Join “YELLS with the Cleats” for a Community Soccer Day March 24

Bigs in the YELLS Mentoring Program want you to join them for their second annual Community Soccer Skills Day!  This group of youth – who call themselves “YELLS with the Cleats” – knows how much our Franklin Gateway community loves soccer and knew the beautiful game was the perfect way to bring neighbors together.  They’ll offer soccer skills practice from dribbling to shooting to tricks, so don’t miss the fun on Saturday, March 24 at 10:00 am at the Franklin Gateway Sports Complex.  We also still need equipment (especially soccer balls) and volunteers for March 24 and May 5.

YELLS with the Cleats Flier 2018

At last year’s event, youth and adults alike developed their soccer skills while building relationships with their neighbors.  The AJC even reported from the event!  We’re excited to hold this year’s event on fields at the Franklin Gateway Sports Complex.

The event on March 24 provides the opportunity for neighbors to form teams and sign up for our Franklin Gateway Soccer Tournament on May 5, where apartment complexes will face-off to see who will win the Golden Cup!  With youth and adult teams, the competition is fierce, but there’s a team for everyone!  In addition to our co-ed teams, we also had an all-girls match.  Everyone’s signing up for the tournament, so make sure you come out on March 24 and get your team registered!

Everyone rushes to sign up their team for the tournament!

Everyone rushes to sign up their team for the tournament at least year’s event!

 

 

First Annual Career Expose and College Tour

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The Career Expose

You could see the smiles, hear the eager questions, and feel the energy in the room as our YELLS Community Action Cafe teens – or “Business Scholars” as we call them – interacted with professionals in their career fields of interest.  The first annual Career Expose provided the motivation our students needed to fuel their hard work in school and provide direction for their educational journeys. 

Professionals came from all over Georgia to share their stories with our YELLS teens.  Not only did our YELLS Scholars get to visit representatives from different professions like a typical career fair, but they also had the opportunity to spend more time delving deeper with business and professional leaders in the careers that interested them most.  Our Scholars learned about the educational journey that led guests to their line of work, and also the requirements for pursuing that track.  The students were enlightened and were able to visualize themselves in some of the professions presented. Dr. Shayla Brown, a dentist, came all the way from Albany, Georgia to meet with the teens. One of the teens stated, “I’ve never met a black woman dentist.” It was important for our students to see professionals that look like them. They were inspired and learned that higher education and the various careers can be their reality.

Turner Construction sponsored a table at the event and shared the business of commercial construction. The HR manager, community connections manager, and two project managers were present. Our students were surprised to learn all the different avenues of commercial construction.  Other professions represented included a video game animator, a successful business owner and balloon artist, a massage therapist and health educator, a dance company owner, a Delta flight attendant, a nurse, a representative from the KSU nursing program, a representative from WorkSource Cobb, a fashion merchandiser, a dentist, and a realtor.

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The College Tour

While the seeds of motivation were planted, there was more to be sown.  Tina Adewole, our Community Action Cafe Program Coordinator, was determined to expose our youth to colleges throughout Georgia, and she made it happen!  The first ever YELLS College Tour took youth on a three-day journey visiting nine colleges, including Chattahochee Tech, Kennesaw State University, Life University, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Georgia State University, University of Georgia, and Georgia Gwinnett College.

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YELLS Business Scholars had the opportunity to experience college life and see the different types of schools available to them. Our teens met current students to ask questions and get a feel for college life and what it means to be a college student.  They also visited with admissions personnel and specific academic departments (i.e. nursing, psychology department, business department, performing arts). What was really cool was that our YELLS staff served as alumni tour guides to four of the schools on the tour. It was really special for the students to visit the schools of their instructors.  One Business Scholar shared, “I can really tell you love your school; this makes me want to come here.”  Chris Salley, our Fundraising Specialist VISTA, recounted the power of this experience: “When I got the opportunity to accompany the teens on the first Annual College Tour, it was not only a highlight of my month, but one of the highlights of my term of service with YELLS. Even though I did not go to one of the colleges that we toured, I loved the opportunity to share details of my time in college and help them see that they, too, could be on a college campus one day soon. As we toured Life, Kennesaw State, Morehouse, and Atlanta Clark, I could see the students picturing themselves in the shoes of those students, and being there to witness that is an experience I’ll always cherish.”

