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ANNOUNCEMENTS:
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Cowboy Cab 2018 - SUNDAY, June 10 at The Barn at Tyge William Cellars, Cornerstone. Tickets and sponsorship material available
HERE.
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ServSafe and Service Etiquette Class: Held the first Monday of the month from 4:00-7:30 and includes dinner. Open to all ages! To register, call 707-939-1452.
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Dine & Donate - Eat pizza and support Teen Services this Tuesday, April 10. Present flyer to any Mary's Pizza Shack in Sonoma for lunch, dinner or take-out and 15% of your purchase will be donated to Teen Services Sonoma.
Click here for flyer.
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A LETTER FROM CRISTIN
Last week I was walking along and smiling at all of the new flowers that are popping up everywhere, and they reminded me of the way that people just pop into Teen Services - many quite unexpectedly and all uniquely wonderful!
Right now, we are stuffing envelopes to send out information about Cowboy Cab. Where did those envelopes come from? Cathy Webber, who popped in not too long ago with a huge donation of office supplies. Also Gary Edwards who has offered us "amazing pizza dough from Italy." So now instead of purchasing pizzas for our Pizza Fridays, the kids will be making them from scratch!!
Then there are my "two angels from Vegas." Two years ago, a woman popped in because she was curious what Teen Services was all about. I gave her a tour and talked with her about our teens. She became quite teary-eyed, asked if she could give us a donation, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a $100 bill! She and her sister still pop in every now again with clothing or some other useful item, and their gift is always accompanied by a $100 bill.
Not a day goes by without a visit from someone. They pop in with food donations, with ideas to share, or to say thanks. They come to cook with our teens, to coach our teens, to support our staff, to lend a helping hand wherever needed.
I am often asked, "Why do you smile so much?" It's simple. I have "flowers" popping up year-round at Teen Services giving us all much to smile about.
With heartfelt thanks to all,
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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RECENT RTW GRADUATES
There was an air of confidence and accomplishment at the Ready to Work Graduation Celebration on Friday, March 16th held at the Krug Event Center at the Best Western Sonoma. Parents joined TSS staff, board members, alums, and friends to applaud our most recent graduating cohort: Pollyanna Dominquez Alvarez, Laura Avila-Vega, Chelsey Crespo, Clarissa Escobar, Pedro Galindo-Martinez, Brissa Gonzalez, Ivan Gomez, Erica Lee, Holly Lee, Jose Brian Alfaro Pineda, Alejandra Renteria, Cesar Solis, Christina Standley, Olivia Thorgersen, and Jorge Zamora.
Each of these graduates attended ten hours of instruction learning the essential "soft skills" needed to secure employment including: workplace etiquette and culture; time management and communication; preparing resumes, references, applications and cover letters; networking and interviewing; and money management.
Hopeful teens interview with interested employers
This year, the teens also had the opportunity to put some of those skills to work as the "mock interviews" of previous years were replaced by actual interviews with Sonoma Valley business professionals interested in hiring teens for summer or after-school positions. Kelly Mather, CEO Sonoma Valley Hospital, was delighted
: "
It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to interview some amazing and obviously talented students. The Teen Services program clearly educates and inspires our teens to focus on having a positive and fruitful career in the future."
All workshop graduates also receive 1:1 job coaching, helping teens identify their employment strengths and interests and direct them to employment opportunities. TSS Job Coaches continue supporting the teens as needed during the teen's few months of employment. The Job Coaches for the Spring 2018 Cohort are: Celia Canfield, Anissa Cooke, Jody Leeds, Joe Lieber, Elisa Stancil, Greg Stubbs (photo to left), and Eva Yearsley.
A special thanks to all of our interviewers: Celina Briggs, Sonoma Ecology Center; Alison Kilmer, Uppercase Tea; Kelly Mather, Sonoma Valley Hospital; Ingrid Spetz, Sonoma Land Trust; and Dwight Waters, Kunde Winery.
And many thanks to the Krug Event Center for donating the venue, to the Lovin' Oven for the delicious food, and to all of you who continue to support this important program.
