Great Opportunity for students!!

Friday Night Live (FNL) and Club Live (CL) Prevention & Student Services (PASS) Website: www.fridaynightlive.org Primary Contacts Joelle Orrock, Coordinator (916) 228-2418 jorrock@scoe.net Cindy Kennedy, Project Specialist (916) 228-2202 ckennedy@scoe.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Friday Night Live and Club Live programs are designed to build leadership skills, provide opportunities for community service, and prevent alcohol and drug use among teenagers. School chapters are the core of FNL/CL. Chapter activities are designed to encourage positive peer influence and provide opportunities for leadership and community service. PASS staff members provide support for FNL and CL chapters; community service opportunities; Countywide Youth Council; leadership conferences; advisor training and support; and countywide and regional special events. Participants Sacramento County middle school and high school students and their advisors from participating Sacramento County school districts Publications and Materials Prevention & Student Services Department Programs and Services Published annually, this brochure provides an overview of department programs and services and lists scheduled workshops and meetings. This publication may be requested by phone. The Latest Word This monthly newsletter for FNL/CL members and advisors offers information about countywide FNL/CL events and campus activities. Regular features include recognition awards and creative ideas for chapter activities. This publication may be requested by phone. Partners Sacramento County Alcohol and Drug Services Division funds this program. Partners include California FNL Partnership; district/school personnel; chapter advisors; county government; law enforcement agencies; community-based organizations; businesses; parents and volunteers

College Scholarships

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) - There's a new partnership between the University of Alabama, University of North Alabama and the UMCH that could give more students a chance at a college education. The United Methodist Children's Home is providing an opportunity for young people using its existing Tuscaloosa and Florence group homes starting in fall of 2013. The UMCH is offering scholarships and housing opportunities to foster children attending college. University of Alabama junior, Motell Foster, is a perfect example of the kind of impact scholarships like these can have on children who came from alternative living situations. Foster received his scholarship to the University of Alabama through the Presbyterian Home for Children, and it's made a huge difference in his life. CBS 42's Leigh Garner reports. Copyright 2013 WIAT-TV CBS 42foster care, scholarships, University of Alabama

Siblings separated in foster care, reunited under one roof

(I love happing endings) SALT LAKE CITY – A family in Riverton is about to grow twice their size in a single day. The family of four has adopted another five children. Those children are all from the same family, but have been split up for months in the foster care system. Benjamin and Adrienne Donner could not stand the thought of the siblings growing up apart. The children are between the ages of six and 12. The Donners say a lot of people are looking to adopt babies, but they wanted to give a home to a growing family that would otherwise be torn apart. “We think they are amazing. But at the same time, how many options are there out there to be adopted at the same time? Would they have had to be split up and have gone to different homes?” asks father Benjamin. “Just that kind of thought doesn’t sit well.” The children arrived in Salt Lake City from Oregon Thursday night. All were wearing t-shirts with the words “Team Donner” printed on them. “They all just came running out, literally [yelling] mom and dad,” said Benjamin. Once thinking their house may have been too big for four people, now believe the home is a good fit. “We’ve been blessed with a big house that we kept feeling like ‘this is too big for the four of us, maybe we should downsize, or whatever,’” said Adrienne. “Instead the Lord blessed us for the ability to fill it up.”

You're Invited !!!!

Dear Colleague, You are invited to: Fostering Democracy LIVE! This event will involve readings and slide presentation events showcasing new work by advanced students of Fostering Art, an arts program for current and former foster youth. Through the intensive summer workshop, the young artists of Fostering Democracy have written a collection of prose, poetry and short narratives that chronicle their personal journeys in the California foster care system, explore their roles in the democratic process and examine their hopes for the future. Fostering Democracy LIVE! will be Tuesday, JUNE 12TH @ 7pm - Modern Times Bookstore 2919 24th St - San Francisco, CA 94110 (Click to view map) Thursday, JUNE 14TH @ 7pm - Books, Inc. (Opera Plaza) 601 Van Ness Ave - San Francisco, CA 94102 (Click to view map) I look forward to seeing you there! Amanda Herman Program Director, Fostering Art PS - The more the merrier, click here to invite a friend. Fostering Art is a program of San Francisco-based A Home Within, the only national organization focused exclusively on meeting the emotional needs of foster youth.This project was made possible with support from Cal Humanities, an independent non-profit organization and a partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, visit www.calhum.org. (Source:A home within artical)

Summer Housing for Foster Youth

By: Eric-Michael Wilson It all starts every year with a phone call in the midst of March. “What are your plans for the summer?” asks Deborah Lowe Martinez on the other end, checking to see which Cal Independent Scholars Network (CISN) participants she should be adding to the list for summer housing assistance. CISN provides former foster care youth and independent students at the University of California-Berkeley with housing, books, resources, and community year round, including in the summer time, depending on funds. But declines last year in both federal support for students and private donor funds earmarked for housing to CISN left former foster youth on campus struggling to pay for summer housing expenses. “One of my biggest concerns for each [of the students] every year is housing,” said Lowe Martinez, CISN program director. “Because we’re donor-funded, we’re constantly concerned about having enough resources for students.” Since it’s founding in Fall 2005, CISN has helped over 100 students with housing assistance. Ninety-eight percent of the freshman that start the program move on to their sophomore year. Of those who continue on, 100 percent of them graduate, said Lowe Martinez. This summer, CISN was able to assist students in the program with up to $1,000 with summer housing assistance, dependent upon student need in order to cover three months worth of living expenses. The supplementary assistance became even more important this past summer because the federal government halted summer Pell grants this year. Although students taking 6 or more units during the summer at UC Berkeley received fee grant waivers, they were only offered loans to cover summer tuition costs. As a result, some CISN students did have to rely on loans to supplement living expenses. “All of our students are here on financial aid and there’s no room to save for summer living expenses,” said Lowe Martinez, who mentioned that many students are already working multiple jobs to make ends meet throughout the year, while taking on full course loads. Martinez says some CISN students take classes just to get financial aid for the summer, so they can continue to receive housing support when all of the dorms are closed. “I would only want for every one of the participants [in the program] to have as much as my husband and I were able to provide for our kids when they were growing up,” said Lowe Martinez, who has helped two sons graduate from California universities. “No one should have to go without the support of a family.” Eric-Michael Wilson is a Media Intern with Fostering Media Connections.

Welcome!!!!!

Hello and welcome friends! feel free to start posting, asking question or what ever you like. Please keep it clean and respectfull.