Expressing her gratitude, a YELLS teen remarked, “Thank you for taking us on this tour. I probably would have never had this experience if it weren’t for YELLS.”  The tour was truly transformational for some of our youth.  Business Scholars that weren’t sure if they were able to attend college were motivated to keep working hard in school and begin to visualize themselves in higher education. One of our parents even called after the tour and affirmed, “My son has never talked about going to college, but when he came home from the tour, he is now interested in college.”

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Celebrating 10 Years of YELLS: A Look Back, March Edition

Celebrating 10 Years of YELLS: A Look Back

2018 marks the 10 year anniversary of YELLS!  My name is Ruthie Yow and I’m the secretary of the YELLS Board.  My reflection here is one in a series of ten reflections over the ten months between now and YELLS’s October 18 Tenth Anniversary Networking Dinner. Next month’s reflection will offer a different perspective on the path of this amazing organization and the people who make it so incredibly special.

 

When I visited the Community Action Café earlier this month at 779 Franklin Gateway, I was reminded of my first visit to the CAC—when it was located in Woodlands Park.  IMGP7291Some of the youth now engaged with YELLS—and some of our current ardent supporters—may not remember or have known that the CAC was founded in Woodlands Park Apartments on Franklin Road just before the apartments were selected to be the first demolition project made possible by the redevelopment bond.  That CAC was physically different than the one we know today—it was smaller and associated closely with Woodlands, which it called home.  But it was similar in an important respect to our CAC: the positive energy and faith in a bright future that emanated from its kitchen, its comfy nooks, and most importantly, its dynamic teen hosts.  I remember my heartbreak at the demolition of Woodlands, and with it, the former CAC which the YELLS team and its youth had worked so hard to make a reality.

 

Dr. Ruthie Yow hanging out with teens at our Grand Opening of the Community Action Cafe.

Dr. Ruthie Yow hanging out with teens at our Grand Opening of the Community Action Cafe.

The grand opening had been only a few months before the official demolition announcement in 2014. But I also draw on that memory to illustrate how resilient, determined, creative, and powerful the YELLS mission, vision, and youth leaders are! YELLS has, since its founding in 2008, and especially in the last four years, navigated many hurdles.  But its impact continues to resonate on and beyond the Franklin Gateway community; my friends, family, and colleagues who only know Franklin Gateway from the media or brief sojourns in that part of Cobb are always deeply impressed at the way that YELLS youth and families have transformed Franklin Road and with it, the lives of so many children and teens. And every time I come to the CAC, I am greeted by the animated and wonderful faces of the teens who run it and who make it a

home away from home—a place where the meaning of community is tangible through the warm hugs, the hot coffee, and the sweet strawberry muffins that are always on offer. Come visit the CAC as a little “spring break” during your hectic week or month, and come join us on October 18 for our anniversary networking dinner, where we will celebrate TEN YEARS of YELLS!

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YELLS Community Action Cafe teens hosting an Open Mic Night during one of the last events at our location in Woodlands Park Apartments.

Funder Spotlight: CobbWorks Literacy Council

The support of the CobbWorks Literacy Council has been invaluable in educating and empowering our Franklin Gateway community. In addition to our English for Successful Living (ESL) program that they helped us launch, YELLS is now able to offer digital literacy classes to our families, enabling hardworking parents to gain the skills they need to utilize technology to advance their own careers and support their children.  The CobbWorks Literacy Council provided us with five laptops to launch this digital literacy series, and we’ve held “Technology 101” and “Technology & the Online Job Search” classes.  Thanks to a partnership with Compmunity Foundation, we’ve offered these classes in both English and Spanish.

