June  2016                                                                                     e Newsletter   Issue No. 23

 

As California voters head to the polls today, YES nominates Summer Camp as the best initiative to support this summer! We don't have a real "Summer Camp For All" ballot measure just yet, but you can still show your approval by making a donation to  help us send our remaining 72 kids to camp this summer .  Triple your donation today during our Bonfire Giving Day!

We are excited to report that during summer 2016, YES youth will have  more enrichment opportunities than ever before  to engage in nature, fight summer learning loss, and build self-esteem. YES participants will be campers, leaders in training, and paid full-time counselors, but most importantly they will be exposed to new peers and new possibilities this summer.

Our 10-year leadership pathway starts with summer camp, and we have five C2C teens who have been longtime YES campers and are venturing out into the wilder world this summer to take on some big adventures. See their stories below.

This year our goal is to fund 330 YES camperships and our Summer Campfire Campaign is the vehicle to ensure we reach that goal.
As of June we still have 72 campers to fund , so if you haven't had the opportunity to contribute, please consider making a donation to have the hope of camp become a reality.  Your support fuels YES's mission, and maybe one day we will have Summer Camp for all!

Sincerely,
Eric Aaholm, Executive Director
  

YES Youth Leaders: Summer Paths Less Traveled
This weekend Nia will walk across a stage to receive her high school diploma from DeAnza High School in Richmond, and a month later she will board a plane for  The Encampment for Citizenship  a unique three week YES campership opportunity at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.  

Made possible by a longtime YES donor, two C2C teens will have the opportunity to attend The Encampment's summer camp experience in democracy where they will become more informed and sensitive to key issues of our time and committed to active citizenship and involvement in their community as justice seekers. 

Nia's path with YES began eight years ago when she attended her first camp as a 10-year-old. Her long journey culminates this year with her transition from C2C participant to a C2C Peer Advocate who heads off to Laney College this fall. We are so proud of her many accomplishments. Go Nia!

Summer 2016 is going to be an action filled three months with YES's Camp-to-Community (C2C) youth leaders heading off in many exciting directions. Thirty youth have been registered in camp leadership positions this summer as counselors-in-training, and two YES teens have been hired as full time paid counselors.  Four more teens join Nia heading out for their own adventures with YES partner agencies.

                   

Billy has been attending Summer Camp with YES since 2012, and transitioned into the Camp-to-Community program in 2015. This summer he heads out on a 14-day  Outward Bound California, High Sierra Backpacking trip,  where he will learn Leave No Trace camping and travel skills, outdoor cooking techniques, map and compass use, route finding, and how to set up shelters in the backcountry. 

C2C teen,  Willetta, stepped up to be a role model for our younger campers during our first ever Winter Camp, Family Camp and four of our Camp Days. This summer she will be attending the 2016  California Global Youth Peace Summit  for a week of personal growth, leadership development, cultural exchange and community building.

Kahlil (pictured front right) takes off this summer for three weeks of adventure on an    Environmental Traveling Companions trip  that includes a ropes course, sea kayaking, whitewater river rafting, and a backpacking expedition. Kahlil will learn how watersheds link the mountains to the sea, and connect the wilderness to his Richmond home.

Aaron recently completed the fifth cohort of the C2C Youth Engagement Team, where he participated in a project that highlighted obstacles to accessing healthy food in Richmond.  Aaron has a busy summer ahead of him! He is currently preparing for a five-day C2C backpacking trip in Yosemite National Park. When he returns, he will join Nia at  The Encampment for Citizenship.

Summer Campfire Campaign: Bonfire Giving Day







This summer YES hopes to send 330 youth from Richmond to attend a week of sleep-away summer camp, but we can't do it alone. 
Since 1999, YES donors have been funding our campers and their transformative experiences, and 2016 is no exception.  
We cover camper expenses from registration to return by fundraising during our year end S'More Campaign, our September Rock in the Redwoods concert, and our Summer Campfire Campaign.

This year we need to raise $50,000 to ensure that we fund all of our campers, and as of June 1st we have raised $22,140.  Can you help us ensure that the kids who follow in the above youth's footsteps can go to camp this summer by  making a donation to close the funding gap? 

To sweeten the deal, we have an anonymous Bonfire donor who is offering to match every donation made today. This match, combined with our BaseCamp-aign match, means that your gift is triple awesome, triple useful, and will triple the smiles of our campers!

Your gift today will triple your impact! 
(go ahead...touch the fire...with your mouse..not your fingers!)



   
 


"I applied for a leadership position at summer camp because I want to be a great leader. Camp is the place that I can be myself and talk to people. "  - Gustavo (Spikes), YES youth leader at Camp Loma Mar this summer