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Dear Friends,
With the fog beginning to subside in the Bay Area and YES campers dotted all along the coast, it’s finally starting to feel like summer at YES.
Nearly 100 Richmond youth have already headed off on their big adventures in recent weeks. These outings have ranged from a week at summer camp as a camper or counselor-in-training, to a five-day backpacking journey through Point Reyes, to a 20-day social justice and advocacy residency.
Having witnessed the joy on the faces of thousands of returning campers over the years, it fills me with excitement knowing what these formative summer experiences will inspire for our campers and future-leaders. Whether they’re just starting their journey with YES or have already made their way through the Youth Leadership Pathway, their experiences this summer provide new opportunities to lean into their strengths, their passions, and their community. And with plenty of summer left and over 100 campers still waiting their turn, you have the opportunity to support them and make these experiences possible.
Some campers are soaking up every moment outside this summer before they graduate from their programs in the Youth Leadership Pathway and look forward to college. You can read about this year’s high school graduates below. Also celebrating new beginnings is the fourth class of our Teaching Racial and Environmental Empowerment Series (TREES). The group of young people ages 18-26 kicked off their program last month and will learn about local advocacy and community healing over the next five months.
Getting a jump on celebrating the summer season, however, were all the sponsors and guests of our second annual Down by the Bay benefit concert who, between the dancing and games, collectively raised funds to support over 60 camperships! In case you missed it, or just want to relive the fun, check out the highlight video below.
Even if we’re no longer summer-campers ourselves, I hope you take advantage of the warmth and excitement of the season to spend time playing, connecting, and relaxing in the outdoors.
In community,
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Eric Aaholm, Executive Director | |
Congratulations, high school graduates!
Four teens from the Coastal Conservation Corps (C3) and the Youth Engagement Team (YET) earned their diplomas this year, and we couldn’t be more proud. We also couldn’t resist asking the question: What’s next?
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Josue
Before continuing his studies at Contra Costa College this fall, Josue is making the most of his last summer with C3. Already he’s joined us for a five-day backpacking excursion through Point Reyes National Seashore and a camping trip in Audubon Canyon Ranch, and he's supporting Vencel, C2C Fellows Coordinator, as YES's new Peer Advocate. On the days he’s not busy with YES, Josue will be working with his parents to start a new company, utilizing his coding and design skills.
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Meliza
After wrapping up an internship with Lifelong Medical, Meliza is spending the rest of the summer enjoying time with her grandparents before her freshman term starts at UC Davis. She says the resilience and dedication she’s seen modeled by YES staff, her strengthened connection to nature, and the close friendships she’s made through the YET will help her succeed and make time for herself while she navigates her studies.
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John
John is rounding out his time in the YLP this summer with plenty of YES activity, like camping trips and lending his photography skills to support our programs. What he’ll miss most about C3, he says, is using the communication skills he’s learned to to educate other community members and young people about the effects of pollution in our neighborhood. John is heading to Contra Costa College this fall and hopes to go on to earn a business degree.
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Stefanny
Too excited to wait for the fall semester to start, Stefanny is jumpstarting her journey at UC Berkeley through the Summer Bridge program. Once in school, she’s ready to explore different disciplines and is interested in applying what she’s learned in C3 to a course in architectural design, helping advance eco-design and reduce building waste. Until then, she’s getting into the job market and enjoying sharing outdoor adventures with her younger sister and fellow C3-er, Luz.
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Down by the Bay
Highlight Reel
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While it’d be hard to capture everything that makes Down by the Bay special in just a few minutes, you can take a look back at some of our favorite moments of the night–from the speeches that moved us, to the fun and games that brought us together. | There’s still time for you to join the impact and support YES’s summer camps and leadership programs by donating today. Your gift will directly support the experiences Fernanda and Arlene talk about here–the experiences that made them feel empowered, inspired, and connected. | |
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Parks We Love:
Mount Diablo State Park
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If you’ve ever driven around the Bay Area, you’ve likely passed through the shadow of Mount Diablo, jutting nearly 4,000 feet into the sky over the suburbs of Concord, Clayton, Danville and Walnut Creek.
Without too much of a sweat, you can find plenty to enjoy in the park’s lower elevation: wildflowers, short hikes and bike rides, picnic areas, and Rock City–a collection of wind-hollowed caves and tunnels and giant… well… rocks!
And while we love an easy day of playing and relaxing outside, if you really want to see what makes Mt. Diablo special, you’ll need to climb to the top of it.
| Mount Diablo is the ancestral home of the Volvon, the Chupcan, the Tatcan, and the Souyen, but the neighboring Julpun, Northern Miwok, and Central Miwok also ascribed significant meaning and story to Mount Diablo. | |
Longtime Bay Area residents have likely heard that the summit of Mt. Diablo offers the second best view in the world, just behind Mt. Kilimanjaro, in regard to the amount of land visible. While that claim is heavily disputed, the grandeur of Mt. Diablo’s sweeping views certainly is not. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the Farallon Islands, the Sierras, the Cascades, and Mount Loma Prieta–a view that includes 40 of California’s 58 counties! And if that wasn’t enough, a historic visitors’ center at the summit offers a fascinating look at the geographical history of the mountain, complete with marine fossils dotting the sandstone blocks used for construction in the 1930s.
Be well-warned that we’re getting close to tarantula mating season (August-October), so you may see the fuzzy spiders scurrying around the park; but, you can lean into it and join Save Mount Diablo for their annual Tarantula Trek!
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YES Nature to Neighborhoods | (510) 232-3032 | www.yesfamilies.org | | | | |
