Teen Services Monthly Newsletter
March 2022
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Dear Friends of Teen Services –
It’s hard to believe we just wrapped up Spring Break and the end of March is right around the corner. As you will see below, our teens have been busy this month, participating in Ready to Work, LOCA and taking college tours, to name a few! We are excited to see so many more teens in the building daily and even more excited to see their smiling faces without masks.
We are starting to feel some normalcy as we settle into the last push of the school year. We are proud our teens are leaning on us for support and resources for their academics and for their emotional wellbeing.
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Our “Teen Circle” group run by our new clinical counselor trainee will start on April 7th & 8th and she is already working with members individually. We know the need is great and will continue to grow, and we thank you for your support in making this resource available for our teens.
We had a wonderful and successful Sweetheart Gala & Auction on March 5th. Members from the community showed up and opened their hearts and wallets to provide a record-breaking Fund a Need. We are humbled and grateful for the support of so many who are committed to making an impact and being a part of changing lives for so many youths. We look forward to pulling out our boots and jeans for Cowboy Cab on May 21st. It’s sure to be a fabulous and fun evening that will raise dedicated dollars for Teen Services. We hope to see you there, Yeehaw!
Until next time, thank you for supporting Teen Services and making it possible for us to provide hope and opportunity for so many deserving youths.
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Youth of The Year Jennifer Tellez
speaks at Sweetheart Gala
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2022 Youth of The Year, Jennifer Tellez, spoke at our Sweetheart Gala, recalling her experiences growing up as a daughter of immigrants in Sonoma Valley, and her goal of attending UC Davis on her way to becoming a pediatrician. She spoke about the role the Boys & Girls Club has played in keeping her on track in school,
becoming an Intern, and a role model for the kids she worked with while growing up. In the spirit of the Gala, 'We are The Champions,' Jennifer was a perfect example of how champions are made.
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Early in February, our beloved Ready to Work program returned to the Sonoma Valley High Campus for the first time since before the pandemic. In collaboration with the College & Career Center staff, we were able to have our program in person, and on campus. 12 students signed up for the 5-week course. We had employers from local valley businesses such as El Coyote, Harvey’s Donuts, and Nugget Market join us to interview our teens at the end of the course.
An ongoing goal of ours with our career programming is to offer this wonderful opportunity to more teens more often. With that being said, the next Ready to Work program is scheduled to begin at the end of March and will run through the month of April. We wanted to offer one more to the Sonoma Valley High population right before school lets out, and give these teens the opportunity to land a summer job!
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This is the time of the year when many of our teens are beginning to receive emails from various schools regarding their admission. It can be a long and anxious process, but luckily teens in our program have a support system in place. We offer our teens are series of workshops focused on making the right decisions in regards to schools, financial aid, and scholarships.
On top of the workshops our staff offer, we also have in-person college tours during Spring Break. During the break, our teens are scheduled to visit UC Berkeley and Dominican University. For our seniors, this is an opportunity to compare and contrast schools they’ve been admitted to, and for the rest of the students joining, it’s the opportunity to walk on a college campus - maybe for the first time! It’s never too early to engage some of our freshman students!
In April we’ll be opening our scholarship program up for eligible students to apply for. Annually, we’ve awarded around $12,000 to teens attending a variety of post-secondary education programs. Whether teens are headed to a 4-year college, trade school, or entering the workforce, we have a scholarship for everyone!
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Building & LOCA Kitchen Improvements |
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Late last year we reached out to you and asked for your help to fund some vital building repairs to help ensure we can continue to run Lovin' Oven. The repairs were required due to the change in ownership of the building, and the resulting requirements to bring the kitchen, and much of the building, up to the current code. We also made additional improvements to help ensure the safety of members while in the building. We installed windows in several of the doors and walls to ensure a clear line of sight for easier supervision, we fixed a hole in the subfloor and replaced the flooring in the entire building, and flooring in the bathrooms was upgraded to meet the current code. The kitchen work was required in order for LOCA to continue selling and serving food to the public and included; upgrading some appliances to commercial-grade, replacing ceiling tiles with less absorbent alternatives, and we replaced the water heater to ensure the sinks reached an appropriate temperature for santiation. After all this work was done, we learned the grease trap had failed and needed replacing. All told, the building has required over $65,000 in repairs over the past few months and we thank you all for your support in making these vital improvements possible. A big thank you to Boden Plumbing for their generous support during this project. |
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New interior windows were installed and the interior was professionally painted for a bright and fresh look! |
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New flooring was installed throughout the building. |
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One of the most important things from a health standpoint was cleaning and changing out the grease trap for the kitchen. |
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Teen Talk with Eric
Eric Gonzalez, Sr. Director of Teen Programs
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The past few weeks at Teen Services has been as one teen would describe it “back to normal”. With nice weather and an abundant of opportunities for our teens, life at Teen Services is “back to normal”.
Teen engagement is at an all time high since our merger which was March of last year.
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Ready to Work has returned to the high school campus, our Internship Program has been at capacity since the beginning of the school year, and most importantly Teen Services is seeing 15+ teens per day! Teens who come to the center on a daily basis are welcomed with an atmosphere that makes them feel at home! The theme around Teen Services had been team bonding with the teens in the building. The beauty of the program is we get teens from all walks of life and it’s our responsibility to give everyone the opportunity to get to know each other. Early in March, we held a field day where 30 of our teens joined us for a fun/competitive kickball game at Larson Park.
As the school year comes to a close and summer rolls along, our staff will continue to bring team-building activities to our teens, and as new teens join us, we will continue to welcome them to our Teen Services family.
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Join us as we come together for great wine and fun, to celebrate the
10th annual Cowboy Cab in support of Teen Services.
Tickets go on Sale April 1st
Price: $125/person
Reserve our tickets today by becoming a sponsor!
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We received a generous donation of AEDs for multiple Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley locations, including Teen Services, helping us to keep kids safe. The mission of just1mike includes increasing survival rates of sudden cardiac arrest in youth. The goal of their partner and donation program is to save young lives by making AEDs more accessible in locations where needed most....parks and recreational facilities, youth sports organizations, and schools. To learn more about just1mike, visit their website here.
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A HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO OUR MOST RECENT SUPPORTERS |
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Lorraine Ashton
Asim Bhansali
Gene & Sue Bugatto
Kathy Chang
Jose R. Coronado
Craig Keller & Joelle Williams Charitable Fund
Norman & Deidre Cram
Frank & Kelly Crowley
Sandy & Art Fichtenberg
Melanie Findling
Arthur & Margaret Grandy
Erin Grey
Hennessy Funds
Holly Hutter
Surachai Intarapravich & Dorothy Fitzgerald Intarapravich
Kris & David Irvine
Bob Iverson
Scott Jensen
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Dennis King
Korbel Champagne Cellars
Lloyd Lucas
Erin Mauel
Ash Notaney
Stan Pelmear
Chris Plexico
Alta Quackenbush
John & Sydney Randazzo
Robert Schermeister
Judith Scotchmoor & Roland Gangloff
Dana Simpson-Stokes & Ken Stokes
Soroptimist International Sonoma Valley
Speedway Children's Charities
The Talbott and Riley Family Fund
Marc I. Thomas
Marilyn Vernon
Robert & Alexandra W. Griswold, Jr.
William H. Donner Foundation
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*All gifts listed above were made during the months of January and February. Gifts made in March will be acknowledged in our next newsletter. |
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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
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