YMSL Rancho Newsletter September YMSL Rancho Newsletter September 2016 2016 President's Message President's Message Nicole Goodwin Nicole Goodwin Hello YMSL Rancho! It was so nice to see all the new faces at the summer potluck! I loved seeing the boyshanging out together and playing out in the field. We enjoyed the social time last year,but I think the philanthropy component added so much this year. What an amazingamount of school supplies and backpacks we managed to donate to students who haveaged out of the foster system. I hope our boys recognized the value in school supplies,considering there are people for whom they are a luxury. Make sure you and your sonlog one hour for Family and Children’s Services of Silicon Valley. Thank you MichelleWilcove, and the philanthropy committee, for pulling this together! Thank you AmberAllen-Sauer, and the Mom’s Committee, for organizing such a fun social event! Hope to see you soon! Nicole GoodwinPresident YMSL Rancho “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have theheart.” ~Elizabeth Andrew Welcome our Incoming Class of 2020! Welcome our Incoming Class of 2020! 9th grade Moms and Young Men Please welcome our 3rd class of young men and their mothers. We successfully recruited 23 young men and mothers, who come from Homestead High school, Mountain View High, BASIS, King's Academy, St. Francis High, and Bellarmine.
President 's MessagePresident 's MessageNicole GoodwinNicole Goodwin
Hello YMSL Rancho!
It was so nice to see all the new faces at the summer potluck! I loved seeing theboyshanging out together and playing out in the field. We enjoyed the social time lastyear,but I think the philanthropy component added so much this year. What anamazingamount of school supplies and backpacks we managed to donate to s tudentswho haveaged out of the foster sys tem. I hope our boys recognized the value in schoolsupplies ,cons idering there are people for whom they are a luxury. Make sure you and yoursonlog one hour for Family and Children’s Services of Silicon Valley. Thank youMichelleWilcove, and the philanthropy committee, for pulling this together! Thank youAmberAllen-Sauer, and the Mom’s Committee, for organizing such a fun social event!
Hope to see you soon!
Nicole GoodwinPres ident YMSL Rancho
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have theheart.”~Elizabeth Andrew
Welcome our Incoming Class of 2020!Welcome our Incoming Class of 2020!9th grade Moms and Young Men
Please welcome our 3rd class of young menand their mothers . We success fullyrecruited 23 young men and mothers , whocome from Homestead High school,Mountain View High, BASIS, King'sAcademy, St. Francis High, and Bellarmine.
New Member SpotlightNew Member Spotlight
Reb ecca Qu a n a n d Ma tth ew, 9thReb ecca Qu a n a n d Ma tth ew, 9thg ra d eg ra d e
Rebecca and her son Matthew arededicated service volunteers , havingperformed work together for local charities . They learned about YMSL Rancho throughfriends, and were willing to join eventhough they did not know anyone in thechapter. Matthew attends St. Francis HighSchool, and enjoys mus ic. Rebecca enjoystravelling and arranging traveling, oftencoordinating trips for families and friends.The chance for the young men to take on leadership roles within the chapter issomething that Rebecca hopes Matthewwill try!
Ju l ie S h o wa l ter a n d An d rew, 9thJu l ie S h o wa l ter a n d An d rew, 9thg ra d eg ra d e
Julie and her family have experienceworking with philanthropies through NCLand her work with the Cancer Society. Shelearned about YMSL Rancho through acurrent member. Andrew attends St. FrancisHigh School, and enjoys several sportsincluding cross country, soccer andlacrosse. Hope's Corner was a goodexperience for Julie and Andrew in thesummer. They s tarted seeing the samepeople and felt like they could beginbuilding relationships . Julie likes the varietyof philanthropies , helping a lot of peopleby doing a lot of different things in thecommunity. Andrew is looking forward toserving those in need through baseball. Julie is looking forward to spending timewith her son in YMSL!
Cathy Young and Scott, 11th grade
Cathy and Scott are new members who are looking forward to helping the community byworking service hours . Scott attends Homestead High School, and enjoys baseball,climbing and hiking. He is interested in working with Hope's Corner by preparing andserving food to those in need. Cathy loves the outdoors , traveling, and reading fictionand enjoys spending time her family, and is currently s tudying for her CPA.
Important DatesImportant DatesMOMS meetingsMOMS meetings
September 20, 7:30-9:00pmOctober 18, 7:30-9:00pm
November 20, 4:00-6:00pm
YOUNG MEN meetingsYOUNG MEN meetingsSeptember 25, 4:00-5:15pm
October 23, 4:00-5:15pm (9th and 11th)October 30, 4:00-5:15pm (10th)
Question: Gra s s ro o ts Eco lo g y h a s even ts l i s ted o n th ei r web s i te th a t a re n o t o nGra s s ro o ts Eco lo g y h a s even ts l i s ted o n th ei r web s i te th a t a re n o t o no u r ca len d a r ; i f I p a r tic ip a te in o n e o fth o s e o th er even ts n o t o n o u r ca len d a ro u r ca len d a r ; i f I p a r tic ip a te in o n e o fth o s e o th er even ts n o t o n o u r ca len d a rca n I co u n t i t to wa rd s YMS L h o u rs ?ca n I co u n t i t to wa rd s YMS L h o u rs ?Answer: Yes. See the "Weekly Activities " event onour calendar each Monday. Events with Philanthropy Partners suchas Grass roots Ecologylis ted in a Monday "Weekly Activities " event will count towards YMSL hours even ifthe specific event is not on our calendar.
