StandUp For Kids Worcester

Save the Date: 24 Hours on the Street (April 29th & 30th)

2011-03-03T18:25:00.002-05:00

That's right! The 3rd Annual 24 Hours on the Street will be held on Friday, April 29th and Saturday, April 30th. In line with the name, activities will take place for a full 24 hours straight. More details coming soon!

Next Volunteer Orientation
Interested in our organization? Want to find out about volunteer opportunities? Come to our next volunteer orientation:

Tuesday, March 22, 2011
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Worcester Public Library
Banx Room

Walk in My Shoes Photo Display
Worcester Public Library will be displaying a photo exhibit called "Walk in My Shoes". "Walk in My Shoes" seeks to present a perspective of society as experienced from the streets. This exhibit will be on display from March 1st through March 29th.

The Blog is Back!

2011-02-19T10:50:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the long silence on the blog. The blogger may have gotten a little to busy for her own good.

What's new with the Worcester chapter?

Tons!

First, congratulations to Mari Sayama who has stepped into the role of Assistant Executive Director! Mari joined the chapter about a year and a half ago. In October 2009, she stepped into the position of Director of Community Resource Development. During the next year, she ensured all our Community Resource materials were kept up to date on a regular basis. Mari is now managing the chapter budget and financing.

I would also like to wish Brian Finley, Grant Research Writer, a very heartful farewell. Brian spent the last year developing our Grants process. He also provided valuable input on other plans and processes we implemented over the last year. Brian will be missed. We wish him well in his future endeavors.

Plans for a New Outreach Drop-in Center Location

The chapter is also currently establishing a new location for our Outreach Drop-in Center. We would like to thank our previous location - Wesley United Methodist Church - for providing us with free space and amazing accomodations from September 2009 to December 2010. Why the change? We are in search of a location that will be more central to the youth with which we work. Right now, as we build up our volunteer base and budget, we plan to collaborate with another not-for-profit organization.

Recap: Ralph's Diner Stands Up For Kids Benefit Event

The chapter held our second fundraising event on Wednesday, February 9, 2011. Thank you to Ally Trull who organized this event for the chapter. We would also like to thank the following entertainers and sponsors that participated in the event:

First and foremost, Ralph's Diner for providing us with space, sound, and making this event possible!
The amazing hosts, Nick Davis and Alex Charalambides (check out their weekly Monday gig at Ralph's - The Dirty Gerund Show)
The Hip Swayers (Band)
The Hotel Year (Band)
Speaker for the Dead (Band)
North Showcase Cinema (Raffle Prize)
Jillian's of Worcester (Raffle Prize)

More updates to come!
Stay tuned into the blog. We'll be posting info about the upcoming 3rd Annual 24 Hours on the Street Event and other chapter activities.

Local Service Spotlight: Worcester Youth Center

2010-11-18T07:10:00.002-05:00

Homeless and at risk youth can most often be found hanging out on the streets, in parks, at convenience stores, etc. Often they do not have any place to go to fill those hours between school (if they are still attending) and sleep.

In Worcester, we are lucky enough to have the Worcester Youth Center, a facility founded in 1994 through a partnership between youth and adults. This center provides youth with educational, recreational, and social activities on weekdays.

The Worcester Youth Center Mission
The mission of the Worcester Youth Center is "to provide a place where youth can build lasting, positive changes in their lives" (Worcester Youth Center Website). The center ensures that their programs operate on a youth empowerment and development model, focusing on the following key areas:

Leadership
Health and Wellness
Education
Employability

The center offers various programs including movie nights, GED/Basic Skills, and Work Readiness. They recently extended their hours to not only cover weekdays, but also Saturday afternoons.

Location/Hours of Operation
Mondays-Fridays: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays: 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

326 Chandler Street
Worcester, MA 01602

Join Our Team - November 23rd!!!

2010-11-11T10:59:00.002-05:00

That's right. Our monthly volunteer orientation is coming up. Save the date:

Tuesday, November 23rd
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Worcester Public Library
Saxe Conference Room
3 Salem Square
Worcester, MA

What is a volunteer orientation?
The volunteer orientation will provide you with an overview of the youth homelessness statistics both nationally and locally, what StandUp For Kids is, and how you can get involved.

What happens after volunteer orientation?

All volunteers are required to have background checks and then attend a 3 hour basic volunteer training. 3 hours might seem like a lot but it goes by pretty fast and provides you with a good foundation for your volunteer experience with SUFK.

For those who plan to become outreach counselors, an additional 3 hour outreach training is required. This is an interactive training which provides you with an introduction to street outreach and our core services for the youth of Worcester.

How can I volunteer?

The great thing about our program is that we have a variety of roles you can take on whether you want to work from home on marketing materials or work with our kids directly through street outreach.

As a volunteer for over 3 years now, I've had the ability to experience pretty much every element of the program. There have been times when I can only contribute from behind-the-scenes with general support. The group is pretty flexible.

Of course, for the outreach counselors, we do ask that you provide at least a six month commitment of four hours a month. It is important for our youth to see consistent faces on a regular basis. They are in need of consistency and people they can count on. Our number one goal is to provide at-risk and homeless youth with people who care and who they can trust.

Want to learn more about our program? Attend the volunteer orientation and I'll try to answer as many questions as I can about this great opportunity to join the SUFK - Worcester family.

- Kristina England
SUFK - Worcester Volunteer

November 6th: Youth Homelessness Awareness Event

2010-10-28T07:08:00.006-04:00

November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month
StandUp For Kids - Worcester is inviting you to participate in our November awareness event:

Youth Homelessness Awareness Sit-in

Saturday, November 6th

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

in front of Worcester City Hall

Candlelight Vigil at Dusk

2nd Annual Worcester Talent Showcase

Also, save the date for our 2nd Annual Worcester Talent Showcase, which will be held on Thursday, January 27th (evening). We are still working on the logistics but last year we pulled in some incredibly talented musicians, poets, and dancers.

Point in Time Survey

2010-10-22T07:11:00.003-04:00

The Worcester Teen Housing Taskforce held their first point in time survey in August 2009 to get a sense of the homeless youth population within the Worcester community. The second annual survey was conducted this week on Octoer 20, 2010. Our outreach team participated by surveying youth on the streets during our weekly street outreach. We'll keep you posted on when these survey results will be released.

Local Service Spotlight: The Mustard Seed

2010-10-13T20:00:00.004-04:00

If someone asked you where they could grab a hot meal, what would your answer be? Most of us have a home, a kitchen, a refrigerator full of food. But there are many homeless adults and youth who struggle to get a good meal each day.

One of the main requests we get as an organization is for food bags. Our counselors carry around backpacks full of these food bags on outreach night. What do our food bags consist of? Chef Bouyerdee, a Fruit Box, Water, Chips, and maybe a fruit bowl. One food bag may be good for a youth to have when nothing else is available but we really don't want the kids living off the contents of these food bags on a continous basis.

Thankfully, Worcester has a wide array of food pantries. Worcester also has a long running soup kitchen called the Mustard Seed.

What's a soup kitchen?
A soup kitchen, or a free meal program, allows people to come in from the cold and have a warm, cooked meal.

How does the Mustard Seed operate?
When you enter the Mustard Seed, it is one big open room with several tables and chairs. The meals come from local community organizations and churches. Volunteers from the Worcester community (college students, church members, etc.) arrive each night to set up, serve dinner, and clean up afterwards.

Where is the Mustard Seed located?
The Mustard Seed is located at 93 Piedmont Street in Worcester at the corner of Austin and Piedmont. Don't go looking for a building. This soup kitchen is quite literally a house with a sprawling lawn. During the nice weather, there are picnic tables outside where people can sit and enjoy their dinners.

When are meals served?
Supper is Monday through Saturday from 4:00 to 6:30 during the winter and 5:00 to 6:30 during the summer. There is also lunch served on Sundays at noon.

The Mustard Seed is one of many places a homeless youth can get a free meal in Worcester. If for some reason the hours at the Mustard Seed don't work out or a youth needs breakfast or lunch, we have a two page list of options.

There's no reason anyone should go hungry. To start learning what options are out there, check out the Worcester Resources website (http://www.worcesterresources.org/pages.cfm?contentID=11&pageID=3). It's good to be aware of the local food pantries and soup kitchens in your area. You just never know when or why you'll need to know about such services.

Local Chapter Update: Anna Maria College Raising Awareness

2010-10-06T20:04:00.002-04:00

On Monday, October 4th, Kristina England (Co-Director of Adult Training) and Ally Trull (Volunteer) presented to students of the Homelessness course at Anna Maria College. The class addressed such topics as local and national statistics, reasons youth could end up on the street, and what we can do as a community to prevent youth homelessness. Thank you to Professor Evangelina Gonzalez and her students for such an engaging discussion.

Farewell to Liz Burrows
Volunteer Liz Burrows left the chapter on September 25th. She is currently applying to graduate schools and studying for the GREs. Liz volunteered with us for a year, which including four months a Co-Executive Director. Liz brought a lot to the program, including some wonderful budget tracking forms and leading the planning efforts for our backpack outreach program. Thank you Liz for your amazing contributions over the last year! We'll miss you!

Local Service Spotlight: Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester

2010-09-30T07:18:00.004-04:00

In April 2010, one of our chapter volunteers, Kathy Senior, mentioned she was attending training to become a literacy tutor at the Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester (LVGW).

Believe it or not, we hadn't heard of this great local service until Kathy joined their tutoring team.

What is LVGW?

LVGW was founded in 1973 to provide literacy services to the Worcester community. Over 100 trained volunteers serve as literacy tutors providing basic reading and English for speakers of other languages. Tutoring hours are confidential, free, year-round services.

In addition to one-on-one sessions, the program also offers classes taught by certified ESL and reading teachers. Upcoming courses are listed right on their website (http://lvgw.easycgi.com).

Where is LVGW?
LVGW is located at an ideal location for many of our youth - the Worcester Public Library at 3 Salem Square in Worcester.

How can I find out more info about LVGW?
Glad you asked! :) Check out their site at http://lvgw.easycgi.com. You can also contact the office at litvolworc@gmail.com or (508) 754-8056.

Chapter Update: The Outreach Team Grows

2010-09-23T17:48:00.003-04:00

The Street Outreach team has some new additions: Amber Dudley, Kathy Dalianis, and Amanda Ethridge.

Amber joined the team back in August. She is quickly learning the ropes and finding her own outreaching style.

Kathy and Amanda just started outreaching this week. As part of the training process for outreach counselors, they will both shadow a pair of outreach counselors for a few weeks before interacting with the youth. Shadowing gives counselors the ability to observe other counselors and to get to know the areas in which we outreach.

Our Needs: Public Relations and Fundraising
Want to volunteer from home? Well, public relations and fundraising are two of the great areas in SUFK - Worcester where you can pretty much volunteer from anywhere (even a coffee house).

The chapter would love to get the word out about the program to other community services, local organizations and churches, and even get a radio gig or two. In order to do this, we need some great volunteers to join our Public Relations and Marketing team.

We would also like to continue to plan fundraisers and work on fund development. We have a great Grants team, but could use a few more hands to raise funds.

Contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org for more details.

