In this issue:
Kids: 40 Camp Scholarships, 8 Coaching Scholarship graduates, and real world achievements from GFK Alumni.
Fundraising: Team Good for Kids, from Namibia to Western Australia with a New Team Member.
Announcements: Good for Kids introduces the Workshop Series and Assistant Coach Program.
40 Camp Scholarships, 8 Coaching Scholarship graduates, and Real World Achievements from GFK Alumni.
Camp Scholarship Program
Last summer we met an ever growing demand for Camp Scholarships from kids and parents feeling the pinch of the current recession. Out of 52 applications from young boys and girls around the San Francisco Bay area, we awarded 40 Camp Scholarships throughout July and August with a quarter of them awarded to non members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco. For the first time since 2005 Good for Kids Program Manager, Susan Lynn Smith, forged partnerships with Middle School Principles and PTA Presidents to spread the word to their students and children about the opportunity of a Good for Kids Scholarship. Since 2005 we have awarded more than 130 Camp Scholarships and each summer look forward to spending time at camp getting to know recipients and evaluating them for other Good for Kids Coaching Programs. This summer our goal is 60 Camp Scholarships and you can help us meet this goal by donating $100, the average amount of a Good for Kids camp scholarship.
Coaching Scholarship Program
The staff and Board of Good for Kids are proud to announce the 2009 coaching scholarship Graduates! These amazing young men and women exhibited tremendous passion for their art or sport and we are thrilled and honored to support their development.
Above Left: Janette photographs her pin hole set project, week 3. Click on the photo to learn more about Janette and see her progress
Above Right: Davonte proudly shows off his latest mixed media piece. Click on the photo to see video of another scholarship recipient, Iesha, practicing her right side lacrosse throw with Coach Ellee.
Below Right: 2009 Coaching Scholarship Graduates with their certificates and Grad Bags. Click on the photo to learn more about one of the dance scholarship graduates, Lexus.
Good for Kids' 2009 Coaching Scholarship Graduates:
Breanna Carr, Fashion Design
Davonte Franklin, Visual Art
Domenic Harris, Basketball
Iesha Gosman, Lacrosse
Janette Salcedo, Visual Art
Lexus Thomas-Trail, Dance, Hip-hop
Nache Knight, Visual Art
Ramadh Thomas, Visual Art
Congratulations to these amazing youth and their equally amazing coaches! They have tremendous potential to improve themselves and their communities thanks to your help. Please donate to continue supporting these and other kids through a $1200 Good for Kids Coaching Scholarship. You can see more photos and videos of our scholarship recipients in action at Our Kids page.
Special thanks to Planet Granite for hosting our 2009 orientation and The Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco for hosting our 2009 Graduation. With the kind donation of their facilities kids, parents, and guests climbed and celebrated while creating community!
Advisory Services
The majority of our Scholarship Recipients continue to develop skills in their scholarship activities after graduation. Some pursue their passion with Good for Kids help and some through their own commitment to the activity. Here are some highlights:
Lachlan Hele- Archery Scholarship 2008
Lachlan continues to work with Coach David Chan. Since his Good for Kids scholarship, Lachlan has joined the Junior Olympic Archery Development Team and continues to develop and refine his skills.
Christian Manning- Jazz dance Scholarship 2008
Christian recently performed in the The San Francisco Opera's production of Porgy and Bess and is keen to get in front of the camera.
Jenny Li- Art Scholarship 2007
She continues to create and exhibited her art at San Francisco's De Young Museum once again as part of the 2009 Youth Arts Festival.
Susy Rojas- Art Scholarship 2006
Susy has also had the honor of exhibiting her work at the De Young Museum. As a Junior at the School of The Arts, Susy aspires to attend an art academy for college.
Marvin Stevens- Dance Scholarship 2006
Marvin continues to B-boy and this past year joined the Boys and Girls Clubs Junior Staff as a dance instructor to younger clubmembers.
Team Good for Kids, from Namibia to Western Australia with a New Team Member
This past May Lia Farley and Nicholas Wickes ventured into the Namib Desert to raise funds and awareness for youth education. Up and over 150 miles of canyons and dunes each racer carried all of their equipment, except for water and a tent, for 7 days with the longest stage reaching 60 miles. Of course our trusty sidekicks, the Good for Kids mascots were along for the ride- with Pierre the Painter way out in front. Congratulations to Lia for finishing 2nd among the women and 4th overall.
While 2009's fundraising efforts were dampened by the recession, racers, long-time supporters, and new donors dug deep to show their support for youth education in arts and sports.
Stay tuned for Team Good for Kids' next race in Western Australia next month! New team member Steve Major, an avid runner and firefighter from Tracy, CA, will join Lia and Nicholas to tackle the canyons and rivers of the Kimberley Mountains from April 25th to May 1st. Please show your support for the team and Good for Kids scholarships and programs by e-mailing us during the race and spurring us on with your donation to Good for Kids. We'll send out race updates before and during the race. In the meantime you can click here to donate securely online or send a check to:
Good for Kids Foundation
P.O. Box 170667
San Francisco, CA 94117
Thanks you to all of our donors, coaches, partners and families for making it possible for Good for Kids to fulfill our mission once again in 2009. With your continued support in 2010 we will motivate more 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from low-income backgrounds to realize their artistic and athletic potential and improve their communities in the process. Stay tuned for more frequent snippets of our graduates successes and new GFK programs in 2010!
Good for Kids Introduces the Workshop Series and Assistant Coach Program
In place of this 2009's Mid-Scholarship Exhibition, we launched our Workshop Series starting with a session on presentation and performance skills for all current and past scholarship recipients. Program Manager Susan Lynn Smith and Coach Shauna Vella led the workshop in late October with 30 kids, coaches, and parents in attendance. In preparation for their graduation presentations and exhibits, the kids were introduced to the importance of preparation, position, projection, pronunciation, and posture in public speaking. We will introduce new Good for Kids Workshops this March and April focusing on Healthy Eating for an active lifestyle and creating Green Art.
Towards the end of 2009 we also introduced our Assistant Coach Program. As part of our Health Community requirement, Graduates can choose to become an assistant coach to a current scholarship recipients. This way they can start to give back to their communites. For every 6 hours they volunteer as an assistant coach, they can earn 1 1/2 hours of additional coaching in any activity. Jenny Li, a 2007 Graduate, and Clenzell Bryant, a 2008 Graduate, signed on as ACs for art and basketball respectively. In choosing to support yonger members of the Good for Kids family, Jenny and Clenzell have learned valuable life skills and shown their commitment to using their strengths to improve their communities. Congratulations to both of them!
Stay tuned for more frequent e-mail snippets about GFK Graduates' achievements and new GFK programs.