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In a world where computers are essential tools for personal success and access to information, we’re so grateful that the CobbWorks Literacy Council is helping us tackle the digital divide by offering these classes to community members who want to improve their lives.

We’re also looking forward to their upcoming “Are You Smarter than a Ten Year Old?” event where our YELLS fifth graders will serve as the expert lifelines as corporations face-off in a competitive elementary-school trivia challenge!  There’s still time to sign up your company’s team to compete and join in on the fun!  The laugh-filled evening will feature a cocktail reception, auction and an intense competition between sponsor teams vying for bragging rights! All proceeds benefit the CobbWorks Literacy Council’s adult, youth, and family literacy programs, like YELLS.  Support literate, self-sufficient families and help build a competitive, skilled workforce that fuels Cobb’s continued economic growth while showing off your company’s smarts and teamwork. It is a win-win! Sign up your three person team today for just $1500!

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YELLS Youth Spotlight: Abel Luna

Our YELLS youth amaze us each day as they demonstrate servant-leadership. Each month, we honor youth that go above and beyond.  This month we spotlight Abel Luna who exemplifies how to be a YELLS leader:

Abel Luna

Abel Luna ASP

YELLS youth scholars are young members of an evolving community, and Abel Luna, 4th grader at Lockheed Elementary School, is a student leader who sets the example. A soccer lover and loyal friend, Abel uses his passion to influence others who, in turn, uplift him toward success. Abel leads the Afterschool Program soccer group (a co-ed group of 5-10 year olds) as a part of a larger event coordinated by high school “Bigs” in the YELLS Mentoring program. He applies his years of experience with soccer strategies and natural team-building attitude to represent the program in the upcoming tournament. Abel is an easy friend to follow because he leads with a kind heart that enjoys helping others. He even offers a helping hand to teachers during end of the day clean-up! Abel comes from a home full of love, which he knows how to share as the middle son of five children.

Throughout the current 2017-2018 school year, Abel has grown as a person and a student. “In the beginning, we saw a kid who had a lot to give, but wasn’t always sure how. But now, we have a dependable young leader who reminds us why we’re all here as servant-leaders” (Mr. Chris, volunteer teacher in ASP). Abel is as quick to help up an injured player as he is to negotiate with ASP teachers for additional field time for the entire team. He constantly both seeks and finds ways to reach personal goals through focus, hard work, and respectful communication.  When asked how things might change if kids were to govern instead of adults, Abel shared, “…there would be no littering because people would pick up what they leave.” Franklin Gateway has and continues to undergo changes, but with community involvement and support we can be sure that these changes are positive for the people, like Abel and his family, who define its culture.

Abel cheering on his teammates.

Abel cheering on his teammates.

Partner Spotlight: La Amistad

Our English for Successful Living (ESL) classes are a testament to the power of collaboration and resource leveraging.  La Amistad has brought this incredible resource to our Franklin Gateway families, and it’s touched so many lives.  Claudia Mimata, one of our ESL students, shares, “I can better understand my daughter and son’s school because of ESL, and as a business owner, it helps me better serve my customers.”

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Parents had been pleading for years for us to bring English classes to our community, and La Amistad made it happen.  A grant through the WorkSource Cobb Literacy Council allowed us to launch a pilot ESL program, and an instructor from La Amistad, Johanne Jean, led the sessions.  They were so successful that Johanne found a way to make YELLS a regular ESL site for La Amistad, and now we offer three sessions a year, with each session providing 20 classes of intensive ESL immersion.

The partnership does not end there.  While La Amistad provides the model, training, and curriculum, all of the ESL instructors are volunteers.  These educators give their time and expertise to help our parents learn a new language.  Our classes have been such a success because of the incredible coordination provided by yet another volunteer, our YELLS Marketing and Community Engagement VISTA, Versandra Kennebrew.  Her work has yielded a 300% increase in students from last year, and we now offer three different levels of classes to fill the increased demand in our community.