Or attend our next volunteer orientation:

Tuesday, October 12th
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Worcester Public Library
Bank Conference Room

Local Service Spotlight: Pernet Family Health Services

2010-09-16T07:26:00.005-04:00

This week, I thought I would focus on Pernet Family Health Service. Pernet is a local service founded by the Sisters of the Assumption after their arrival in Worcester in 1955. Their mission is to help disadvantaged families, to "support the physical, social, pyschological and spiritual development of individuals and families by providing home-based health and social services that lead to long-term strengthening and enhancement of family and community life." (http://pernetfamilyhealth.org)

So what services does Pernet offer to foster individual and family development? There are several programs available:

Early Intervention
Emergency Assistance Program
Family Support Program
Fathers & Family Program
Homemaker Program
Maternal Child Nursing
Spiritual Life Program
Worcester Healthy Start Initiative
Young Parent Support Service
Youth Program

As StandUp For Kids works with at risk and homeless youth 21 and under, I thought I would focus on three of the above services. I encourage you to read their Programs page for more great information on the services above:

The Fathers and Family Program
The Fathers and Family Program offers weekly parenting/support groups and individual case management services. This program also provides support services to incarcerated fathers.

Young Parent Support Service
The Young Parent Support Service assists youth 23 and under with parenting skills, time management methods, and help in establishing a support network.

Youth Program
The Youth Program offers a free, drop-in Homework Club, an after school program run by local colleges. Pernet also offers a Mentoring Program for middle school students on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. that includes arts and crafts, recreation, and youth events.

Location
Pernet Family Health Services is located at 237 Millbury Street in Worcester.

For more information, visit their site at http://pernetfamilyhealth.org or call Pernet at 508-755-1228.

Local Service Spotlight: AIDS Project Worcester

2010-09-09T07:22:00.007-04:00

During the next few months, I'll be randomly focusing on several key services within the Worcester community. It's not only important for our outreach counselors and our kids to know about these services, but it's critical for the community as a whole to become familiar with them.

This Week's Spotlight: AIDS Project Worcester

AIDS Project - Worcester was founded in 1987 "to provide education to the community about HIV/AIDS and services to individuals and families infected with HIV disease." (http://www.aidsprojectworcester.org/history.html).

What Services does AIDS Project Worcester Provide?
When a person contacts the program, his or her needs are assessed and a care plan is established. Services can include:

Referrals (e.g., Local Medical Providers, Support Groups, Legal Services)
Advocacy (e.g., Phone Calls to Local Services on Behalf of the Consumer)
Transportation Support (Cab Vouchers and Bus Tickets for medical appointments)
Housing (e.g., Rental Start-Up Program, Homelessness Prevention Program)
Nutrition Program
Mental Health Services (e.g., Individual Counseling, Group Counseling)

Another great program offered is the Peer Program. The Peer Program staff are people living with HIV. "Sometimes just being able to talk to someone else who is HIV+ can make all the difference." (www.aidsprojectworcester.org/peerprogram).

Those interested in services provided by AIDS Project Worcester can set up an appointment with a Case Manager or drop in during business hours (location business hours are provided on their site).

The not-for-profit organization has two different locations in Central Massachusetts: 85 Green Street in Worcester and 39 Elm Street in Southbridge.

Check out more information about this local service at their website, including statistics on the current population they serve and new projects in the works:

http://www.aidsprojectworcester.org

Where is the closest food pantry?

2010-09-02T07:20:00.004-04:00

Do you know where the closest food pantry is to your house?

What about to your workplace?

When is the food pantry open?

Don't know the answers to these questions.? Well, many of the youth we work with also don't know the answers. It's not the first thing your parents or your community teaches you about as we don't think of anyone in our lives becoming homeless.

We regularly update a two-page document of local places to get meals (food pantries and soup kitchens). If we run into any youth that are having trouble affording their rent and their meals, we pull out the list and work with them to find a few places that are close by. We also provide them with the hours of operation for these places as they are not usually open all day (in fact, some are only open once a week).

So here's your assignment this week. Whether you live in Worcester, Boston, or all the way in Austin, Texas, I want you to findone food pantry in your area. Get the details on the place: it's name, location, hours of operation, and any other pertinent information. Then tell at least two people you know about the food pantry.

Next week, we'll start focusing on some great local services in the Worcester area.

Want to volunteer with SUFK?

2010-08-26T07:18:00.002-04:00

Our next volunteer orientation is Wednesday, September 8th from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Worcester Public Library (Banx Room).

RSVP to worcester@standupforkids.org to receive an orientation packet.

Welcome Amber Dudley and Amanda Ethridge!
We are pleased to announce we have two new volunteers: Amber Dudley and Amanda Ethridge. Both are trained as outreach counselors and Amber has already jumped into weekly street outreach.

What would you like to hear about?
As this is a weekly blog, I'd love to get some feedback and suggestions on what you would like to hear about. In the next couple weeks, I'll be talking about local services in a "Did you know" theme to help promote awareness of all the great services out there for youth, but would really love recommendations for the months to come. E-mail me at kristinae@standupforkids.org.

SUFK Worcester Volunteers are the Best

2010-08-19T07:20:00.002-04:00

Just in case we don't say it enough, SUFK Worcester Volunteer are the best!

Our volunteers not only donate several hours to street outreach. Many also help keep us going on the administrative end with fund development, time tracking, marketing, etc.

The Grants team continues to be hard at work researching grants for us. Both Liz Burrows and Donna Katsoudas (Co-Executive Directors) are helping the grants team establish proposals for future services that could use some funding.

The team is also working on ways to improve our outreach center. Donna K. and Kathy Senior (Outreach Counselor) have reached to Community Health Links to find out where there are possible gaps in the services offered to youth.

Also, the team did a great job organizing our first big fundraising event: The Community Fundraiser at Moe's Southwestern Grill). Thanks to Rob Donnelly (long distance volunteer) for creating the flyer for this event. And a special thankyou to Moe's Southwestern Grill for hosting the event for SUFK - Worcester!

Grab a Burrito on Thursday, September 16, 2010 (Your Purchase Helps SUFK - Worcester!)

Thursday, September 16, 2010
11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Moe's Southwestern Grill
Shrewsbury, MA

Print the flyer and bring it with you.*

http://www.standupforkids.org/worcester/Fundraising%20Flyer.pdf

*You must present a flyer for 10% of your purchase to go to SUFK - Worcester.

Youth Homelessness Exists

2010-08-12T07:22:00.002-04:00

Here's a request.

Search the web this week for youth homelessness articles.

Over the past two weeks, I've been searching google each day for relevant articles pertaining to youth homelessness. When I find an article that covers National youth homelessness or an important theme on youth homelessness, I post the article to our Facebook Fan page.

What I didn't expect to find was so many articles. Articles all across the country talking about the same thing - the growing numbers of youth finding themselves on the streets.

How do they find themselves on the streets?
Some articles discuss the growing gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer population (referred to as GLBTQ for short). Kicked of their homes for coming out, they have no where to go but the streets with the lack of services out there for them.
Other articles focus on kids that have aged out of foster care. They turn 18 and lose all the services and support they've been accustomed to as kids. They have no family, no one to go home to or to call just to talk. How many of us call our parents on the way home from work just to chat and hear their voices? These kids are missing that support system.

The articles range in theme but one thing is clear - youth homelessness exists. The problem is that so many want to solve this issue, but how do we solve it? We need to get out there, find the kids, assist them.

They need a family. A support structure. They need someone who says "I care about you".

They need someone to say they have a life worth living and that they can live it.

Think about it.

The solution isn't an overnight solution. It's a commitment to our youth that will take years. But it's a commitment that needs to happen.

worcester@standupforkids.org

Latest Update from Worcester

2010-08-05T19:23:00.002-04:00

The Worcester team has been hard at work in several areas:

Our grants team is currently created a fund development spreadsheet and working on some grant applications. This team is fairly new (Brian Finley and Jason Goranson joined in Spring 2010). It's amazing to see how much they've done in such a short time.
The outreach team is growing! This means we can expand our outreach hours and days. Several outreach counselors have been trying new times and new locations. We still ensure we go to the same location on our regular Tuesday night outreach, but we have also found another busy location in Worcester to start outreaching.
Cleon McClure, Co-Director of Adult Training, successfully facilitated his first Basic Volunteer Training this month.
We have two new volunteers: Amber Dudley and Amanda Ethridge. Both will join the outreach team after outreach training this Saturday. Welcome to the group, Amber and Amanda!
The group is looking at other ways to raise funds. Stay tuned for more information on our Moe's Southwestern Grille Day!

Okay, that's it for now. Have a great week and see you again next Thursday!

What is the McKinney-Vento Act?

2010-07-29T07:21:00.006-04:00

Just last week, an article appeared in The Times Record entitled "Teens on their own". The article tells the story of Trina, a young girl living in a homeless shelter. Trina became homelessness before the age of 18.

Trina is one of many young adults that lives without a permanent address and couch surfs with friends. Some homeless youth, even with a temporary place to stay, may not have access to basic resources such such as food, showers, or a good night's sleep. Even if they have basic resources, they may not have access medical or health services. It can be hard to stay in school when you're tired or sick and unable to access resources others take for granted.

So how did Trina stay in school and finish her high school degree? Luckily for Trina, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act exists for homeless youth.

What is the McKinney-Vento Act? Well, I could give you the whole low down but that here's item 1 of the McKinney-Vento Statement of Policy:

"(1) Each State educational agency shall ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youths." (http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg116.html)

This act allows great people such as the shelter worker and school counselors in Trina's life to support homeless youth and provide them with the resources they need. How do schools help students that are homeless (whether with family or on their own)? Each school and district has a McKinney-Vento Representative. That representative ensures that all students identified as homeless receive basic resources such as food and clothes. They support them and ensure students can stay in school.

Local services as shown in The Times Record article often provide assistance to McKinney-Vento Representatives, such as providing them with resources needed for the youth.

StandUp For Kids - Bremerton (http://www.standupforkids.org/bremerton) in Washington is a great example of a program supporting youth protected under McKinney-Vento. They provide various services to over 400 kids a week within the Bremerton school system. As part of their backpack outreach program, they distribute backpacks full of supplies on a weekly basis to the representatives that are then distributed to the youth.

The StandUp For Kids - Worcester program is currently launching our own backpack outreach program. We need the help of our community to get this program started. We need groups and schools to volunteer to host food and supply drives for our backpack outreach program.

Contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org for more info on how you can help.

In the St. Louis area? They're launching a backpack outreach program too. In the Bremerton area? I'm sure they'd love a helping hand, too!

Or think about starting a StandUp For Kids backpack outreach program in your community...

Read up on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg116.html.

You can also get local information about Massachusetts McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mv/.

Outreach - What is it?

2010-07-22T17:45:00.003-04:00

Outreach can really be broken down into three types of outreach at the SUFK - Worcester chapter:

1. Scouting. When we kicked off the outreach team, this was the first thing we did. We visited various different locations in Worcester trying to determine where the kids were. Now that we have a regular location, we don't necessarily have to scout. But it's good to survey new locations, especially when you have a good number of outreach counselors. Six outreach counselors scheduled for one night of street outreach? Send four of them out to explore and keep two familiar faces at the regular location to talk to youth. Those who go scouting then engage in street outreach with youth they meet during scouting.
2. Street Outreach. Quite simply, street outreach is getting out there and talking to youth. We go to a regular location once a week. Every week we approach new and regular youth. We provide them with immediate resources and also encourage them to set long term goals. We also provide them with information about local services, such as food pantries and GED Programs. Do you know where the closest food pantry is to your house? No. Then chances are an at-risk or homeless youth doesn't either.
3. Outreach Center. Once a youth has set his or her long term goals, we set up an appointment with him or her at our outreach center (or a location convenient to the youth) and assist the youth in identifying the steps needed to complete that goal. For example, a youth wants to apply for a job. The basic step to start with is what is the youth interested in doing? What is his or her skills? And then start to expand on that with asking if the youth has ever developed a resume, job searched, etc.?

