FFSC Mentoring Now Accepting Mentor Applications!

 

Foundation for Second Chances Mentoring is now accepting Mentor Applications! FFSC Mentoring provides a unique opportunity for caring adult volunteers to befriend children with incarcerated parents in the Los Angeles community. Our mentors come from all different backgrounds, professions, and experiences, but all of them have the desire to invest their time and heart into our youth.

Mentors and mentees participate in a special matching process through our group Kick Off events. Mentors and mentees meet for the first time at our Mentor Mash Up, getting to know each other through relay races, icebreakers, and team building activities! Two weeks later, everyone pairs off for each of our 3 rounds of Speed Mentoring at Chuck E. Cheese. Mentors and mentees then fill out individual match surveys, choosing who they feel is their best match!

After finding each other, mentors and mentees commit to their mentoring relationship for 1 year, only 6-8 hours per month. Mentors and mentees embark on one-on-one outings of their choosing and at the times best for them, and mentors may also help mentees keep a connection with their incarcerated parent. FFSC Mentoring also hosts optional but fun monthly group outings to bring the mentoring family together! These outings are a great opportunity for mentees to foster relationships with other youth and adults, as well as a great way for mentors to network with other mentors.

Our next round will be launching in March 2011, with Mentor Orientation & Training Sessions starting in January 2011. Don't wait until the last-minute--get the application process started this month! For more information regarding FFSC Mentoring and the application, please contact Program Manager Laura Petry at laura@ffscinc.org OR by phone at (213) 627-1745. You can also fill out a brief intake survey HERE.

A Second Cup for a Second Chance Wine Tasting!

Foundation for Second Chances introduces its 1st Annual Wine Tasting, showcasing some of California's premiere wineries in an elegant atmosphere, all as a part of an ongoing effort to celebrate supporting our youth! The event will not only provide guests an opportunity to experience spectacular wines, but will also allow for the privilege of taking in featured samplings from local restaurants, live performances, participation in silent auctions and raffles, and giving back to the youth of our South Los Angeles community.

So come join us on Wednesday, November 10th from 7 PM - 9 PM at the Los Angeles Art Association Gallery 825! Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door; all proceeds from the event will benefit FFSC's Mentor Program, Reading Wheels Literacy Program, After School Program, and Community Service Initiatives for youth and families in South Los Angeles. You can purchase tickets at our website.

For more information on the event (including sponsorship opportunities!), contact Associate Director Fatima Nelson, at fatima@ffscinc.org, or (213) 627-1745.

SCMP Gets Its Science On, From L.A. to Outer Space!

On Saturday, September 18, Second Chances Mentoring Program hosted its monthly outing at the California Science Center in downtown Los Angeles!

Matt and Eli prepare to be transported through space by IMAX Hubble 3D!

Mentors and mentees started the day being transported into space with the IMAX Hubble 3D, joining astronauts on their daunting task of repairing the legendary Hubble Telescope, and exploring our universe.

Afterward, mentoring couples headed straight to the Science Center's newest exhibit gallery, ECOSYSTEMS! Eight different zones transported our mentors and mentees through Forests, Islands, Deserts, Poles, and even the Urban Zone of our hometown with hands-on activities, interactive displays, and even a live aquarium.

Second Chances After School Program Welcomes the 2010-2011 School Year!

Program Manager Lily Yu plays tic-tac-toe with one of our kindergartners

Monday, September 13th marked the first day of school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Second Chances was there to help launch students at 42nd Street Elementary into a brand new school year! 42nd Street Elementary School not only welcomed new students, but a new principal in Ms. Pittman-Ridgeway, and Second Chances looks forward to building and continuing great relationships with students, teachers, and staff.

Foundation for Second Chances also welcomes its new After School Program Manager, Lily Yu, with open arms! Lily is a UCLA graduate and substitute teacher with over 3 years of after school programming experience, and we can't wait for all the new and exciting plans she has in store for our kids.

In light of these new additions to our family, we are still extremely indebted to and thankful for the groundwork laid by 42nd Street Elementary School's former principal, Dr. Davis, and Second Chances After School Program's former manager, Jason Jones. We wish Dr. Davis the best of luck at her new school, and hope that Mr. Jones will still come visit us!

Come join us for an incredible school year by becoming a volunteer! Be a tutor, workshop leader, or even just a friend to our amazing kids. For more information on how to get involved, please contact Associate Director, Fatima Nelson, at fatima@ffscinc.org.

SCMP Goes for a Dip in the Pool!

On Saturday, August 28th, Second Chances mentor Jennifer Moran graciously hosted this month's group outing at her condominium complex's clubhouse and pool! Mentors and mentees came armed with swimsuits, potluck dishes, and plenty of energy.

While most of the day was spent making cannonballs, playing tag variations, and teaching mentees how to properly float in the water, we made plenty of time to eat a lot of great food, dabble in some arts and crafts, and decorate some delicious cupcakes!

Thanks so much to our mentor, Jenn, for making this without a doubt one of our favorite outings yet!

Tavis Smiley and Second Chances Beautify New Designs!

On August 22nd, 2010, approximately 150 students, ages 13-18, representing the Tavis Smiley Foundation's Youth to Leaders program worked in partnership with Foundation for Second Chances to continue the agency's efforts to transform the campus of New Designs Charter School.

These students, hailing from all over the U.S., experienced a week-long Leadership Institute at the UCLA campus in order to empower them with essential skills to become effective leaders in impacting community change. After a series of workshops and exercises, this group of dynamic teens put theory into practice when they arrived at New Designs Charter School in downtown Los Angeles.

Students cycled through three stations, including planting a flower garden and rolling out new grass, reviving a dull hallway with beautiful new colors, and creating art in a poetry workshop led by spoken word artist Andre Ruiz. Some students were (literally) getting their hands dirty for the first time, but all were inspired to put ideas into action and make visions into reality.

Foundation for Second Chances is grateful to the Tavis Smiley Foundation for the opportunity to work with such a talented and passionate group of youth in serving the South Los Angeles community. We also extend our greatest thanks for the Tavis Smiley Foundation's sponsorship of one of Second Chances' own students in attending the leadership conference.

Below, find a selection of pictures from the day's activities! You can view the full gallery of the beautification project HERE and pictures from all aspects of the Institute HERE.

Mentor Mash Up at La Cienega Park!

It was a beautiful Saturday morning on July 31st at La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills, where Second Chances Mentoring Program launched its second round of 2010! From the Name Game to the Final Relay Race, teams got to know one another and work together in order to send their Mummies through the finish line, morph themselves into Rocks and Caterpillars, tie balloons in a line with one hand, and share a piece of themselves while munching on M&M's.

SCMP Kick Off Highlights








Hall of Fame

Mentors and mentees will meet one last time before finally being matched! We can't wait to see all of you at Chuck E. Cheese next Saturday, August 14th for our Speed Mentoring event!