April 2018
IN THE ZONE NEWSLETTER
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Getting Ready for Summer
The Education Project Gift Card Drive
Volunteer Opportunities Available
Millennial Ozone House Board
Tidbits from Ozone House
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Summertime brings back memories of fun, freedom, mesquitoes and being outdoors til dark for most people. However, for some young people summertime means not receiving three meals per day, or not receiving the supervision they need.
Safe Space
During the summer months, Ozone House extends it's Drop-In Center hours and programming to accommodate and feed more young people ages 13-20.
Job Training
The Drop-In Center will also run the
WorkZone
job training
program June 18-29. In addition to the work training, interview skills and resume building, the summer session of WorkZone has an extended training with
Food Gatherers Community Kitchen
, preparing young people for jobs in the food industry. This program is seven weeks of instruction in culinary arts, food preparation, work ethics, and life skills for young people ages 18-20. So far this program has graduated 167 students.
Are you interested in hosting a WorkZone intern at your place of business? Ozone House provides a 100-hour stipend plus case management supervision throughout the internship. Contact Coleen at
cobrien@ozonehouse.org
.
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Exploring Talents
All summer long, the Drop-In Center staff runs creative workshops with the Ypsilanti Library, preparing young people to participate in the 13th annual NOISE PERMIT,
an end of summer event at Frog Island. The event has henna, art, poetry and music performed by young people in the community.
“There are a lot of young people who want to perform but have never had the chance to do so with such a welcome, non juried audience. We’re just here to say, ‘You’re awesome, and we want to see what you can do, and we’re not putting any qualifications on that."
said Ozone House Director of Youth Opportunity Colleen O’Brien.
Food Security
To help prepare young people and families with limited access to food or basic necessities during the summer months,
The Education Project
through WISD, run by Ozone House, provides gift cards to grocery stores, big box stores, fast food establishments and restaurants to help alleviate these issues. Please see article below about the Gift Card Drive.
School Supply Drives
The Education Project also starts collecting school supplies during the summer in preparation for assembling backpacks for school-aged youth in August. Stay tuned for more information about school supply drives, or if you
are interested in hosting a drive at your place of business or with your friends, contact Dawn at
despy@ozonehouse.org
.
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The Education Project is currently soliciting support for gift card donations of $10, $15, or $25 denominations.
We will be gifting approximately 75 graduating seniors with gift cards in May. Hooray! We also use gift cards throughout the year, but especially during the summer months for young people with limited access to food and necessities. Cards can be purchased in the stores and delivered to
WISD
or
Ozone House
. Click below to order gift cards directly through Amazon to be delivered to Ozone House. Another idea is to host a gift card drive at your place of work. Contact Dawn at
despy@ozonehouse.org
.
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
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Want to receive our NEW volunteer newsletter with volunteer opportunities? (separate from this newsletter) You will receive the newsletter when we have specific opportunities available.
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COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
Ann Arbor Marathon
May 20
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Ozone House is fortunate to be one of the beneficiaries of the Probility Ann Arbor Marathon on May 20th. We need to fill 20 volunteer spots on behalf of Ozone House
.
Will you help us?
For each volunteer over the minimum 20, Epic Races will donate $100 to Ozone House
.
To register to volunteer, click below. You can pick your own time and your own place to volunteer. Be sure to let them know you are volunteering on behalf of Ozone House. Opportunities are both May 19th at packet pick up day and May 20th on race day.
Want to run? There is a 5K, 10K, half and full marathon opportunity. Join our team today!
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Ozone House’s THE EDUCATION PROJECT ensures that students affected by homelessness enroll, attend, and succeed in school. Last year The Education Project helped 1,154 students in Washtenaw County.
The Education Project is open to volunteers on Tuesday's and Wednesday's. Volunteers will be oriented to the project and then self-directed during their time at The Education Project. To sign up to volunteer, click button for a link to sign-up genius, allowing you to pick what time slot works for your schedule.
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Ozone House has a volunteer Millennial Board. Young people get together monthly to develop outreach and advocacy for Ozone House. Want to get involved? Email our Millennial Ozone House Board (MOB) representative Ugbaad
at
ukeynan@ozonehouse.org
.
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Drop-In Center (March stats)
Visits: 378
Meals Served : 222
Pantry items distributed: 106
Snack items distributed: 1,177
The beloved chef from the Drop-In Center has found full time employment!
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Crisis Line News
- 21 New potential crisis line volunteers have been interviewed. Training begins May 9th. Missed this session? Next session is in the fall, dates TBD.
- This group of volunteers will be the first group to receive training for our NEW TEXT and CHAT capabilities!
- We received 114 calls on our 24/7 Crisis Line in March.
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MORE SUPPORT (College Support Program)
One of the young students that we work with from EMU is completing his Bachelor's degree and has found full time employment!
Learn more about MORE Support
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MomZone
Happy to be hosting MomZone pregnant or parenting new mothers ages 15-21. It is a 5 week session starting May 15th at our Drop-In Center. Professional resources will assist us with car seat safety at the first meeting.
Learn more about MomZone
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Vote For Ozone House
Vote for Ozone House in the BOUMA GROUP Charity Challenge.
Vote Here
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