We are also adding a 4th Type of Outreach to our program!

4. Backpack Outreach. We'll provide immediate resources such as food and clothes to McKinney Vento Reps at the local schools. These supplies will then be distributed to youth identified as homeless within the school system. We are currently working with our first school to kick off this program. We also need to get local support to provide supplies and pack backpacks (no training needed to do this... just your time and energy!).

Of course, that's just a brief description of each type of outreach we do. Want to learn more about our program? Want to help out? Contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org to attend our next Volunteer Orientation (Wednesday, August 11th).

The Hot Days of Summer

2010-07-15T07:23:00.002-04:00

Summer is normally the busiest time for us during street outreach. The weather is great which means more kids are outside. This time of the year always becomes a great time to recruit new volunteers as well.

Of course, with record high temps in the last couple weeks, we actually had to conduct our most recent training in a room with no air conditioning at about 95 degrees. So we'd like to do a special shout out to new volunteer Sarah Blondin for withstanding 3 hours in a quite toasty room.

Also, congratulations to Cleon McClure who conducted his first Basic Volunteer Training. Cleon will be co-training new volunteers with Kristina England.

Kristina England also conducted the July Volunteer Orientation. We had two prosepctive volunteers attend: Amber and Amanda. Both Amber and Amanda are interested in outreach counseling. We look forward to having them both as members of our outreach team. Amber and Amanda will attend training later this month.

Looking a bit closer at youth homelessness

2010-07-08T16:49:00.002-04:00

When our counselors go out every week, it's hard to approach complete strangers on the street. But for the youth we meet, it's even harder.

One of the core pieces of outreach counseling is building trust with a youth.

The number one reason for youth homelessness is child abuse: neglect, physical, sexual, and/or emotional.

These youth have been hurt time and time again.

Then a group of complete stranger walk up to them and say they can help.

Yes, outreach counseling can be overwhelming, sometimes frustrating. But when part of counseling is building a relationship with kids who don't have a "family", don't have someone to care about them, it's pretty hard to imagine yourself not doing this work. When you can tell a kid that he or she can get a warm meal to eat down the street or his/her GED, it's worth it.

And it doesn't become so hard when you realize how much these youth need someone there just to say hello to them everyday, just to tell them they matter.

We can work with a youth once, for months, or for years, helping motivate him/her to fulfill short term and/or long term goals. It takes time. Change does not happen overnight. That's the hard part. Being there though all the good days and not so good days. But it's also the best part of being an outreach counselor.

We are always excited to have more outreach counselors on our team. Join us at our next volunteer orientation - Wednesday, July 14th at 7:00 p.m. Contact worcester@standupforkids.org for more details.

Join Our Program - Volunteer Orientation

2010-07-01T17:27:00.003-04:00

You're invited

Volunteer Orientation
July 14, 2010 @ 7:00 p.m.
Wesley United Methodist Church
114 Main Street
Worcester, MA

Please RSVP to worcester@standupforkids.org. Once you RSVP, you'll receive more information, including our orientation packet!

How long does orientation last?
Volunteer Orientation is one hour. Once you complete orientation and your background form is processed, you will then attend volunteer training (3 hours for basic volunteers, 6 hours for outreach counselors).

What will I learn at orientation?

The National Statistics on Youth Homelessness
The Local Statistics on Youth Homelessness
A Brief History of StandUp For Kids (SUFK)
Ways You Can Become Involved in the SUFK - Worcester Chapter

SUFK Worcester Welcomes a New Co-Executive Director

2010-06-24T18:25:00.004-04:00

We are pleased to announce Liz Burrows, Assistant Executive Director, has stepped up to the position of Co-Executive Director for StandUp For Kids - Worcester. Liz has maintained the program budget for the last six months and also led the effort to establish a Backpack Outreach Program within the Worcester School System. We are excited to have her serving as our direct contact with the StandUp For Kids National Office!

2nd Annual Worcester Talent Showcase in the Works!
In April, we held our 1st Annual Worcester Talent Showcase event with performances from some fine local talent (poets, musicians, and dancers). We held this event as the kick off to our 24 Hours on the Street event. As it takes a good deal of time and effort, we have both decided to hold it separate from our 24 Hours on the Street event and begin the planning process this summer. The event will be held sometime in January 2011. We'll keep you posted on the details. Any entertainers interested in participating in the event can contact worcester@standupforkids.org.

The Outreach Stats for May 2010

2010-06-17T18:22:00.002-04:00

How many kids did we provide outreach services to in May 2010?

Good question! Here's the stats:

We assisted 11 regular kids.
We assisted 65 new kids.
We provided 12 kids with meals.

Many of these kids ask about other services. We always provide them with a brochure of local services, including food pantries, overnight shelters, and important hotlines. Our counselors act as liaisons between these kids and the local services within the Worcester community.

Do you know where you can get a free meal? Free health care? An overnight bed?

No.

Neither do most of our kids.

Join our outreach program. Contact worcester@standupforkids.org for details on the next information session.

The SUFK - Worcester Spring Newsletter is Here!

2010-06-10T17:23:00.003-04:00

Read all about our latest accomplishments and upcoming events!

StandUp For Kids - Worcester Spring 2010 Newsletter (PDF)

Have questions about our program? Curious to find out more. Email us at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Chalk on the Streets: This Saturday!
Come draw with us at the Downtown Common this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. We'll be in front of City Hall. Look for us in the purple shirts!

Check out the updated StandUp For Kids website

2010-06-03T12:51:00.004-04:00

The National Site Gets Jazzed Up
The National StandUp For Kids website has been redesigned. Check out the changes at www.standupforkids.org. Feel free to e-mail us with your thoughts on it. We'd love to hear from you all.

Also, check out our program site. We are currently redesigning it and revamping the content: http://www.standupforkids.org/worcester/. Plus note that our program site URL has changed (if you have it saved as a favorite, don't forget to change it).

Help Needed: Our Outreach Drop-in Center
The Worcester program has a great outreach drop-in center we run on Saturday afternoons (12:00 to 4:00). Lately, we've had trouble covering all four hours and could really use some extra outreach counselors. If you are available on Saturday afternoons and want to help youth within your community build their life skills, please contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Come Draw with Us on Saturday, June 12th!

2010-05-27T15:55:00.002-04:00

Save the Date:
Chalk on the Streets/Turn Purple Campaign
Saturday, June 12th, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Worcester Downtown Common (Sidewalk in front of City Hall)
Questions? Email worcester@standupforkids.org

What is Chalk on the Streets?
Mari Sayama (Director of Community Resource Development) proposed an awareness event to us last Fall called Chalk on the Streets. Since the initial idea, we have held two Chalk on the Streets events.

Our volunteers show up at in front of City Hall (Downtown Worcester) with a box full of chalk and start drawing youth homelessness statistics on the sidewalks. We also replicate the StandUp For Kids logo using a pretty nifty stencil made by Mari Sayama.

While drawing, we answer questions from those passing by about StandUp For Kids and about youth homelessness. Plus, anyone can come draw with us! So stop on by and have some fun.

Or

Turn the Streets Purple!
In the Spring 2008, Kristina England (Director of Adult Training) came across a great awareness event called the Turn Purple Campaign on the StandUp For Kids - Philadelphia website.

All you have to do is dress in all purple and hand out fliers to passersby about the number reason for youth homelessness: child abuse. Plus, you can paint your face purple, too! That's completely optional as we hear at least one volunteer does some pretty lopsided smile faces (in fact it might be the same girl that discovered the event).

Or

Just come and talk to our volunteers during both events. We love getting to know the great people of the Worcester community. Just look for us in our Purple shirts.

Father's Fest - June 12, 2010
That's right, we are busy beavers on Saturday, June 12th. If you are busy on Saturday morning and can't make it to our awareness event, feel free to stop by our table at Father's Fest from 12:00 t0 4:00 at Institute Park. We've got a great new crossword puzzle that even some of our longest running volunteers can't solve... Thank you to Liz Burrows for her continued marketing creativity.

Welcome Diane Racine and Jason Goranson!
We have two new volunteers! Diane Racine has joined the program as an outreach counselor. Jason Goranson will focus on grant writing and fund development.

Saying Farewell to Ally Trull, Director of Outreach

2010-05-20T17:09:00.005-04:00

Earlier this month, we mentioned that Ally Trull, our first Director of Outreach, will leave us at the end of this month. Ally has contributed countless hours to the StandUp For Kids - Worcester chapter over the past three years. In honor of all her hard work and commitment, we recognized her during our Spring 2010 Volunteer Appreciation Party.

In picture (counter clockwise): Ally Trull, Donna Katsoudas (Executive Director), Liz Burrows (Assistant Executive Director), Jeff Burrows (Volunteer), Sue Kramer (Director of Kid Development), Cleon McClure (Co-Director of Adult Training), Jose Alvarez (New Director of Outreach), Kristina England (Co-Director of Adult Training).

Ally was presented with a scrapbook and some nifty little gifts before she leaves for a summer of volunteering. We hope to see her back in the Fall, perhaps with a job somewhere in central Massachusetts (Fingers crossed).

Ally's Last Street Outreach
Ally Trull conducted her last street outreach this week. Ally was joined by four members of the street outreach team: Jose Alvarez, Austin Eisele (Outreach Counselor), Kristina England, and Donna Katsoudas. We met several new kids during street outreach and even recruited a perspective volunteer for our June 16th information session.

Passing the Torch: Jose Alvarez, New Director of Outreach
We are excited to announce that Jose Alvarez has stepped into the position of Director of Outreach. Jose has been part of the outreach team for two years. He is best described as a lovable teddy bear by the other outreach counselors. Jose's responsibilities will include providing outreach updates to the street outreach team, managing the street outreach schedule, and most importantly, acting as a liaison between our kids and the many local services within the Worcester community. Ally Trull has transferred her wealth of knowledge to Jose. As an outreach counselor said, "It's tough shoes to fill" but we know Jose can do it!

Hard Shoes to Fill: Ken Latham, Co-Executive Director
It's with much sadness that we announce Ken Latham's departure from the Co-Executive Director position at SUFK - Worcester. Ken was our direct contact to the National Office. He maintained our monthly reports and provided us with all the latest news from National. Ken also served as an outreach counselor for a year. His presence will be truly missed. We wish him the best in his future ventures.

Upcoming Events
Today (right now actually), three of our volunteers are participating in the Worcester Police Youth Summit. Liz Burrows (Assistant Executive Director), Jeff Burrows (Volunteer), and Rob Donnelly (Volunteer) are running an information table at the event to get the word out about youth homelessness in the Worcester community. Liz also unveiled some new handouts today - a StandUp For Kids Crossword Puzzle and a StandUp For Kids Word Search. Liz definitely wins most creative volunteer for such exciting awareness materials!

This weekend, new volunteer Cleon McClure will step into the Co-Director of Adult Training position. He will co-train new volunteers with Kristina England.

We've got new volunteers

2010-05-06T07:18:00.002-04:00

Over the last few months, StandUp For Kids - Worcester has welcomed the following new volunteers:

Angela Della Porta
Brian Finley
Cleon McClure
Kathy Senior
Michelle Varner

The program currently has 25 volunteers. We are proud to have each and every one of them. Their commitment and passion is what makes us a success.

Thank You to Ally Trull
After two years as Director of Outreach, Ally Trull has stepped down from the position. Ally is graduating from Clark University in a couple weeks and will be leaving the area to pursue future endeavors. Her dedication and insight over the past three years has helped bring the program to where it is today. We'll miss you, Ally!

