Volunteers build new steps to bath area.
Youth
Advisory Council Member, Paris Koehler, Represents Minnesota Youth
at the MN State Capitol and in Washington DC!
On
April 30, 2008, Paris and other four other youth from Minnesota
shared their experiences growing up in Minnesota with our State
Representatives. Paris spoke of the importance of out of school
time funding and keeping class sizes small. She also shared what
she felt were the important topics in this year's presidential
campaign.
On
May 13 and 14, 2008 Paris represented youth from Minnesota at
the After School Challenge in Washington DC. As a representative
from Minnesota, Paris attended the conference and had the opportunity
to lobby on Capitol Hill. She met many representatives from Minnesota
and their staff, a highlight for Paris was meeting Representative
Keith Ellison from Minneapolis. Paris' trip was sponsored by Youth
Community Connections, YouthCARE, and generous donations from
many YouthCARE Board Members and supporters. Paris had a great
time learning more about the political process and said it will
be very helpful in achieving her career goals of working in politics.
YouthCARE Recognized
in
"Clique: Access to Local and Global Opportunities" Newsletter
Tom Hubler & Millie Hernandez,
alumni
Youth Mentor, at the 2007
"Celebration of Urban Youth" Event
March 2008, YouthCARE is honored
to be recognized with Board Member, Tom Hubler, in an article
in the community section of "Clique: Access to Local and
Global Opportunities;" a newsletter distributed by Business
Forums International.
Craig Luedemann with Girls Group
girls at the YWMP Holiday Party
In the article, Mr. Hubler describes
his connection to YouthCARE saying:
"One of the things that excites me about YouthCARE is that
it creates opportunities for inner-city kids to be recognized
and singled out for their gifts and their strengths, and allows
them an opportunity to manifest those gifts."
Women's Foundation
of Minnesota (girlsBEST) funds YWMP Expansion
In the spring of 2007,
a group of passionate alumni Youth Mentors (17-20 years old) and
program staff met to brainstorm how to better prepare young women
and girls for economic success. Through their discussions, it
became clear that the Young Women's Mentoring Program's most significant
untapped resource is its alumni Youth Mentors. They bring a unique
insight into program management, opportunities for program growth
and enhancement and the most pressing needs of their peers and
the girls they serve.
As a result, the Young
Women's Mentoring Program was granted a $10,000 grant for program
expansion from the Women's Foundation of MinnesotagirlsBEST
Fund. With this grant the program staff and alumni Youth Mentors
are working to expand the program to:
* Add a higher level of
leadership and involvement by re-hiring alumni Youth Mentors (15-18
years old) as Junior Program Staff.
* Integrate economic readiness as a purpose and link for all programming.
* Create a comprehensive girl-led Youth Mentor Training Program
in which girls learn to develop and teach leadership, employment,
and cultural competency skills.
Thank you Women's
Foundation of Minnesota!
Alumni Youth Mentor leads training for 2007-08
Youth Mentors