The ability to learn English and do so in a supportive, uplifting environment makes such a difference for families.  Parents want to help their child excel in school, but this can be a challenge when English is not their first language.  ESL student Alfonso Martinez shares why he commits his time to learning English: “I have seven children and I want to hep them at school.  I went to a conference, and I didn’t know what the teacher was talking about. Also, I want to learn to translate for others.”  Parents are not only investing in their family’s success, but hoping to pass their learning on to others.

Thanks, La Amistad, for empowering our community through English for Successful Living!

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Celebrating Our VISTA Team during AmeriCorps Week

AmeriCorps members take the following pledge:

I will get things done for America – to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.
I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.
Faced with apathy, I will take action.
Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.
Faced with adversity, I will persevere.
I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.
I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.

YELLS is fortunate to host a team of hard-working AmeriCorps members committed to #GetThingsDone for Franklin Gateway.

Fun Facts About YELLS AmeriCorps VISTA Members:

  • Sandy Mitchell, VISTA Alumna, was hired by YELLS as the English Language Arts Specialist when she completed her year of service in November.  She is also a “Tie-Dyeologist,” who creates rich rainbow colored tapestry and t-shirts for her online shop.
  • Christopher Salley relocated to Marietta from New York where he worked in finance to serve as the Fundraising Specialist VISTA at YELLS. When his year of service is complete, his travels continue to Timor-Leste for a 2-year adventure as a Community Economic Development team member of PeaceCorps.
  • Andrea Bracey, our Volunteer Engagement Specialist, is a youth educator from Texas. When she is not serving at YELLS she is inspiring future educators through her recently published book “When I Decided to Follow the Call.”
  • Versandra Kennebrew, YELLS Marketing and Community Engagement VISTA, is a self-proclaimed “serial servant leader.” Besides serving as a VISTA at YELLS, she volunteers at an Atlanta Community Radio Station, serves as VP of Education for her Toastmasters Club, and is currently writing her 7th personal development book, “The Abundant Life of Servant Leadership.”

Each year, we add new AmeriCorps VISTA members to our team for a transformative year of service and impact.  We are searching now for our next three full-time VISTA members, as well as five AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates to serve for eight weeks this summer. Visit our jobs page to learn more about how to apply.

At last week’s AmeriCorps Week Open House, our VISTAs shared why they chose YELLS for their VISTA service:


We’re looking forward to honoring our VISTAs for National Service Recognition Day, and our Cobb County Commissioners will present a National Service Recognition Day Proclamation to YELLS VISTA Members on March 27, 2018 at 7:00 pm.  Attend in person or watch live on CobbTV23.

United Way Achievement Club Members Celebrate Success at First Graduation

IMG_2622YELLS Parents and Franklin Gateway community members celebrated their shared success at last month’s Achievement Club Graduation. Spirits were high as each club member reflected on the goals they achieved and the relationships they built by working alongside each other to improve their lives.

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We’re so grateful to the United Way of Greater Atlanta for choosing YELLS and Franklin Gateway for their incredible Achievement Club initiative.  Ms. Kelleyina Johnson addressed her peers as Valedictorian of our first YELLS Achievement Club. She got her whole family engaged in a multi-generational approach to family empowerment.

Through this new partnership with United Way, the YELLS Achievement Club provides parents with the support and extra motivation to improve their lives in meaningful ways. YELLS parents collaborated with community members to set realistic and purposeful SMART goals for themselves. Under the monitoring of United Way and YELLS staff, community members actually receive cash for working toward their own goals and develop relationships and a support network in the process!  Listen as Ms. Kelleyina thanks United Way for their support and looks forward to the next session of Achievement Club:

Many stories began the same – people were skeptical about whether this club could really make a difference and hesitant to engage because they already had such busy lives.  Yet, each person shared how their perspectives were changed as they began to build friendships with their neighbors who pushed them to strive for their goals.  Michael Graham shared that his neighbor Otty Koesoema would show up at his door in the morning and wouldn’t accept “no” to her invitation to take a walk and help him achieve his desire to live healthier.