Join Our Great Group of Volunteers!
Our next information session is Wednesday, May 12th, 7:00 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist, 114 Main Street, Worcester. Please contact worcester@standupforkids.org for more details.

Thank You: 24 Hours on the Street a Success!

2010-04-29T20:31:00.002-04:00

Thank you to all our supporters, pledges, and volunteers for making our 2nd Annual 24 Hours on the Street event a success!

Special Thanks
To Meaghan and James McDonough from West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard for dropping off their yearly donation of supplies. They arrived with a van full of hygiene kits, clothes, food, sleeping bags, etc.

To our Worcester Talent Showcase Performers: Boys & Girls Club Hip/Hop Group, Talisman, Lea Deschenes, Salsa Encendida, Jackie Morrill, and Brad & Ron. Also, thank you to Isaac Boetang for MCing the Talent Showcase!

To all our volunteers who slept out all night in front of WUMC. We're glad you all had fun. Maybe we'll do without the early morning frisbee next year. :-)

To everyone that helped out on Saturday and attended our events.

The 24 Hours event is over but the reality of youth homelessness is not. Keep spreading the word. Let the community know that youth homelessness exists.

Becoming an Outreach Counselor

2010-04-15T22:02:00.002-04:00

The first reaction I receive when I say I work with homeless youth is:

"That must be challenging."

Yes, outreach counseling is challenging, but it is also rewarding. We meet many wonderful youth each week. We educate them on the services within their community, provide them with immediate resources (e.g., food, clothes), and, most importantly, we provide them with someone who cares who they are and what they want out of life.

As an outreach counselor, you learn how to face your fears. And the funny thing is that all those fears don't seem so large in the scheme of things when you realize that "Your worst day will never be as bad as these kids best days" (Rick Koca).

How would you feel if you could save a life?

Find out by becoming a member of our outreach team. Our next Information Session is at the Worcester Downtown Common on Saturday, April 24th at 11:30AM.

Our Outreach Stats for February 2010

9 Regular Kids Assisted
40 New Kids Assisted
2 Kids Provided with Meals

Join the Fun: Participate in 24 Hours on the Street

2010-04-08T16:33:00.003-04:00

Here's the schedule for 24 Hours on the Street. Bring your friends, family, and neighbors. And cross your fingers for great weather!

The 24 Hours on the Street event is intended to raise awareness about the reality of youth homelessness. StandUp For Kids - Worcester is hosting their second annual 24 Hours on the Street from April 23, 2010 to April 24, 2010.

Check out the list of activities happening below and join us for one or many of these activities. Spread the word to your friends, family, and coworkers.

------------------------------------------------------
**Important** You don't have to participate in all 24 Hours. Just pick an event on the schedule that interests you (e.g., Worcester Talent Showcase, Scavenger Hunt!)
------------------------------------------------------

Worcester Talent Showcase
Wesley United Methodist Church
114 Main Street
7:00PM-9:30PM
Local Musicians, Poets, and Dancers perform.$2 at the door or a pop-top can of pasta (i.e. Chef Boyardee)

Salsa Lesson
Wesley United Methodist Church
9:30PM-10:00PM
Get a beginner’s lesson on Salsa Dancing for free!

Candlelight Vigil
Wesley United Methodist Church
10:00PM-10:30PM
13 Kids die on the streets everyday. Join us for this Candlelight Vigil to remember these youth and spread awareness about youth homelessness.

Team Trivia
Wesley United Methodist Church
11:00PM-12:00AM
Team up for a trivia challenge!

Sleep Out/Games
Wesley United Methodist Church
12:00AM-9:00AM
Some youth have no other option but to sleep on the street, whether under a bridge, in an alley, or on a bench. Join us with your sleeping bags and tents for a sleep out to raise awareness about youth homelessness. Breakfast will be served at 8:00 a.m.

Turn Purple Campaign
Worcester Common
9:00AM-11:00AM
Get purpled and spread awareness about the number one reason for homelessness – child abuse.

Picnic/Information Session
Worcester Common
11:30AM-12:30PM (Lunch at noon)
Learn more about our national organization, local program, and youth homelessness statistics. Find out how you can get involved in our mission to help at risk and homeless youth.

Come Draw with Us
Worcester Common
12:45PM-1:45PM
Draw statistics and art in front of city hall.
Youth 21 and Under: Get involved in our chalk art competition. A winner will be announced at 5:45 p.m.!

"A Mile in Their Shoes" Scavenger Hunt
Starts at Worcester Common
2:00PM-4:00PM
Teams of four go in search of services and items a homeless youth may need.

Homeless Sit-in
Worcester Common
4:30PM-5:30PM
Awareness event with signs containing facts about homelessness for passersby.

Chart Art Competition Winner
Worcester Common
5:30PM-5:45PM
Volunteers judge the chalk art created by youth 21 and under.
The winner will be announced at 5:45 p.m.!

Closing Ceremony
Worcester Common
6:00PM-7:00PM
Join us for our closing ceremony. Enjoy a slice of cake on us!

Feel free to contact us with any questions or to volunteer at the event: worcester@standupforkids.org

24 Hours on the Street is 4 Weeks Away!

2010-04-01T19:42:00.002-04:00

And in just a couple days, we'll be posting the schedule.

Events include:

Worcester Talent Showcase (Musicians, Poets, and Dancers)
Sleep out (Bring your sleeping bag!)
Scavenger Hunt (Teams will go in search of local services that serve at risk youth)

Interested in volunteering at 24 Hours on the Street? Contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Do One Thing This Weekend

2010-03-25T19:51:00.004-04:00

As we countdown till the end of March (and ring in Spring), take some time this weekend to make a difference in someone else's life.

Give your kids a hug.
Hold the door open for your coworker.
Smile at a stranger.

Then share it with us!

Don't Forget: 24 Hours on the Street
In one month, we'll be holding our 24 Hours on the Street event starting Friday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m. Stay tuned for the full schedule of events.

Five more weeks until 24 Hours on the Street!

2010-03-18T11:49:00.002-04:00

Save the Date:
Friday, April 23rd through Saturday, April 24th

The volunteer team is finalizing the schedule of events.

Bring your sleeping bags and backpacks for a sleep out on Friday night to raise awareness about youth homelessness.

More information is forthcoming.

Contact worcester@standupforkids.org if you are interested in signing up for an event or donating supplies to the cause.

Want to lend a hand? Have a skill you really want to use?

2010-03-11T17:54:00.002-05:00

We'd love for more people to join our program. Imagine, you could help out with any of the following:

Outreach - Direct contact with our kids, providing them with assistance on a weekly basis (Tuesdays or Saturdays)
Public Relations - Contacting newspapers, magazines, radio stations etc. to get the word out about youth homelessness
Volunteer Recruitment & Retainment - Recruiting new volunteers, recognizing volunteers for their achievements, checking in on volunteers for feedback and suggestions. If you're a people person, you'll love helping out in this area. :)
Fund Development - We would love to one day open a full outreach center (we currently have a drop-in center) but we need great people who love to host fundraising events, write grants, or request donations.
Marketing - spreading the word through ongoing marketing tools. Love to create posters? Help us out with graphic design. Love to update websites? Write content for our blog, program site, facebook, or whatever.

We have a fantastic group of volunteers and would love to meet more fantastic people.

Sign up for our next info session by contacting worcester@standupforkids.org (Wednesday, March 17th at 7:00PM).

Of course, we realize everyone is busy so we would also just like to thank you for your continued support. You are the best!

The Countdown to 24 Hours on the Street

2010-03-04T20:33:00.003-05:00

We're currently planning our 2nd Annual 24 Hours on the Street event.

Save the Date: Friday, April 23rd and Saturday, April 24th.

This year we're thinking BIG!

Preliminary activities include:

Worcester Talent Showcase - Fundraising event with local talent including poets, musicians, and dancers.
Sleep Out - Spend a night on the streets of Worcester with our volunteers

If you are interested in receiving more information about this event or signing up to volunteer at activities, please contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Come Draw with Us in Two Days!

2010-02-25T20:06:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder that our volunteers will be at the Downtown Common on Saturday, February 27th from 11:00AM to 12:00PM spreading awareness about youth homelessness and the SUFK organization.

Stop by and draw with us (with chalk of course!).

Thanks as always to those near and far for all your wonderful support!

What's Happening in Worcester
The Worcester program is currently working on a few great projects. We are planning a Backpack Outreach Program to help kids at our local schools. We are also working with a student at Abby Kelley Foster High School to start a School Club. The School Club kicks off tomorrow evening with plans to help our program with food drives and awareness events. More importantly, they will be the first high school in Worcester to engage in SUFK's preventative program - Don't Run Away. They will present the DRA presentation to middle school students in the Worcester community.

We've also got more plans in the works so keep reading our blog for the latest updates! :-)

Come Draw with Us

2010-02-18T21:30:00.002-05:00

2nd Chalk on the Streets Event: Come Spread Awareness About Youth Homelessness
The StandUp For Kids volunteers will be outside on Saturday, February 27th from 11:00AM to 12:00PM. Stop by the Downtown Common to draw on the sidewalks (with chalk, of course!). You can chat with our volunteers about the program and also learn about youth homelessness. Plus, when you draw youth homeless statistics on the sidewalk, you'll be helping spread awareness to the Worcester Community!

Feel free to contact us with any questions at worcester@standupforkids.org or 774-242-4289.

Food Drive Request
We're in need of food bags. If you would like to host a food bag drive for our program, please contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org for more information.

January Outreach Numbers
Our outreach counselors were busy in January:

7 Regular Kids Assisted
26 New Kids Assisted

Great job, guys! Keep up the good work and stay warm!

Worcester Focuses on Youth Homelessness

2010-02-11T16:08:00.002-05:00

As we reported last week, the Worcester Youth Housing Task Force released survey results from an August 26, 2009 survey conducted by several services within the Worcester community. The numbers have definitely sparked some interest, including an article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette - "Homeless youths emerge from shadows in the city -- Worcester confronts needs for programs."

Our program is one of the only (if not the only) program that street outreaches to youth under the age of 18 in Worcester. Our goal is to make them aware of all the services out there for them so that they don't have to end up sleeping in their car, a park, or even couch surf. As Rick Koca, Founder of StandUp For Kids, has said, these kids are not only homeless, they feel hopeless. They need to know that (1) someone out there cares about them, (2) they can have a life beyond the streets.

We were very fortunate this week as we had six perspective volunteers show up at our Tuesday Information Sessions. We also had quite a few people stop at the door and peer in as we talked about youth homelessness and our organization's mission.

Remember that August 26th was only one day in one year. The number of homeless kids in Worcester may have risen or dropped since then. These kids needs the help of their community. If only one kid is homeless out there today, we need to find and assist that one kid. No matter how high or low the number, every kid matters.

Contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org on ways you can help. We all lead busy lives so if you can't make the commitment to volunteer, you can always help us spread the word. Your voice could make the difference.

Survey of Homeless Youth 2009 Results

2010-02-03T18:59:00.005-05:00

The Numbers Don't Lie: Youth Homeless in Worcester
On Thursday, January 28th, the Worcester Teen Housing Taskforce released the results of a youth homelessness survey conducted on August 26, 2009.

Ally Trull (Director of Outreach) and Mohsin Syed (Outreach Counselor) attended the press release.

Of the 513 kids surveyed on August 26th, 142 of these kids identified themselves as homeless. 63% (91 kids) identified as living in a shelter. 37% said they were either couch surfing, permanently living with friends if under 18, living in a car, park, or street.