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AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THANKS TO IMPACT100 SONOMA
Each spring, Impact100 Sonoma members enjoy a special event at which the previous year's Community Grant recipients provide an update on the impact of the funding received. As a recipient of two Community Grants in 2017, Cristin Felso had the opportunity to share successes and thanks twice! The grants included:
New Tools of the Trade for Our Culinary and Food Services Micro-businesses
Teen Services Sonoma received a Capital Improvement grant of $14,344 to benefit its culinary and hospitality micro-business job-training programs - the No Name Café and Lovin' Oven. The grant funded the purchase of 39 food preparation equipment items enabling both businesses to work more efficiently and meet increased customer demand.
For the No Name Café at Sonoma Valley High School (SVHS), the grant provided a new glass-front, food and beverage display refrigerator. "The new fridge lights up inside, better displaying the products, and we no longer have to worry about product-loss from freezing." Cristin reported that fresh food product sales have increased by 68% since the new fridge was installed.
Preparing Teens for the Building Trades
Teen Services Sonoma also received $19,845 for a collaborative program with Hanna Boys Center -
The Building Project
- which was designed to provide Sonoma Valley youth with 49 hours of hands-on technical welding and carpentry skills and career exploration. Sixteen students completed the program: 15 boys and 1 girl.
Each day, half of the class started on welding and the other half on blacksmithing. After a free, hearty lunch, the entire class spent the afternoon building a storage shed - complete with running water, electricity and windows. Students went on field trips to local businesses and attended presentations by professionals in a variety of building trades to learn about wages and benefits, the differences between union and non-union jobs, educational requirements, and how to move into a career in the construction industry.
After the program, one 18-year-old enrolled in the diesel mechanics program at the Santa Rosa Junior College. Six boys enrolled in metal and wood shop classes at their high schools; two boys enrolled in the Engineering Program at SVHS; and three boys are attending an after-school Hanna/Career Technical Education Shop Class. The two 13-year-old boys plan to take wood and metal shop when they enter high school next year.
And the girl? We are now assisting Alondra Perez, a sophomore, to apply for the 2018 "Engineering Possibilities in College" summer program at Cal Poly.
Thank you
Impact100 Sonoma
for your incredible generosity that allows Teen Services to provide ongoing support to Sonoma Valley youth.
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OTHER NEWS AT TEEN SERVICES
Free tutoring: For those times when physics seems a bit overwhelming, Allen Zhao from Keystone Technologies is available at the Teen Center on Thursdays from 4:00-6:00 pm offering tutoring in chemistry, math, and physics. Math tutoring is also available at the No Name Café every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 3:10-4:10 with algebra teacher Mr. Escamilla.
Ready to Work Certification:
Soft skills training continues with two new courses on the calendar. The new Advanced RTW Certification classes begin at Creekside High School on April 12th and the Basic class will be held again this summer at the Teen Center June 4-8.
Garden Cleanup: There will soon be a lot of activity in the Teen Services' garden area this spring as Erica Lee is focusing her SVHS Senior Project on
Save the Bees, Plant These! We will share more details about this effort and support from Levi's in our May newsletter.
Operation Bicycle:
The Bike Mechanics Earn a Bike certification course is being held the first Sunday of every month from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. To register, contact Adrian Palenchar -
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Tickets for this popular event are $125 and include a full dinner, a variety of beverages, entertainment, amazing auction items, and a heck of a lot of fun! And if you decide to purchase a table for ten, the bargain price is only $1,000 - a savings of $250!
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THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!
Individuals
Glenn Arsenault
Celina Briggs
Eden Brown
Celia Canfield
Steve Cohen
Anissa Cooke
Tammy Cotton
Rayne Dessayer
Silvia Flores
Karina Gomez
Filemon Guido
Valerie Henderson
Amy Hunsberger
Paul Kenny
Alison Kilmer
Erica Lee
Jody Leeds
Elisa Stancil-Levine
Joe Lieber
Carmen Lopez
Suzaane Maggio
Kelly Mather
Shanice Mayflower
David Mendoza
Larinda Merkins
Tyler Merkins
Maureen O'Neill
Cielo Pena
Marcia Petersen
Sandy Pulido
Nicola Raadsma
Kim Schuh
Cesar Solis
Tom Sours
Ingrid Spetz
Jere Starks
Gregg Stubbs
Barbara Talbott
Susan Tam
Dwight Waters
Eva Yearsley
Sthefany Zarco
Organizations
Kiwanis
Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival
Women's Fellowship First Congregational Church
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