Teen Services Monthly Newsletter

January 2023

Dear Friends of Teen Services,


After a busy 2022, I hope you’ve all had the chance to rest, reconnect with loved ones and you stayed safe in our most recent storms. 

2023 is off and running and we are gearing up to for another impactful and full year here at Teen Services. With our annual Sweetheart Gala around the corner, the theme, “Growing Sonoma’s Future Together” could not be more timely. 


As you will see below, we continue to expand and grow our services and our membership! I am so excited to see what this year has in store for our teens and our programs, and we can’t thank you enough for all you have done to support these opportunities. 

I look forward to seeing many of you next month and hopefully even more of you throughout the year. I always love sharing the good work Teen Services is doing, and I encourage you to reach out to me if you would like a tour or to learn more csnowden@bgcsonoma.org or 707-938-8544 x107.


Warmly,


Cary Snowden

President & CEO

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley


PS. While the Sweetheart Gala is a sellout, you can still support by making a donation to Fund A Need or by proxy bidding on one of our fabulous live auction packages. Reach out to Michael Irvine at (707) 938-8544, ext. 104 or mirvine@bgcsonoma.org for more information or give online here.

2023 Youth of the Year

Victoria Hernandez

Victoria Hernandez a junior at Sonoma Valley High School was named our 2023 Youth of the Year this past November. She was selected amongst 4 other finalist who shared their stories in front of a crowd made up of family, friends, and community members. Victoria has shown that she is not only a leader amongst her peers but she is also leading the way in advocating for mental health programs for teens.

 

Now, she leads a mental health club at her school, and started its first podcast where she speaks about mental health topics. Though she always knew who she was and showed up as an authentic version for herself, it took a lot to get her to fully share her life — now she’s reaping the benefits.

 

Victoria will represent Teen Services in the next step of the Youth of the Year program which will be held at the Boys & Girls Club of Silicon Valley in March. Prior to that, she will have the opportunity to freshen up on her public speaking skills as she will speak at our Sweetheart Gala & Auction on February 11th. 

Williamsons Selected as 2023 Sweethearts

Chuck & Cathy Williamson have been dedicated supporters of Teen Services since they first arrived in Sonoma in 2005. Originally connected to the organization through Cathy’s love for gardening, they were especially inspired by the organizations Ready To Work and Lovin’ Oven Culinary Academy programs. The Williamsons soon became instrumental in the success of these programs, and of the organization itself.


Chuck and Cathy have been chosen as our 2023 Sweethearts for their unwavering commitment to Teen Services and now Boys & Girls Clubs, and for their belief in the vision that together the two organizations can achieve much more than when they were apart.


Read more about the Williamsons and their selection as our 2023 Sweethearts here.

Photo Credit (Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune)

Ready to Work

With spring right around the corner, we look forward to hosting back to back Ready to Work courses for the teens of Sonoma Valley. The first of our Ready to Work sessions will begin February 1st and wrap up February 25th. 

 

The second Ready to Work session of the Spring is scheduled for April 19th through May 12th. These sessions are scheduled to give our teens an opportunity to secure employment before the summer. We anticipate 40-50 completing the Ready to Work program before the school year ends. 

 

Lastly, this May we are looking forward to hosting our first ever Ready to Work Alumni hiring event. Open to all Ready to Work graduates within the last two years. Students would be able to participate in additional job interviews prior to summer break. This is another great opportunity for our teens to seek and attain employment!

 

For more information on becoming a job coach or to interview our teens for potential employment, please contact Araceli Gutierrez. 

 

Email: agutierrez@bgcsonoma.org Club Cell: 707-775-1284

Lovin' Oven Culinary Academy

This semester we are happy to announce the onboarding of two Lovin’ Oven Culinary Academy Interns! Both Saren and Amelia have been frequent participants of our Nutrition Courses and Culinary Academy. They have both worked several events with our catering team within the past year and are ready to take the first step towards exploring career opportunities within the culinary industry. As interns in our culinary program, they will be responsible for assisting our Culinary Nutritionist Erin with preparation for our catering events, as well as support the upcoming courses. Saren and Amelia are extremely excited for this opportunity and we as a team at Teen Services look forward to seeing them grow in our internship program.


Upcoming Culinary Academy

 

The Lovin’ Oven Culinary Academy is gearing up for our latest cohort of teens! Starting in February our 20-hour Culinary Academy will cover knife skills, culinary sanitation, different cooking techniques, as well as support our teens becoming Serve Safe Certified. The program is open to 5 teens per cohort as to provide ample opportunity/space in our program kitchen.

 

For more information or to sign up for the program please contact Alixya Soto.

 

Email: asoto@bgcsonoma.org Club Cell: 707-775-1284

Teen Members of the Month

November: Andrea Ayala 9th Grade


Andrea began attending Teen Services during summer before her freshman year. She was apart of our Middle School summer programs at Teen Services. She was able to integrate so seamlessly because she was comfortable at the space and knows the staff so well! She was a quiet member who was hesitant about joining, but once she was convinced, she has given it 100% of her effort. She can be found daily working on her homework and participating in programs like LOCA culinary classes, Ready to Work, and every Keystone volunteer event she can. She is a great friend to all and always makes others feel welcome. She has spent this year really coming out of her shell and getting to know everyone who comes to the club and has made lots of new friends along the way. She's a wonderful example of the importance of connecting our Middle School program to Teen Services. Congratulations Andrea!