Imagine living on the streets in the weather conditions of this past week? The snow. The wind. The below freezing temperatures. Hard to imagine for us, too. That's why we're out there every week no matter what the weather conditions. If we can find and assist just one of these kids through our street outreach, then we have accomplished something great.

If Worcester has 142 homeless youth, just think of how many kids could be homeless in your community? If you are not in the Worcester area, you can start a SUFK program in your neighborhood. Check out the StandUp For Kids website for more information (www.standupforkids.org).

These kids aren't living on the streets. They're dying on the streets.

Reminder: Our Volunteer Information Session is Next Week!

Join us on February 9th to learn about our program and how you can help.

We're having two info sessions that night. Attend either the 6:30 or 7:30 info session in the Banx Room of the Worcester Public Library.

RSVP at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Immediate Need: Food Bags

2010-01-28T07:22:00.003-05:00

The Worcester Program conducts street outreach on a weekly basis. The main supply that we carry around with us is food bags. We are running low on these.

Host a Food Bag Drive!

You can host a food bag drive for StandUp For Kids - Worcester.

Here are the items in our food bags:

Juice Box/Water
Candy Bar
Pudding/Fruit Cup (pop top)
Cup of ravioli, spaghetti, etc. (pop top); or Bumblebee Chicken or Tuna Salad with Crackers
Granola Bar
Napkin and plastic ware

Plus, one of our volunteers would be more than happy to come and talk about StandUp For Kids during your food drive.

The 2009 Outreach Stats

We've totaled up our outreach numbers from 2009 and wanted to share them with all our wonderful supporters.

We outreached to over 290 kids, provided 132 meals, assisted with two ID/Birth Certificate requests, and sent one kid home by request.

All this was done by a program made up of only 18 volunteers.

Imagine how much we can do if we double the number of volunteers we have today.

Information Session Date Changed!

We've postponed our February 2nd info sessions to February 9th:

Info Session
Worcester Public Library
Banx Room
Tuesday, February 9th

6:30PM-7:30PM
or
7:30PM-8:30PM

We've Got New Ways You Can Get Involved

2010-01-21T16:51:00.004-05:00

We're planning two new programs in 2010: Backpack Outreach and the Don't Run Away Program (DRA).

So what is Backpack Outreach? Our program will collaborate with a local school to provide homeless youth with backpacks full of supplies and food for the weekends. A few of our volunteers are beginning the planning stages of this outreach program but we would love to have more volunteers involved. How would you go about getting involved in this program? You can attend one of our two next information session:

Volunteer Information Session
Tuesday, February 2nd 6:30PM-7:30PM or 7:30PM-8:30PM
The Banx Room, Worcester Public Library
Register now: worcester@standupforkids.org

That's right! We're having two information sessions in one night. We realize that depending on your schedule, you could be sitting down to eat dinner with your family or working the late shift. Now you can pick from two time frames. :-) Thanks to StandUp For Kids - Boston for suggesting this idea!

The Don't Run Away Program is a bit different from our other services. This program is a preventative program run by high school or college students. Students go to local elementary and middle schools to present the story of Squatter, a kid who runs away from home. The presentation helps inform kids of Squatter's other options rather than running away. It also shows kids how lonely and scary the streets can be for a kid.

Two of our volunteers are working with a local high school student to begin the first DRA Program in Worcester! This program is a great way for high school students to get involved with StandUp For Kids before joining the local program. Although the DRA Programs are run by students, we could use a couple more volunteers to assist us in our efforts to start DRA Programs at schools within the Worcester community.

If you are a high school or college student and you would like to start a DRA Program in the Worcester area (or for that matter, anywhere in the U.S.), please feel free to contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org.

We'll have a lot more news very soon! We've got a lot of interesting stuff in the works, including our 2nd Annual 24 Hours on the Street Event!

Warming the Streets of Worcester

2010-01-14T07:16:00.004-05:00

Keeping Haiti in Our Thoughts
The StandUp For Kids - Worcester program is keeping the people of Haiti in our thoughts and prayers. Check out the following site for ways to help out: http://www.whitehouse.gov/haitiearthquake.

2009 Volunteer Hours Statistics: Way to Go Team!
Co-Executive Director Ken Latham just tallied up the numbers for volunteer commitment in 2009. Our volunteers dedicated 1,120.25 hours to the program last year! Outstanding work, guys! You're amazing!

Spreading the Word: Conversations with the Community

Our volunteers will be very busy in the next couple months. We'll be sitting down (or standing up) to open up the conversation about youth homeless with the following groups:

Lions Club
UMass Memorial Nursing Leadership Team
Worcester County Family and Fathers Network

We'd like to thank these groups for inviting us to speak to them about our mission. Their interest in our program continues to make our presence more known to the community.

If you would like one of our volunteers to come present on the SUFK program to an organization, youth group, agency, etc., please feel free to contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T12:30:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year from StandUp For Kids - Worcester!

We're really excited to start 2010. Why? We have new goals for the new year!

Our Program Goals

Recruit and retain volunteers. We already have a great group of volunteers but we could always use more volunteers in all areas of the program. We also want to make sure we keep all our great volunteers, so we'll be looking at better ways to communite with and appreciate our team (p.s. You guys and gals are the best!).
Build community awareness of our program and youth homelessness. We kicked it up a notch in 2009 with two great awareness events: 24 Hours on the Street and Come Draw with Us. We'll hold both of these events in 2010 plus we'll add some more events to the line up (e.g., a rumored Talent Show). We'll also be contacting schools and local organizations to educate them on our services. And we're going to start mailing our quarterly newsletter to local organizations!
Initiate Preventative Programs within the community. We've been doing a lot of street outreach to the at risk and homeless kids in our community. Now it's time to take a look at ways to prevent these kids from ending up on the streets. We plan to promote the Don't Runaway Program to local youth interested in helping the program. We will also be looking at starting a Backpack Outreach program (more details to come). Of course, we would love to have a few new volunteers to help out with this effort (Hint. Hint.).
Maintain and expand our Outreach Center. We're currently looking at new ways to get the word out about our outreach center to youth. We may also look at expanding the times or days, which of course would mean more volunteers (see Goal 1... You know you want to join our program).
Expand Street Outreach. We just added one more day a week of street outreach to our schedule. Now we'll be looking at new locations to add on to our current locations of outreach. Our street outreach counselors are amazing! Keep up the good work, guys!
Develop our funds through fundraising, marketing, and grants. We're ending the year with some great donations from the UMass Memorial Nursing Leadership Team and DePierro Productions. In 2010, we'll continue to apply for grants and market to the local community. Plus, we hope to host our very first fundraising event!

That's six major goals for 2010! After looking at 2009's Program Goals (e.g., Open an Outreach Center, Improve our community resource documents), we're pretty sure we can accomplish all of these.

Thank you to our wonderful team of volunteers for a successful 2009 and to our supporters for helping make it a success! And welcome to 2010!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T07:20:00.004-05:00

StandUp For Kids - Worcester would like to wish all our supporters and volunteers (both past and present) a very peace-filled and joyful holiday season.

The support of the Worcester community has been incredible.

In fact, just the other day, we got a very special holiday present.

The UMass Memorial Nursing Leadership Team raising $2,615 for the Worcester program! We were humbled by such wonderful news! This money will definitely help us provide continued services to the youth of Worcester (e.g., bus tickets home, hot soup on a cold night).

As this holiday season brings warmth and love to your household, remember to stop and help out those in need, whether young or old. Hold the door for someone on your way out of work. Help your neighbor shovel.

Whatever you do, know that it has a ripple effect. For every good thing done, another good thing is done in return.

'Tis the Season

2009-12-17T16:30:00.005-05:00

Right now, you're probably on your way to get the rest of that holiday shopping done. You have a menu planned for your holiday gathering with family and friends. The decorations are all up and you can't wait to just celebrate the good times with ones you love.

The homeless youth of American (and for that matter, all the homeless of America) won't be sitting down for dinner with family and friends. They'll be alone out there hungry for a good meal. Perhaps some will find a warm place to have a meal. And yet, so many will go without even a hug, never mind food or presents.

They need someone to say - "You don't need to be out here. You can have a life away from the streets. There are people who care about you. Your breath, your life is precious."

182 kids will die in the next 14 days across America. Think about that number.

So many people say they don't have time to volunteer. They have families, they have kids, they have jobs. Well, so do most of our volunteers. Sure, some are in college (madly studying for exams), while others are raising kids of their own the best way they know how. And yet, they take time away from their week to find and help the youth of our community. And those youth appreciate just the hellos they get.

How do we know this? Just recently, a kid we met only once approached us to let us know they had a job and a place to stay.

You don't have to join a street outreach counselor. Street outreach is a difficult commitment. It can be overwhelming at times. But you do have plenty of options if you choose to join our program. Or host a fundraiser, awareness event, or donation drive. Dedicate a few hours of your year or a few hours of your month to a good cause.

Consider what it would feel like to save a kid? Contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org to join now.

Farewell to Our Local Program Founder

2009-12-15T07:19:00.009-05:00

Special Edition: Saying Goodbye to Rob Donnelly

Role model. Caring. Trustworthy. Honest (Ain't that the truth). Respectful. Funny. Hardworking. Unstoppable.

These are just a few of the words our volunteers would and have used to describe Rob Donnelly, the first volunteer for our program, our past Director of Volunteers, and a committed outreach counselor.

In just a few short days, we will say goodbye to Rob, who is graduating from college and moving on. After three years of service to StandUp For Kids - Worcester, Rob has accomplished so much and supported each of us in our endeavors to achieve program goals.

Some of Rob's Achievements:

Recruited every single volunteer that has joined the program to date.
Presented to local services and organizations about our program.
Outreached to youth from April 2008 (first outreach night ever) to December 2009.
Served on the National Don't Run Away Taskforce in 2009.
Planned the opening of our program's outreach center.

Rob has also been here to witness other volunteers accomplishments:

In 2008:

Sue Kramer ran a very successful Shaw's Receipt Campaign
Chris Flagg organized our first resource survey (local services information for kids)
Ally Trull (Director of Outreach) kicked off the first night of outreach and has since ensured street outreach happens on a weekly basis.

In 2009:

All of our volunteers teamed up to run a 24 Hours on the Street event in April 2009.
Mary Ann Stoica organized two volunteer nights to the Mustard Seed (Soup Kitchen) and created the first program newsletter.
Kristina England established an agreement with a local organization to open an Outreach Drop-in Center.
Mari Sayama ran a very successful National Youth Homelessness Awareness event in November - Come Draw with Us.
Brian Bickford kept our many local services documents up-to-date for our youth.
Ken Latham and Donna Katsoudas jumped into the Executive Director positions in November 2009.
Over the past two years, Jose Alvarez has attended the most street outreach nights of any outreach counselor.

As we move forward without Rob, most of us know the biggest challenge and achievement ahead of us is to make him proud of the program's future. Although he'll be gone, Rob has left a well-formed group of volunteers to step up to the plate and continue to serve the youth of our community. He would never want us to focus on the past and how things were when he was here. He would want us to focus on the future and what we can do to save the lives of homeless and at risk youth.

Thank you Rob for all you have done. We know that wherever you go, you will continue to raise awareness of youth homelessness and inspire others to become involved in community outreach. Plus, you can visit us anytime you are in the neighborhood (a.k.a. We'll miss you!)

As Jose Alvarez wrote in Rob's scrapbook: "To the Wo Godfather! Look what you've started!"

Thanking Our Volunteers

2009-12-10T18:17:00.008-05:00

Many of our volunteers commit several hours a week to the StandUp For Kids - Worcester program. Whether outreach counselors, leadership team members, or general program support, they constantly achieve great things for the program.

