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Youth Programs Coordinating Committee Report – RepCom 2015 (PDF)
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Youth Programs Coordinating Committee (YPCC) & Coordinator (YPC)
Report to PYM Representative Committee, February 2015
Current committee members: Lynnette Arnold (Santa Barbara), Jennifer Carr (Las Vegas), Natasha Herrera (Mexico City), Mary Klein (Co-clerk / Palo Alto), Steve Leeds (San Francisco), Stephen Myers (Sacramento), Kylin Navarro (Berkeley), Thomas Rios (La Jolla), and Jim Summers (Co-clerk / La Jolla). One youth seat on the committee is open.
Regular activity: Our committee continues to meet once per month by conference call, with additional subcommittees calls as needed. Serving as the Program Supervisor, Mary Klein holds weekly conversations with the Coordinator, Alyssa Nelson. The Administrative Supervisor, Steve Leeds talks or emails with Alyssa at least twice per month. In addition to regular conference calls, the YPC Committee held a face-to-face meeting during College Park Quarterly Meeting in October 2014. We have found this practice of coordinating with other gatherings allows our members to develop a better understanding of the varied cultures of youth and intergenerational events. Last summer we met as part of the YAF retreat before annual session, and we might be holding our Fall 2015 committee meeting in conjunction with SCQM’s Fall Fellowship. Alyssa Nelson has been attending most Quarterly Meetings, and this cross-fertilization is helping us envision how to serve the parts of PYM better. She is also continuing to visit and/or support local Meetings, so far this year including: Appleseed, Central Coast, Davis, Sacramento and Visalia, with more on the calendar for spring.
Another on-going activity that is supported by the YPCC is Alyssa’s availability to consult with committees, Meetings/Worship Groups, and individual Friends as they confront sensitive situations. Examples include: concerns by youth, parents, and committees about transitions into or out of middle school, teen, or young adult programs; concerns about Friendly/Responsible Adult Presences (FAPs/FRAPs) at teen gatherings; and differences in philosophy among various committees concerning appropriate behaviors and responsibilities for youth and adults. The YPCC has also begun to consider the question of our committee’s appropriate role – as well as the Coordinator’s appropriate role – in responding to requests from other committees that we provide them with a list of “recommended FAPs/FRAPs.”
Youth Programs Fund: We received the first two interest payments from the Bob Vogel Endowment into our “Youth Programs Fund” in June 2014 and December 2014, for a total income so far of $16,829.01. We expect to continue receiving approximately $7,000 in June and December each year. So far, we’ve committed $13,609.50 toward costs of the following projects and activities ranging from $87 to $4,500:
- Teen inter-visitation between Quarterly Meetings
- YPC Committee member inter-visitation between Quarterly Meetings
- AVP Basic Training for Young Adult Friends (YAFs)
- Travel expenses for a YAF work-party
- Travel and attendance assistance for the Western Young Friends New Years Gathering’s 40th Anniversary
- Travel assistance for a YAF to attend the Quaker Earthcare Witness conference
- Support for a joint service project by YAF and Wukchumni Tribe members at Quaker Oaks Farm
- Co-sponsorship of the upcoming Spring Youth Service Learning Camp for high school age youth at Quaker Oaks Farm with the Wukchumni Tribe
- Development of outreach materials for the YPC Committee
We have now been through two rounds of funding applications. So far, we received all external applications (i.e., those not originating from within the YPCC) during the first round in September 2014 and none in December 2014. We invite Friends to contact us with their ideas of ways to put these funds to work. We will hold a discussion table on this topic during lunch on Saturday of Representative Committee’s meeting (February 28th). We welcome applications to the Youth Programs Fund four times per year, due by the 20th of the months that have equinoxes and solstices (March 20, June 20, September 20, December 20). The full YP Fund Policy and Application Form is available on the PYM website (under the “Youth Programs” tab on the far right) at: https://www.pacificyearlymeeting.org/2014/pym-docs/ypc/resources-funding/
Program highlights and upcoming events: Alyssa maintains a current calendar of events that are of interest to youth at https://www.pacificyearlymeeting.org/youth/. She has recently developed an online table-style view of this calendar in addition to the list-style calendar she emails out along with the occasional epistles to all Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups in PYM. (Friends can subscribe to this Google-calendar and receive update alerts.) An archive of past epistles and reports is available through the same link above.
While our committee continues to support a range of programs for PYM teens and pre-teens, we have deliberately focused additional attention this year on: 1) the needs of Young Adult Friends (YAFs), 2) the transitions of teens into the YAF community, and 3) the integration of YAFs into the broader community of PYM. We have co-sponsored several events with YAFs this year and will continue to do so. Most recently, we helped support a joint campout and service weekend with Quaker and Wukchumni young adults at Quaker Oaks Farm on February 14-16. Approximately 20+ Friends (partly YAFs) from 5 Meetings, including approximately 8 young children, and 7 Wukchumni participated; the service aspect of the weekend was to build a wheelchair-accessible composting toilet and make other improvements to the Farm’s campground for future gatherings.
On the weekend of March 13-15, 2015, YAFs will be hosting an Alternatives to Violence Project “Basic Training” specifically geared toward YAFs, held at the Berkeley Meetinghouse; Friends can register for this event online at https://bit.ly/1COcXjf. Again this year, YAFs will host a YAF & Elders retreat during the weekend prior to PYM’s Annual Session (July 10-13) at the Berkeley Meetinghouse, and all are welcome to join in this weekend of service, spirit, and fellowship; the PYM 2015 keynote speaker, Lloyd Lee Wilson, and invited guest Paula Palmer will also be attending this YAF retreat.
Finally, we would like to emphasize the additional following invitations to Friends:
- Spring Camp for high-schoolers at Quaker Oaks Farm with the Wukchumni Tribe, March 31- April 4. Focus is on California Indians and restorative justice. (For more information, contact Melissa Lovett-Adair, Central Coast Meeting.)
- Adult Allies to Youth Workshops: 1) at Orange Grove Meeting, April 18, 10AM-5PM, and 2) at Friends House in Santa Rosa, May 2, 10AM-5PM. Contact Alyssa Nelson.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the YPCC,
Mary Klein and Jim Summers, Co-Clerks, Youth Programs Coordinating Committee
Alyssa Nelson, Youth Programs Coordinator