December: Amelia Rodriquez 10th Grade


Amelia has been attending Teen Services since freshman year. She’s taken every opportunity she can to prepare for her future such as Ready to Work, career workshops, and college trips to expand her post-secondary knowledge. Since joining Teen Services, Amelia has participated in LOCA and strengthened her culinary & hospitality skills. She recently became one of the first ever LOCA interns and began working at Teen Services and BGCSV catering events. She’s an extremely hardworking person and has been an integral part of what our program is today. We are grateful for everything Amelia brings to Teen Services!  

Teen Services Heritage Club

Have you named Teen Services in your estate plans, as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, or have any other kind of planned gift for Teen Services? If so, first and foremost, thank you so much! Secondly, we need to talk to you because as a result of the merger between Teen Services and Boys & Girls Clubs, some changes may need to be made to your plans. Please call or email Michael Irvine at (707) 938-8544, ext. 104, or mirvine@bgcsonoma.org.


If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please visit https://www.teenservices.org/legacy-giving/ or contact Michael using the information above.

Operation Bicycle

Our team at Operation Bicycle is growing! Marcello and Judah join our team as our newest Operation Bicycle Interns. 

 

After completing the Ready to Work program in the fall Marcello was excited with the opportunity to work with Adrian. Marcello is an avid bike enthusiast who rides his bike to work/school as much as possible. Judah’s ties to Operation Bicycle extend all the way back to the original bike basement. His older brother was a frequent visitor back in the day. Judah now joins our team with the same level of enthusiasm for bikes!

 

We are excited to see our team grow with teens from our community!

Teen Talk with Eric

Mental Health at Teen Services


Since including Mental Health programming at Teen Services we have seen the number of teens interested skyrocket! Since March of 2022 we have seen 50+ teens participate in Mental Health Programming. Our offerings include 1:1 counseling and the opportunity to work in small groups. With the interest of our group circle increasing we are adding a third cohort to begin in February. The addition of the third cohort would mean an additional 10 teens would be able to participate in group counseling! The more teens we are able to serve in this capacity means the more we are able to support our community in making sure every teen has access to this type of service.


If you know of a teen who could benefit from counseling, please contact our Counseling Trainee,  Natalie Goddard, or VP of Teen Services, Eric Gonzalez.

Post-Secondary Education

Our Post-Secondary Education team is busy rolling out the next round of scholarships for graduating Seniors seeking to further their education or enter the workforce. We are happy to announce the addition of our Across the Finish Line Scholarship

 

The ‘Across the Finish Line’ is designed to empower those students for whom finances are the only thing standing between them and a degree. These students, most of whom would be first-generation college students, have the work ethic, the academic ability, and the drive to better themselves with a college education, but are limited by the funding available to them. Award amounts will be flexible to meet the need of the qualified students, ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand for one to five years. A total of $25,000 will be awarded each year and the number of scholarships awarded may vary from one to several.

 

“Across the Finish Line” is available to any Sonoma Valley teen who is attending a a four-year or two-year institution, trade school or vocational training program. The criteria to be considered include:

  • Applicants must have received a high school diploma or GED in the last four years. (Open to Alumni of Teen Services)
  • Applicants must have participated in Teen Services programming during their senior year of high school.
  • Students must maintain a minimum course load of three classes which provide credit toward transfer, certificate or degree per academic term.
  • Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5.
  • Students must maintain communication with the Teen Services staff at least twice per academic term to provide update on their progress and to receive help with challenges they may be facing.
  • All students, regardless of documentation status, will be considered.
  • Both new and renewing scholarship applications will be due on April 15 of each year, with recipients announced April 30.


To learn more about all of our post-secondary scholarship opportunities, including how you can support them, please click here.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Sweetheart Gala & Auction, February 11th, 2023

Cowboy Cab, Saturday, May 6th, 2023

Fairways Fore Futures Golf Classic, Monday, August 28th, 2023

A HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO OUR MOST RECENT SUPPORTERS

Andrew DiVita

Arleen Curry & Ann Weeks

Bud & Beth McMahon

Cary & Tim Snowden

JoAnn Bertges

Julie & Tom Atwood

Karyl Carter

Kimberly Hughes & Steve Moazed

Lesa Castorena

Marc Johnson

Merrill Burns

Michael & Gina Irvine

Peter Nova

Rose Marie Piper Foundation

Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley

Sonoma Valley Education Foundation Soroptimist International Sonoma Valley

Stephanie Storms

United Way Bay Area

*All gifts listed above were made during the months of November & December. Gifts made in January will be acknowledged in our next newsletter.

To join this group of dedicated supporters, click on the donate button below.
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TEEN SERVICES SONOMA
Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley
100 W. Verano Avenue, Sonoma, CA 95476 TEENSERVICESSONOMA.ORG

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