To recognize our volunteers dedication, we host a Volunteer Appreciation Night once a year. One of the big rules we have is no talking about StandUp For Kids. It's a great way to bond with each other. Also, some of our volunteers don't see each other for months at a time due to scheduling conflicts so the event gives them the opportunity to catch up with one another.

This year's Volunteer Appreciation Event was hosted by Ally Trull (Director of Outreach) on Saturday, December 5th. We enjoyed pizza, games, and the company of Ally's many pets (a rat, a cat, and two kittens).

Other Updates

Thank You to the UMass Memorial Medical Center Nursing Leadership Team!

We received a congratulatory letter from the Nursing Leadership team of UMass Memorial Medical Center on Saturday, December 5th. The Nursing Leadership team expressed appreciation and support for the work that we do with homeless youth in Worcester. They also informed us that they are collecting a holiday donation for our program. Our Co-Executive Directors have been invited to their January meeting to accept the donation and talk to the leadership team about our efforts. Thank you so much to the UMass Memorial Nursing Leadership Team! We are overjoyed by this news and thank you for your support of our program!

The Outreach Scoop

Now that the winter is here, the streets are getting quiet. Like most of us, the kids don't want to stand out in 40 below weather. They find warm places to hang out. This means that our street outreach evenings are getting quiet. Of course, this does not mean that we won't run into any kids. You just never know. That's why we are out there. Because life is unexpected and the kids need us out there to find them in their times of need.

New Volunteers

In November, we trained 5 new volunteers! Welcome to Jacque, Jeff, Megan, Perry, and Ralitsa!

Donna Katsoudas (Co-Executive Director) also ran her first volunteer info session yesterday, December 9th. She presented to four perspective volunteers. Great job, Donna!

A Shout Out for SUFK - Boston

2009-12-03T18:21:00.002-05:00

You're Invited to a StandUp For Kids - Boston Benefit Event!

That's right. We're breaking out of our Worcester box this week to spread the word about a great event benefiting the StandUp For Kids - Boston program.

Boston Talent Showcase

December 11, 2009

Doors open @ 6:30PM

Event starts @ 7:00PM

3rd Floor

437 Boylston Street

Boston, MA

Tickets are $5.00 at the door.

Come enjoy some local Boston talent and support StandUp For Kids - Boston.

SUFK - Boston is an amazing program! We are grateful for such good neighbors. :-)

For more details on the event, check their website: http://www.standupforkids.org/local/massachusetts/boston/

A Special Note on Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:57:00.005-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all our wonderful supporters! We would like to thank you all for continuing to spread the word about our program. And thank you to those who have responded to our donation requests over the last year. You have all made a difference in the lives of the kids we work with on the streets.

As you sit to have dinner today, please keep the homeless youth of America in your minds and hearts. These kids are out there right now, possibly without food and without a warm place to stay. They need our help to ensure they do not end up another statistic. 13 kids should not die on the street everyday. They not only need our donations - food, clothes, etc. They need someone to care about them out there. Someone to provide them with their options other than living on the streets.

There are so many ways you can help. Talk about the reality of youth homelessness at your dinner tables during the holidays. Sponsor a donation drive for our program. Join our terrific team of volunteers. If you are in a city outside of Worcester, join a local program or start one where one does not exist.

Just think of the number of kids out there that will die without our help everyday. One kid is too many.

And for those with youth in your household today, give your kid a big hug and thank him or her for each amazing moment he or she has brought into your life.

May your day be full of joy and happiness!

Welcome Worcester's New Co-Executive Directors!

2009-11-20T12:56:00.003-05:00

On November 14th, Donna Katsoudas and Ken Latham stepped into the Co-Executive Director roles at the StandUp For Kids Worcester program. Donna is the Program Contact for the group (facilitating meetings, assisting info sessions, etc.) and Ken is the National Contact for the group (monthly reports, National Executive Director conference calls, etc.). Liz Burrows will assist Donna and Ken as the Treasurer for the program (budget tracking, expense reimbursements, etc.).

This week, Donna facilitated her first meeting. She did a wonderful job! Ken also sat in on his first Executive Director conference call last week and provided an update to the program at the meeting.

Sue Kramer took a picture of the new Co-Executive Directors shaking hands with Kristina England, who served as Executive Director of the program for the past year. In picture (from left to right): Donna Katsoudas, Ken Latham, and Kristina England.

Best of luck to Donna and Ken in their new roles!

What are you up to this Saturday?

2009-11-19T12:28:00.000-05:00

We're holding our National Youth Homelessness Awareness Event this Saturday, November 21st. You're invited!!!

Saturday, November 21st

11:00AM-12:00PM

City Hall, Worcester

Join us in front of City Hall to draw the StandUp For Kids logo on the sidewalk (with chalk of course). We'll be passing out flyers and answering questions as well. Come have some fun and meet our volunteers. Look for us in the purple shirts!!

If you have facebook, you can RSVP at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=189431022000&ref=mf. If you don't have facebook, but want to contact us about the event, see our contact info at the top right corner of the blog.

Join Our Program!
Volunteer with us! We'd love to have your help! Attend our next info session:

Wednesday, December 9th

7:00PM-8:00PM

Worcester Public Library

After you attend an info session, you are then invited to volunteer training (2 hours). If you are also interested in becoming an outreach counselor, we conduct a separate outreach training (2 hours) as well.

You don't have to volunteer with us to make a difference. Spread the word about the reality of youth homelessness. Every voice counts!

It's Our Birthday!

2009-11-13T08:52:00.001-05:00

It's StandUp For Kids Worcester's Birthday Today!

Happy Birthday, StandUp For Kids Worcester!

That's right! Have some cake at lunch or dinner today to celebrate with us!

On November 13, 2008 at 7:13PM, National recognized the Worcester program as an official chapter of StandUp For Kids! That means we are officially one year old. The date and time were picked by Founder Rick Koca as a reminder that 13 kids die on the streets everyday. Our mission is to find, stabilize, and help these kids through weekly street outreach.

The Worcester program was first established in 2006 so we actually have two birthdays - not a bad deal.

A big thank you to all our supporters (that means anyone that is reading this right now)! Thank you for spreading the word, providing our kids with much needed resources through donations, and just for being you.

And a very special thank you to our volunteer team! They are a WONDERFUL group of people. WONDERFUL doesn't even begin to express how much dedication and support our volunteers provide this program.

Please congratulate our program on 1 year of outstanding work!

Join Our Program!

2009-11-12T16:38:00.000-05:00

We are always looking for new volunteers to join our program. If you have interest in marketing a non-profit, conducting street outreach to youth, or any skills that you would like to share with a great team of volunteers, join us! We would love to have you!

Next Info Session:
Wednesday, December 9th
7:00PM
Worcester Public Library

Our very own Donna Katsoudas will be conducting her first volunteer info session. Come learn about StandUp For Kids and youth homelessness in America.

Come Draw with Us!
Meet up with us on November 21st at 11:00 a.m. at the Downtown Common (We're the group all in purple). November is National Youth Homelessness Awareness Month so to raise awareness, we'll be drawing the StandUp For Kids logo on the common (with chalk, of course!), handing out fliers, and answering your questions.

Our Outreach Team Loves Halloween!

2009-11-05T18:03:00.000-05:00

Getting in the Halloween Spirit
With the Outreach Center open on Saturdays, two of our outreach counselors got to conduct street outreach on Halloween. Ally Trull (Director of Outreach) and Jose Alvarez got all dressed up and headed out to talk to kids (see picture to the left). As always, our outreach counselors are amazing!

Updated Wish List

We've updated our Wish List on the StandUp For Kids Worcester website. Food bags are our number 1 need right now. If you are part of a youth group, church, organization, or class that would like to prepare food bags for us, please contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org or 774- 242-4289. We also have a Gift in Kind Donation Form on our Wish List page for your convenience.

Gearing up for November

2009-10-29T18:17:00.000-04:00

November is approaching and it's a big month for us. First, November is National Youth Homelessness Awareness Month. Our volunteers are currently planning an outdoor event to be held Downtown. More information about the event will be posted in the weeks to come.

The Worcester Program will also celebrate one year as an official program on Friday, November 13th. Yes, we started developing the program in 2006, but we were officially recognized by the National Office last year. We're looking forward to celebrating all our achievements over the last year!

November is also bringing some changes for our group.

On November 1st, Rob Donnelly will step down from the Director of Volunteers position as he gets ready to graduate from Clark University this December. Rob will continue to volunteer with the group until mid-December, assisting with street outreach and the outreach center.

And on November 13th, Kristina England will step down from the Executive Director position to focus her efforts on volunteer training as Director of Adult Volunteers. The program is currently working on filling her position (more updates on this position are forthcoming).

November is going to be a busy month for our volunteers with street outreach, events, and changes. With such an amazing group of people, the month will bring much excitement and achievements.

Thank you to all our volunteers for your efforts. You are the best!

For those interested in joining the program, please contact us. You can find our contact info at the top right corner of the blog.

Thank you Clark University!

2009-10-22T17:32:00.000-04:00

We've Got Socks!

Last night, students from a Management Class at Clark University hosted a sock drive for the StandUp For Kids - Worcester program. The sock drive was held in the cafeteria, where students donated money to try their luck at a sock toss. Students that successfully threw a sock into the hoop (displayed to the right) won raffle tickets.

A few of our volunteers were there to answer questions about the program: Rob Donnelly (Director of Volunteers), Sue Kramer (Director of Kid Development), Ken Latham (Outreach Counselor), and Allyson Trull (Director of Outreach). Money collected during the event will be used to purchase socks in bulk for our kids.

Thank you to the Clark University Management Class for hosting the event and spreading the work about SUFK! And thank you to all the students at Clark University who participated in the sock drive! Your donation will provide a homeless or at risk youth with a new pair of socks.

Also, thank you to our volunteers who participated in the event! And to Sue for taking such wonderful pictures!

Donation Request

2009-10-15T18:13:00.000-04:00

Baby Clothes Donations

We are currently looking for baby clothes from 0 to six months. Please contact us at 774-242-4289 if you would like to make a donation.

Thank you to Jessica Rosen for her continued support of the program. She provided us with much needed baby supplies last week.

Spreading Awareness: Alpha Gamma Meeting

On Thursday, October 8th, Ally Trull, Director of Outreach, presented to Alpha Gamma, a local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma (a retired of practicing and retired women educators). Thank you to Laurie Dunleavy for inviting us to speak at Alpha Gamma's meeting.

Welcome to SUFK Worcester's New Volunteers!

The following four volunteers joined the StandUp For Kids Program in September and October:

Liz Barge
Keisha Grant
Mari Sayama
Mohsin Syed

Join Our Program!

Thank You, KarmaThreads!

2009-10-08T18:22:00.000-04:00

We've got backpacks and blankets!

Thank you to KarmaThreads, a postive messaging apparel company located in New Hampshire, for their donation of backpacks and blankets to the Worcester Program. We can't wait to hand these donations out to kids at the outreach center and during street outreach. Rhonda, thank you and your company for your support!

Food Bag Drive: A Success!

Thank you to the Mission Committee at Wesley United Methodist Church in Worcester for hosting a food drive for the Worcester program. Several parishioners stopped by to help Chris Flagg (Co-Director of Community Resource Development) and Kristina England (Executive Director) make food bags for our kids. A total of 72 bags were made!

Coming Soon: Clark University Sock Drive!

