In this issue:
-2007 Winter Scholarship Graduation Highlights.
-Susy Rojas unveils her latest paintings.
-Geron Stevens shows his new b-boy moves.
-Fundraising update and Team Good for Kids in the Sahara…well almost.
2007 Winter Scholarship Graduation Highlights
This winter’s Scholarship Graduation, on March 15th, attracted a crowd of parents, GFK Supporters and youth development leaders to recognize our current Scholarship Recipients. After 4 months of one-on-one coaching Susy Rojas (drawing/painting) and Geron Stevens (b-boy) showed us they had earned their Good for Kids Achievement Award and had great potential for future success as they exhibited their skills. Coaches William and Ron continued to nurture their students by co-presenting with Susy and Geron the techniques and skills they had worked on during the scholarship. Between exhibits, Harold Love, Senior Director of Program Services with the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco presented a slide show of life and the many activities at Camp Mendocino, GFK’s Camp Program Partner. Thank you to all of our Advisory Board Members and guests who attended Thursday’s graduation and to Sports Basement and Mendel’s for sponsoring our Scholarship Recipients. Thank you also to Alicia Williams for lending her photography skills. We hope to see you all at one of our events this Fall.
Left: Geron and younger brother Marvin show freestyle moves to Coach Ron and guests.
Right: Susy with her watercolors.
Susy Rojas Unveils Her Latest Paintings
Susy Rojas was all smiles at Thursday's graduation as she and coach William presented her latest works. Over the past 4 months Susy has worked closely with William to learn the techniques of transfer, watercolor, acrylics, and illustration. The evenings guest's, including Susy's mother and grandmother, were moved by her creativity and commitment to her art. Susy was happy to receive her Grad Bag of art supplies, sponsored by Mendels on Haight Street, and will continue to work with William in an apprenticeship role. "Susy is a fast learner with strong prospects as an illustrator." remarked Coach William. Coming up in May, many of Susy's pieces will be on display at the acclaimed San Francisco Youth Arts Festival. Rumor has it that Susy's work will show at San Francisco's De Young Museum as part of the festival. Congratulations is also in order for Susy as Good for Kids' newly elected Junior Advisory Board member!
Right: Coach William, Susy, Susy's Mom and Grandmother.
Geron Stevens Shows Off His New B-boy Moves
At our recent Scholarship Graduation, Geron Stevens, once again, impressed the crowd with his b-boy talent. After 14 weeks of coaching, Geron’s speed and footwork improved to a point where he and Coach Ron went head-2-head in a b-boy battle. To the sound of cheers and applause, Geron showed his Power (Windmill) and Freestyle moves (Fade, Split Fade and Chair) with the confidence of a seasoned performer. Since the Mid Scholarship Exhibition, Geron's technique has reached a new level of agility and attention to detail that made his graduation performance a thrill to watch.
Left: Geron accepts his GFK Achievement Award and Grad Bag from GFK ED Nicholas Wickes and Coach Ron.
Fundraising update and Team Good for Kids in the Sahara…(Well almost. The photo is from a sligthly greener San Francisco)
After a few flights, a few layovers, and relentless security checks, Team Good for Kids has arrived in the Land of OZZ (airport code for Ouarzazate, Morocco) and we're ready to run. The only thing is, we have some work to do to reach our $50,000 fundraising goal for Good for Kids (all procedes go to Good for Kids) So, we have a proposition for you....
The more you donate between now and March 31st, the harder we'll run.
Please help us reach our goal. Click here to donate securely at the following levels ($1,200 = One 1-on-1 coaching scholarship, $600 = Half a 1-on-1 coaching scholarship, $100 = One week of 1-on-1 coaching scholarship, $60 = One camp scholarship) or any other amount you can manage. Then send us a quick note through the Marathon des Sables website to let us know how much you expect us to hussle. We get prinouts of our messages every evening before "lights out". After donating go to www.darbaroud.com, click on "write to competitors", then follow the instructions to send your note (Lia #509, Piera #504, Nicholas #552).
We would like to send a big “Thank You” to all of you who have already contributed to Team Good for Kids in support of Good for Kids’ scholarships and programs. You can see by the photos and videos of our scholarship recipients over the past 4 months that your contributions to developing their skills have paid off. Click on our logo, then "Kids in Action" in the top right corner to see the fruits of your contribution.
Right: Piera, Nicholas, and Lia with fancy red gaiters.
