This has certainly been a year of many challenges, but it has also reaffirmed the strength of our YELLS Family and the power of community. We stand in awe of our team who continue to innovate and find new ways to meet the increased and changing needs of our families with grace and creativity. YELLS staff has organized activity supply drop-offs, delivery of donated books, and parent support and family success check-in calls to provide parents with tools and coping strategies throughout the pandemic. We’ve also raised funds to provide rent assistance for families and are offering support and referrals to meet other immediate needs (technology, groceries, utilities, mental health, etc.).
Currently, all of our programming is digital to ensure the safety of youth and staff. Our team is expertly navigating virtual programming, providing engaging workshops, emotional support and wellness, and individualized tutoring daily. They are ensuring our students are successful in digital learning and pouring in love, coupled with tools to help youth and their parents through this challenging time. Check out some of the creative ways each of our programs is working to reach, uplift, and empower youth during this time.
YELLS Mentoring Program
Bigs and Littles are learning new ways to stay connected and build their relationships during this time. Our amazing Mentoring Coordinator, Brittany, has been super-creative and found safe ways for our youth to connect. Just like they would in school, Bigs get to eat lunch with each other through “Zoom’fe” sessions to just talk about whatever is on their mind. To engage Bigs and Littles, we’ve led both a virtual and a socially-distanced, outdoor virtual Paint & Connect event where youth received all the supplies and an expert instructor to lead them in painting beautiful art.
Our Bigs are also inspired to raise their voices in the ongoing struggle for racial justice and equity. They are in the process of producing a series of interviews and conversations that explore our country’s social unrest on a more personal level and share different perspectives. Our Bigs are hoping to keep the dialogue open and move people to understanding and change. One of our YELLS alumna and former Bigs, Raigon Wilson, is helping Bigs develop the skills and tools to plan their project effectively. Hear from Raigon what it means to her to give back and help our Bigs with this project:
YELLS Afterschool Program
The YELLS Afterschool Program has been busy! Our youth have explored the world on virtual fieldtrips, welcomed special guests like the only female Fire Marshall in New York City, created PSAs, and discovered how they can impact their community starting at home. Youth are also learning to nurture a growth mindset by turning negative thoughts into “I can” statements. It’s amazing to see our youth show up on Zoom with excitement each day. Even for academic support, they are enthusiastic and appreciative to receive one-on-one help from our staff and interns. Academic enrichment power sessions are tailored to the individual needs of students and pull from a resource bank of interactive activities designed by our Scholar Success Specialist. Through all this work and growth, our youth (and our team, too!) have lots of FUN! Check out some of K-5th grade youth in action:
YELLS Community Action Café
Our YELLS Community Action Café teens have always prospered from the support system they find in each other, but this has been especially important during this time. Their strong sense of family has helped them navigate the isolation, fear, frustration and hurt with both the pandemic and heightened reminders of racial injustice. Youth receive daily motivation and are learning coping and mindfulness practices. Our youth are developing resiliency and a growth mindset as they draw from the strength of each other. Staff are helping YELLS teens work through their own emotions and find ways they can be a part of the national conversation around racial justice.
Café teens are also exploring new models for virtually building community and uplifting their neighbors in the time of social distancing – which is more important now than ever. They are in the process of interviewing for their “Apprenticeship Team” roles and strategizing how they can work as a team to convert the daily coffee they served in their Café to “virtual coffee cups” of love and empowerment. In December, they are looking forward to leading an “Uplift-A-Thon” phone bank to call community members and spread joy through gratitude.
Throughout the pandemic, staff have explicitly modeled mindfulness practices and taught youth about how the brain works. Youth learn that the brain is a tool and we can train it to work to our advantage. By exploring healthy and unhealthy self-talk and understanding how the brain processes and remembers what it hears repeated, youth can take control of their thoughts. Our youth are more aware of their thinking and use tools like affirmations to choose their thoughts intentionally. Positive self-talk is an incredibly powerful resource for youth to navigate our current times and provide the foundation for emotional wellness.