Students from a Management Class at Clark University will host a sock drive for our program from Monday, October 19th to Wednesday, October 21st. On Monday and Tuesday, they will set up an information table about our program from 1:00PM-3:00PM and 5:00PM-7:00PM. Volunteers from our program will be there to talk to students, faculty, and staff at the University. The sock drive will happen on Wednesday at 6:00PM.

Become a Volunteer

There are several great ways to volunteer with StandUp For Kids - Worcester:

Host a food drive
Join our street outreach team
Spread the word as part of the public relations/marketing team
Take on a leadership role (i.e. Director of Volunteers)

You'll join a great group of volunteers and more importantly, you'll be helping the youth of our city.

Contact worcester@standupforkids.org or 774-242-4289 for more information.

Outreach Center, Food Bags, and More!

2009-10-01T17:06:00.000-04:00

Outreach Center Update

The Outreach Center has officially been open for a month. This past week, we helped two kids build resumes and fill out applications for local jobs. Thank you to Ally Trull (Director of Street Outreach), Rob Donnelly (Director of Volunteers), and Donna Katsoudas (Outreach Counselor) for volunteering at the center this past week.

We need food bags!

The StandUp For Kids - Worcester Program is still in need of food bags. We distribute food bags every week to our youth during street outreach and at the outreach center. If you are interested in donating food bags, please contact worcester@standupforkids.org.

What's in a food bag?

Juice box/water
Cup of ravioli, spaghetti, etc. (pop top) or Bumblebee Chicken/Tuna Salad with Crackers
Pudding/Fruit Cup (pop up)
Candy bar
Granola bar
Napkin and plastic ware

Thank you to Wesley United Methodist Church!

The Ministry Committee at Wesley United Methodist Church is donating food bags to us on Sunday, October 4th. Thank you to all the parishioners at WUMC for your continued support!

Behind the Scenes: Marketing Committee

Keisha Grant, a new SUFK volunteer, is working on marketing our program to local media. She just got us an Advertisment in the November issue of Bay State Parent Magazine. Thank you, Keisha!

Join Our Outreach Team

2009-09-24T19:33:00.000-04:00

Honestly, right now, the Worcester program could use a few more people as outreach counselors. We have a dedicated group of counselors but we could never have too many. The most important part of outreaching is our kids. We talk to kids 21 and under on the streets. Often we run into the same kids on a regular basis. We check in on them, find out what's new in their life, show that someone cares, and they can count on us to be there on a weekly basis.

Outreach Counselor Expectations:

Volunteer as little as 2 hours a month.
Attend basic and outreach training.
Partner up with another volunteer (You never do outreach alone).

Come to our Volunteer Information Session on Wednesday, September 30th @ 7:00PM in the Banx Room of the Worcester Public Library if you are interested in joining our outreach team.

Plus, if you don't think outreach is your thing, join one of our many other teams: Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations, Community Resource Development, etc.

What if I can't make it to the September info session?

Last Week's Street Outreach Stats

Number of Regular Kids Assisted: 4

Number of New Kids Assisted: 10

Number of Kids Provided a Meal: 6

Getting the Word Out

2009-09-17T16:39:00.000-04:00

For our volunteers, raising awareness of youth homelessness is a big part of what we do. Yes, we conduct street outreach every week to connect with the youth. But we also need to make our community aware that youth homelessness is real. 13 kids will die each day on the streets. Our job and your job is to make sure kids understand their other options before they runaway.

Don't Runaway Program
The Worcester program is actively participating in the National Don't Runaway Taskforce. Our hope is to help enhance the program and eventually start programs within our own community. These programs allow college and high school kids to take action in preventing youth homelessness. The DRA Program should be implemented in every city and every town. But we as an organization need the help of the community to do this. Find out more here: http://www.dontrunaway.org/.

Awareness Events
While we would definitely like to implement the Don't Runaway Program in the Worcester schools, we are still getting the word out with the volunteers we have by attending awareness events:

Rob Donnelly (Director of Volunteer) and Kristina England (Executive Director) attended the Wesley United Methodist Church Ministry Fair on Sunday, September 13th. They handed out information about the program and wish lists. A few people even signed up to volunteer with the program. We definitely hope to see them all on Wednesday, September 30th at our next Information Session (7:00PM @ Worcester Public Library, Banx Room). Thanks to Chris Flagg (Director of Community Resource Development) for getting us a table at this event!

Allyson Trull, Director of Outreach, will present to Alpha Gamma on Thursday, October 8th about StandUp For Kids.

Get the Word Out
You don't have to be a StandUp For Kids volunteer to spread awareness about youth homelessness. Tell your family and friends about us and our mission. Remember - Every voice counts!

The Outreach Center is Open

2009-09-10T17:52:00.000-04:00

As the blog sometimes gets a bit long, here are the topics you'll find below:

The Outreach Center Update
Weekly Food Basket Request
Food Bags Needed
The August Street Outreach Numbers

The Outreach Center Update

The Outreach Center is now open every Saturday. Thank you to the following outreach counselors for volunteering throughout the day on Saturday: Jose Alvarez, Oz Diaz, Rob Donnelly, Kristina England, Ken Latham, and Ally Trull.

Weekly Food Basket Request

We've been looking at our food supply and thought it might be a good idea to have a basket of "healthy" food such as fruit, cheese, trail mix, etc. Basic healthy food for the kids to eat at the center or take with them.

If anyone is interested in preparing a food basket for us, let us know. You can sign up for one week, once a month, whatever you like. Contact Oz Diaz, Director of the Outreach Center, at ozd@standupforkids.org.

Food Bags Needed!

We are now collecting food bags for distribution during street outreach. A food bag contains the following items:

Juice Box/Water
Candy Bar
Pudding/Fruit Cup (pop top)
Cup of ravioli, spaghetti, etc. (pop top)
Bumblebee Chicken or Tuna Salad with Crackers
Granola Bar
Napkin and plastic ware

Contact worcester@standupforkids.org if you would like to donate food bags. This can be a great project for students, youth groups, etc.

The August Street Outreach Numbers

So you are probably wondering how many kids we assist each month. Here are the numbers from August:

15 Regular Kids Assisted
41 New Kids Assisted
20 Kids Provided with Meals

This is the total amount of kids we saw in four weeks (one day outreach a week).

The Outreach Center Opens in Two Days!

2009-09-03T17:36:00.000-04:00

That's right! Only two more days until we open the Outreach Center! We have been very fortunate over the past few months. Thank you to everyone who has made the Outreach Center possible. A big thank you to Crystal Bowman from National for helping us throughout the whole process!

The volunteers have been planning away but we also know that this center is going to be a learning experience for us and for the kids. As we move forward, you'll get plenty of updates on the outreach center and our continued growth as a program.

What's Happening

Rob Donnelly and Donna Katsoudas presented information about our program to the Greater Worcester Community Foundation last week. Great job, guys!

Tracy Altan and Beth Connors from StandUp For Kids - Boston will stop by Worcester in the near future to attend our next training session. Tracy and Beth plan to start conducting training for the Boston program. SUFK Worcester is looking forward to their visit. Boston has a great group of volunteers. If you are in the Boston area, check out their Program Website or join their Facebook Group.

The Outreach Center Opens in 9 Days!

2009-08-28T07:05:00.000-04:00

The countdown is here! Only nine more days and we open the doors to the Outreach Drop-in Center.

Oz Diaz, Director of Outreach Center, has been busy preparing the outreach center process. On Saturday, August 29th (tomorrow), he will meet with the outreach center counselors (Ally, Donna, Ken, Kristina, and Rob) to go over the process.

New Volunteers
We have a few new volunteers attending training in mid-September. If you are interested in our program, contact us at worcester@standupforkids.org. We hold an information session every month.

The Youth Homeless Numbers in Worcester
Worcester Community Connections is conducting a survey to find out the number of homeless youth in Worcester. StandUp For Kids was asked among other agencies to survey kids last week. Oz Diaz, Rob Donnelly, and Donna Katsoudas surveyed several kids during street outreach. We'll keep you posted on the outcome of this survey.

The Summer Newsletter is Here!

2009-08-20T22:01:00.000-04:00

Thank you to Rob Donnelly (Director of Volunteers) for creating the Summer 2009 Newsletter. You can read it now at the StandUp For Kids Worcester Program Site. The newsletter link is on the right corner of the page (scroll down just a little). Plus, our site is looking very nice from all the design updates that Rob requested. Thanks to David at National for keeping up with us!

Outreach Center Update

Ally Trull (Director of Street Outreach) and the Outreach Counselors continue to spread the word to kids about the Outreach Center opening. Oz Diaz (Director of Outreach Center) and a couple Outreach Counselors will also hit the streets on opening day to remind kids about the center and take the walk to the outreach center with any kids interested. Outreach Counselors will be back at the center ready with opening day activities.

Interested in Volunteering? Meet Us on Wednesday, August 26th

We are having an information session for anyone interested in volunteering for StandUp For Kids (SUFK):

Wednesday, August 26th

7:00PM

Banx Room

Worcester Public Library

You will get all the details on SUFK from Rob Donnelly. Contact us with any questions at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Donations. Donations. Donations.

We have obtained several outreach center supplies. We now have a laptop, television, filing cabinet, etc. Thanks to everyone who has donated!

We still need more items for both street outreach and the outreach center: Wish List.

Also, thank you to volunteer Donna Katsoudas for her fund development efforts this month. She created a great donation letter and wish list for local businesses, and began reaching out to local businesses.

The Don't Run Away Taskforce: Progress! Progress! Progress!

The National Don't Run Away Taskforce continues to make progress in updating the Don't Run Away Program. The Website Team has developed all preliminary web content for the new site. The updated Don't Run Away Training Manual is in progress. And drafts of the DRA Informational Presentation and DRA Fact Sheet have been completed. Thank you to Rob Donnelly and Kristina England (Executive Director) who continue to serve on the taskforce.

Announcing the Director of Outreach Center

2009-08-13T21:05:00.000-04:00

Outreach Center Update

One of our outreach counselors, Oz Diaz, has stepped up to the new Director of Outreach Center position. Oz shows amazing commitment to street outreach and promises to bring a positive energy and dedication to this leadership position.

Stopping By Boston

Rob Donnelly, Director of Volunteers, visited the StandUp For Kids - Boston program on Sunday, August 9th. The Boston program is a great group of people. If you are in the Boston area and interested in volunteering for SUFK, please visit their site for more information: http://www.standupforkids.org/local/Massachusetts/boston/.

This Week's Worcester Update

2009-08-06T20:59:00.001-04:00

Outreach Center Update

Six of our volunteers met today to discuss the opening of the outreach center. Some great ideas/suggestions were brought up along with questions to address before we open the drop-in center.

We are looking for some outreach center supplies. Check out our wish list at: http://www.standupforkids.org/local/Massachusetts/Worcester/wishlist.html. If you would like to donation supplies, please contact worcester@standupforkids.org.

We are also currently seeking volunteers for the outreach center. If you are interested in volunteering at our new outreach center, please attend our next volunteer information session:

Wednesday, August 26th

7:00PM

Banx Room

Worcester Public Library

RSVP to worcester@standupforkids.org.

Keeping Up on the Local News

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette published an article today entitled "Street survivors" that talks about a group of young adults in Worcester that call themselves Street Survivors. Here's the link: http://www.telegram.com/article/20090806/NEWS/908060580/1101

Countdown to September

2009-07-30T19:20:00.000-04:00

The Outreach Center Update

It's official. We have an Outreach Drop-in Center for kids that will open in September for one day a week. The outreach counselors began spreading the word this week to kids.

Very shortly, we will announce the addition of a new leader to our team: Director of Outreach Center.

Program of the Month!