Question: I 'm ju s t s ta r ti n g to lo g h o u rs fo r meetin g s a n d s ig n u p fo r p h i la n th ro p yI 'm ju s t s ta r ti n g to lo g h o u rs fo r meetin g s a n d s ig n u p fo r p h i la n th ro p yeven ts . Do es th e o r ien ta tio n meetin g co u n t a n d d o we n eed to lo g i t i f weeven ts . Do es th e o r ien ta tio n meetin g co u n t a n d d o we n eed to lo g i t i f weRS VP'ed ? An d I ima g in e th e p icn ic d o es n ' t co u n t r ig h t?RS VP'ed ? An d I ima g in e th e p icn ic d o es n ' t co u n t r ig h t?
Answer: Yes, you must s till log hours or meeting credit even if you RSVP'ed to the event. Themoms orientation doesnot count as a meeting. The orientation for the boys is their firs tmeeting (log one meeting credit, nothours).The picnic was a social event, not a meeting.However, if you participated in the philanthropycomponent, log one hour under thephilanthropy Family and Children’s Services of Silicon Valley.
Question: I n o ticed th e b o a rd memb ers a re th e s a me th i s yea r . Wh y i s th a t?I n o ticed th e b o a rd memb ers a re th e s a me th i s yea r . Wh y i s th a t?Answer: YMSL National recommends maintaining the same board members for the firs t twoyears of a new chapter.Please let us know if you have interest in jo ining the board for the2017-18. We will have interested membersshadow a bit throughout the year to assure asmooth trans ition into the new year. Meanwhile, we alwayswelcome your input and ideas!
Hope' s Corner -Hope' s Corner -An Unexpected ExperienceAn Unexpected Experienceb y Jo s ep h Ch en , Cla s s o f 2 018b y Jo s ep h Ch en , Cla s s o f 2 018
My experience at Hope's corner is not whatI expected. I have served breakfast atHope's Corner several times. The goal of thisprogram is to provide free food for those inneed in the community. People that comein receive a ticket that grants them accessto the free food. Volunteers dis tribute thesetickets without checking for any type of ID,probably because people who arehomeless may not carry an ID withthem. When I firs t served food, I noticed thatmost of the patrons had certaincharacteris tics in common: they woreclothes that were old/faded/mismatched,and had uncut/uncombed hair. Inaddition, some had trouble process ing myquestions .
However, there were some people wholooked like they could be my neighbor oreven my grandparents ! Some were dressednicely and were very polite. Many spokeMandarin and s tated that they were fromChina. I was very surprised to see thatpeople from different cultures come to thisevent. It made me wonder why thesepeople were in need. Overall, Hope'sCorner was a good experience for me.
Summer Fun with Stretch toSummer Fun with Stretch toKindergartenKindergarten
b y Vig n es h S u res h , Cla s s o f 2 018b y Vig n es h S u res h , Cla s s o f 2 018
This summer I had the opportunity toparticipate in the Stretch to Kindergartenprogram at Lakewood Elementary Schoolin Sunnyvale. Preschool plays a pivotal rolei n a child’s social and academicpreparation. Unfortunately, not all childrenhave the opportunity to attend preschool.The Stretch to Kindergarten programbridges this gap by providing a five weeksummer sess ion that s imulates preschool,while providing the skills and support thechildren need to success fully trans ition tokindergarten.
This was my firs t experience working withpreschoolers and I was quite unsure whatto expect. I was greeted by the friendlyclass room teacher who immediatelyintroduced me to the 20 kids in the class .The innocence and openness of thechildren to welcome me was heartwarming.I got a chance to play hide and seek andtag with them. A funny incident was when afour year old boy was determined to tell mea s tory, but was talking so fast that I got los tand was reduced to jus t nodding my headin agreement as he rambled on. Althoughat one point I could not unders tand a word
h e was saying, his enthus iasm wasinfectious . I was ass igned to run a projectwhere I taught the children how to makesandwiches. As I worked with the kids , Irealized that some needed compliments ,others needed a little push, and some jus tneeded their own space. Although Iexpected before I s tarted that I would helpthe kids grow and take one s tep closer tokindergarten, I did not realize that I wouldgrow from the experience as well.
Sunday FriendsSunday Friendsby Kevin Shum, Class of 2018
Sunday Friends was a philanthropy that I really enjoyed helping out. Sunday Friends is anonprofit organization that empowers families in need to break the cycle of poverty. While Iwas there, I saw many children who were eager to help out in activities that would earntheir family enough points to exchange for back-to-school supplies . It was a gratifyingexperience to help out the families that were a part of the program. I think that helping outat Sunday Friends really put things into perspective in terms of how much we take forgranted. The children in the program probably have many less opportunities than us , andvolunteering at Sunday Friends is a way to give back to the community, and help thosefamilies learn about ways to save money, or get a better education.
Interested in working with YMSLInterested in working with YMSLNational?National?
YMSL President Pam Rosener is looking for volunteers to join a task force to work
on curriculum addressing Young Mens' mental health issues to use in Boys
Meetings. Please contact PamPam directly if interested.
Summer FUN!Summer FUN!
An ima l As s i s ted Ha p p in es sAn ima l As s i s ted Ha p p in es s Fu l l Ci rc le Fa rmFu l l Ci rc le Fa rm
"O u r Mi s s io n : As s i s t, s erve"O u r Mi s s io n : As s i s t, s erve , and s u p p o rts u p p o rt those who are in need in our community,develop leadership skills , and promote mother-son relationships "
