Happy 1-Year Anniversary to Our Mentoring Couples!

On Sunday, November 21st, Second Chances Mentoring Program held a Closure Celebration for mentoring couples who recently reached the end of their year together. Lots of laughs were shared during our Mentorship Pictionary & Charades, and lots of great food was enjoyed at Acapulco's Sunday brunch! At the heart of the event, mentors and mentees reflected on their year in SCMP by creating and sharing art projects featuring photographs, hand-drawn pictures of their favorite outing, and wishes they have for their new friend.

Kelly shares with her mentee, Erica, her favorite outing together ice skating in Pershing Square, where Erica helped Kelly from falling!

Myesha shares with her mentor, Ana, how she loves how she is always there for her.

While mentors from this round completed their first year, two-thirds are continuing on in their mentoring relationships for a second year with Second Chances. It has been an incredible year for all of our mentors and mentees, and we are so grateful for our mentors' time and talents and so proud of the tremendous growth in our youth! Without our incredible volunteers, SCMP would simply not exist, so to you we are always indebted. Thank you.

Ana Flores & Myesha N.

Anthony McDaniel & Erron W.

Blanca Torres & Eddeshia C.

D'Aundra Hawkins & Chelsea D.

Jeff Shaivitz & William D.

Kelly O'Hara & Erica L.

Nichole Millard & Marielle B.

 

Thank you also to the management and staff at Acapulco, for making this a memorable experience for our mentoring couples and for always being supportive of our program!

SCMP Gears Up for Thanksgiving

On Saturday, November 13, SCMP hosted its group outing at the Japanese American National Museum, participating in the museum's Target Free Saturdays! The second Saturday of every month, Target sponsors a FREE event full of great activities for children and families as well as free admission to the museum's exhibits. This month's theme was Thanksgiving, and our mentoring couples were treated to a full day of crafts to take home and share with their families.

Mentees and mentors constructed origami turkeys, pine cone centerpieces, woven place mats and journals, and turkeys made of plastic cups that could really gobble!

Our deepest thanks go out to the Japanese American National Museum for putting on an incredible event that our mentors and mentees really enjoyed. For more information on the museum's Target Free Family Saturdays, visit their schedule here!

New Non-Profit to Benefit Mentoring Programs

We Get To Give aims to create a program for caring adult volunteers who mentor at-risk and high-risk youth in the Los Angeles area that will allow mentor-mentee pairs to experience events and activities that might otherwise be too expensive for mentors to fund.

We Get To Give is currently in the running for a $5,000 Pepsi Refresh grant that would  incorporate and establish their 501c3 status, solidify the participation of businesses and mentoring organizations, and create ID cards to launch the first year of the program. But in order to receive funding, they need your help! You can vote everyday through November 30 at the link below to help launch this incredible discount program for mentors and their mentees:

http://www.refresheverything.com/wegettogive

Foundation for Second Chances Mentoring and other community-based mentoring programs serving Los Angeles would benefit from the We Get To Give program, helping to ensure that mentors provide opportunities for their mentee to explore Los Angeles outside their usual neighborhoods while still developing and maintaining quality relationships

 FFSC Mentoring is proud to support We Get To Give in their mission, and wish them the best of luck in the competition!

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.