Each month, the StandUp For Kids National Office picks a city program as their program of the month. Worcester just found out we are program of the month for July 2009! We are so proud of our wonderful team of volunteers. Each volunteer continues to bring amazing value to the team. Keep up the good work!

Coming Soon: The Summer 2009 Newsletter

Rob Donnelly is currently working on our Summer 2009 Newsletter. Articles include:

Greetings from the Executive Director
Volunteer Spotlight
Becoming a Volunteer: A How to Guide
Calendar of Events

The newsletter letter will be posted to our official StandUp For Kids City Program site (http://www.standupforkids.org/local/Massachusetts/Worcester/). A shortcut will be included in an upcoming blog.

Updates to Our Resource Documents

Brian Bickford, Director of Community Resource Development, is currently updating two of our resource documents for kids: Food Pantries & Meals Served and the Long Resource list (includes Job Resources and Transportation). The outreach counselors use these lists to help out kids on a weekly basis during street outreach. It's very important to keep these documents up-to-date so that we are providing our kids with the best information possible.

A Quick Update

2009-07-23T19:50:00.000-04:00

Outreach Drop-in Center

The Outreach Center agreement will be signed within the next week. We are making plans for the first month (i.e. communicating the location to kids, pulling together supplies for the center, and identifying some activities to hold at the center).

Don't Runaway Taskforce

Kristina England and Rob Donnelly are helping the National Office restructure the Don't Runaway Program. This program allows StandUp For Kids to reach out to at risk kids within the elementary and middle schools. College and high school students can also start school clubs and present to youth in their community. Here is the link to the current site: http://www.dontrunaway.org/ (the new site is still in development).

Invite Us to Present at Organization

We are always available to present about StandUp For Kids. Just email us at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Making Donations

If you are interested in making donations to our group, please check out our wish list or email us at worcester@standupforkids.org.

Sign Up Your Shaw's Rewards Card

2009-07-16T21:08:00.000-04:00

Want to help SUFK? Enroll your Shaws reward card in a special program and then just shop. Easy to enroll, secure, confidential. We can also provide your donation for tax purposes. For more information on the program and how to enroll, email suek@standupforkids.org Your email address will not be used for anything other than the Shaws donation program.

Don't Forget: We're on Facebook

Want to Become a Volunteer?

Just contact worcester@standupforkids.org. We have several different committees you can pick from: Outreach, Community Resource Development, Public Relations, Recruitment, Fund Development, Training, or Program Support. There are no set hours for volunteering. If you can only volunteer a couple hours a month, that's fine with us. Every effort helps!

The Latest From Worcester

2009-07-09T19:59:00.000-04:00

As always, street outreach is going well. Ally Trull and Rob Donnelly are beginning to plan ways to advertise the outreach center., which will open in the first week of September.

Upcoming Events

Volunteers will participate in the Turn Purple Campaign on Sunday, July 19th at 12:00 p.m. in Elm Park. This event spreads awareness about the number 1 cause of youth homelessness: child abuse. Volunteers will dress in purple (including purple face paint) and hand out flyers to cars driving by.

Another Update from Rainy Worcester

2009-07-02T18:21:00.000-04:00

Yes, the blog skipped a week because I went away and forgot to have someone else update it. Whoops.

The weather in Worcester has been mostly rain. We only saw two days of sun in June. However, the outreach counselors have begun to meet more and more kids on outreach nights. Come this September, we should be able to provide these kids with an address for our outreach drop-in space. That way, when the rain still hasn't stopped, they have some place to go that is dry and safe.

Latest Happenings

Volunteers Brian Bickford, Allyson Trull, and Osvaldo Daiz participated in the Community Health Link Fair event held on June 17, 2009 at the PIP Shelter in Worcester. They provided information about our program as well as distributed hygiene kits. Homeless guests staying at the PIP Shelter enjoyed the food, health services and great music which brought a needed joy into their lives.

This week, we received a generous donation from Ben E. Factors Foundation, a group that continues to be a great support to our program.

The outreach center committee continues to work hard on planning for the outreach center. We are just finalizing an agreement with the location for the drop-in center. Rob Donnelly has drafted a wonderful plan for us. Now we just need to recruit some more volunteers so that we have enough outreach counselors for both street outreach and the outreach center.

Don't Runaway Taskforce and More!

2009-06-18T17:50:00.000-04:00

Don't Runaway Program Update

Rob Donnelly (Director of Volunteers) and Kristina England (Executive Director) are now fully engaged in the Don't Runaway Taskforce. The Taskforce is taking a look at the current National Don't Runaway Program and making enhancements, including:

A new website for local programs and school clubs
Updated training documentation
Informational materials for distribution.

We look forward to helping out the National program and gaining an understanding of how we can establish Don't Runaway Programs in Massachusetts.

Find out more about the Don't Runaway Program at http://www.dontrunaway.org/.

Safety in Numbers Conference

On Friday June 12^th, Rob Donnelly and Allyson Trull (Director of Outreach) attended the Safety in Numbers²: The Power of Prevention and Partnerships For At-Risk Youth Conference presented by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Youth Violence Prevention Program in Worcester. Rob and Ally attended workshops on:

Youth development approaches in working with at-risk youth,
Non-violent conflict resolution,
The use of community mobilization to address violence, and
Working with urban, at-risk youth.

They also participated in a panel discussion on collaboration between different youth programs and organizations in order to effect greater change and heard a lecture on the modern challenges of youth violence from the keynote speaker, James Alan Fox, Ph.D., professor of Law, Policy and Society at Northeastern University.

The conference provided information that will help the group incorporate some new perspectives and approaches into their work with Worcester youth. It was also a great opportunity to network with other organizations in Worcester and meet like-minded people who are working for a better future for youth throughout the state of Massachusetts.

What We're Up To This Week

2009-06-11T22:32:00.000-04:00

Ally Trull returned to street outreach this week with the outreach counselors.

As we move into the second year of street outreach, we would like to try out other street outreach locations. Right now we focus on Downtown and Main South. Any suggestions on other places to try street outreach would be great. We outreach to kids 21 years and under.

What do we provide?

Immediate resources (e.g., food, clothes, sleeping bags)
Long term support (educational assistance, job search support, life-skills training, etc.)
Counselors who care and, at even turn, prove it

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Other Activities

Currently, Rob Donnelly and Kristina England are working on updating both the basic volunteer training and street outreach training. As the program makes plans for an Outreach Center, we will also need to look at developing training materials for Outreach Center counselors.

The next Volunteer Information Session is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24th at 7:00 p.m. in the Worcester Public Library. Come check it out. We have a great group of volunteers and, with an Outreach Center in the near future, we could really use a few more extra hands.

SUFK Worcester Welcomes Back Ally!

2009-06-04T20:50:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to have Ally Trull, Director of Outreach, back with us after four months of studying aboard. Ally is both a knowledgeable and dedicated street outreach counselor. Her return to the street outreach program promises to strengthen an already wonderful group of counselors.

In other news, we are currently working on an agreement with a local organization for an Outreach Drop-in Center. Our plan is to open a drop in center for a couple hours once a week to The center provide a place for kids to:

Pick up food, clothes, and other resources
Attend activities (e.g., films, workshops)
Utilize our services (e.g., GED program information, resume building).

Achievements

Congratulations to the following volunteers for receiving volunteer of the month:

Sue Kramer - Volunteer of the Month, April 2009
Mary Ann Stoica - Volunteer of the Month, May 2009

Upcoming Events

Ally Trull and Rob Donnelly will attend the MA Dept of Public Health Youth Violence Prevention Conference on June 12th in Worcester.

Oz Diaz, Rob Donnelly, Sue Kramer, and Ally Trull will attend the Community Health Link Fair in mid-June.

This Week at StandUp For Kids - Worcester

2009-05-28T20:23:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, Sue (Director of Kid Development) did a great job running the volunteer meeting when Kristina (Executive Director) and Rob (Director of Volunteers) were absent. Thank you, Sue! And thank you to Donna for taking the minutes!

This past Tuesday, our outreach counselors went out to the streets, as they do every week, and talked to youth. They are the most dedicated and caring people an outreach program could have. We could not be where we are today without their commitment.

Rob ran the monthly volunteer information session on Wednesday, May 27th. He has put together a wonderful informational presentation. Come check it out at next month's information session on June 24th. If you are not interested in volunteering, just come and learn about StandUp For Kids. We need help in all forms, from donations to spreading the word throughout the community. You can stand up for kids just by recognizing the fact that there are homeless and at-risk youth out there that need our help.

This evening, Kristina, Rob, and Mary Ann (Director of Public Relations) wrapped up the second Outreach Center Committee Meeting. They have made great progress. Rob has even developed a in depth Outreach Center Plan.

Lastly, thank you to Mary Ann for writing up a short article for the May National Newsletter on our 24 Hours on the Street event (April 24-25, 2009). A picture of the event is posted above.

Worcester Makes Plans for an Outreach Center

2009-05-21T21:39:00.000-04:00

The Worcester Program's number one goal for 2009 is to obtain an Outreach Center. We hope to have more news about this venture shortly.

How can you help us reach our goal?

Join the group as a volunteer. You can assist with the outreach center, public relations, volunteer recruitment, or more! Our next information session is on Wednesday, May 27th at 7:00 p.m. in the Banx Meeting Room at the Worcester Public Library.
Donations are always welcome. Visit our fundraising page at www.firstgiving.com/standupforkidsworcester.

Recent Achievements

Our wonderful Director of Public Relations, Mary Ann, wrote a news article regarding the Worcester Program's 24 Hours on the Street (April 24-25, 2009) event that will appear in the StandUp For Kids National Newsletter. Great job, Mary Ann!

Recap on our visit to Boston

2009-05-14T18:57:00.000-04:00

Three of our Worcester Program volunteers traveled to Boston on Saturday, May 9th. The SUFK Boston program invited us to attend their volunteer training and Youth Pride Day. Kristina England (Executive Director) along with a new volunteer, Donna, attended the volunteer training. Rob Donnelly (Director of Volunteers) assisted SUFK Boston volunteers at Youth Pride Day. We had an incredible time and really enjoyed getting to know the Boston volunteers. Thank you to Ben and Bernie for extending the invitation. The picture on the left is of Rob and Ben at Youth Pride Day on the Boston Common.

Upcoming

Kristina speaks at the Alpha Gamma Meeting on Thursday, May 21st. Alpha Gamma is a local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, a society of practicing and retired educators.

We are also very excited to have Allyson Trull (Director of Outreach) arriving home from a semester in Spain at the end of May. We can't wait for her return!

Welcome to the StandUp For Kids Worcester Blog!

2009-05-07T22:34:00.001-04:00

That's right. StandUp For Kids Worcester now has a blog. If you're here, you are probably curious about our program. StandUp For Kids Worcester is one of over 40 programs across the country who are committed to helping homeless youth ages 21 and under.

What are we up to this week?

Our outreach counselors go to the streets weekly to help homeless and at risk youth in Worcester.
A few of us are heading out to see the StandUp For Kids Boston program on Saturday, May 9th. We'll attend refresher volunteer training and assist the Boston program with a local awareness event.

Recent Achievements

Worcester recently completed 24 Hours on the Street on April 24th and April 25th to raise awareness about youth homelessness. During the event, we held a Candlelight Vigil, the Walk in the Shoes of a Street Kid, the Turn Purple Campaign, and seven hours of Street Outreach. Check out the YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DOYt7k4th4&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fgroup%2Ephp%3Fgid%3D10114422519%26ref%3Dts&feature=player_embedded

Check out this blog on a weekly basis for more about our program.