 

20180120_151326Shakira McCullough shared that the Achievement Club reminded her not to lose herself as she worked to provide the life she envisions for her children.  To Shakira, YELLS and her Achievement Club offer the family love and support she craved and motivated her to invest in herself and her family.

 

 

Check out the proud graduates receiving their certificates:

All of the club members couldn’t say enough about Ms. Renelda, their greatest coach.  She provided the motivation, love, and extra push everyone needed to keep reaching toward their goals.

We’re excited to announce the next session of Achievement Club is accepting new members for a limited time!  Come to our next meeting to ensure your spot in this life-changing group.  Email Ms. Renelda at setgoachieve@gmail.com for more information, and we look forward to seeing you at our next meetings:

  • Monday, May 14 @ 6:45 pm – Spanish
  • Wednesday, May 16 @ 6:45 pm – English

It’s easy to see what incredible friendships and community emerged through the testimonies of our YELLS Achievement Club members.  Enjoy hearing from them in their own words:

Celebrating 10 Years of YELLS: A Look Back, February Edition

Celebrating 10 Years of YELLS: A Look Back

2018 marks the 10 year anniversary of YELLS!  It’s been a beautiful journey made possible by each of you.  YELLS truly is a family, and we owe every powerful community project and youth and family success story to the partners, volunteers, and community members who invest their hearts and hands in shaping our young leaders.  To celebrate our ten years of empowerment, we’ll highlight one of our favorite memories from our beginning years each month building up to our Tenth Anniversary Networking Dinner in October.  We hope you’ll enjoy this walk down memory lane! We thank you for taking this journey with us and look forward to the next ten years.  Enjoy this first reflection from our Executive Director, Laura Keefe:

 

On February 8, 2008, YELLS was still a dream.  My teaching days at Marietta High School had taught me the power of youth and the transformative work of service learning, but I had yet to learn the power of the Franklin Road community.

Seeing how youth came alive when given the autonomy, tools, and support to address issues they cared about, I knew harnessing this power in an effort to transform lives and change our world was my calling. I took every opportunity to incorporate service learning activities into my American Literature classes and spent my after-school hours working with incredible youth in initiatives like the 21st Century Leaders Youth Action Center and Global Youth Service Day.  In partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters, we launched a peer mentoring program that would fuel much of our future work with YELLS.  My colleagues and administrators knew I was restless to bring more service and leadership opportunities to students. I spent months and years searching for grants to make this mission possible, and was about ready to give up.

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It was during a 21st Century Leaders youth conference that everything changed.  The keynote speaker was the Franklin Road Weed and Seed Coordinator, Daneea Badio McCray.  While her words were for the students, her message spoke directly to me as she shared, “If you’re ever giving your all and you’ve invested 110% and you’re not succeeding, then ask for help.”  While I’m confident this directive was not intended to ask her for help, that’s exactly what I did.  A few weeks later I was in Daneea’s office, sharing my vision for youth leadership through service.  To my dismay, Daneea did not provide an easy answer, but that day changed my life as she invited me into the Franklin Road community.

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MHS students winning first place in the Business Case Competition at the 21st Century Leaders Winter Leadership Weekend in February 2008.

In what I’m pretty sure was an attempt to test my commitment and vision, Daneea encouraged me to bring my students to work within Franklin Road.  It was here I found a community like no other.  Working in the schools and within Marietta, I was no stranger to the unpleasant narrative surrounding Franklin Road, yet what I discovered was in stark contrast.  Franklin Road revealed itself as a vibrant community, diverse, yet unified in working together.  Families were passionate and engaged, yet there was opportunity for a place where youth could rise in their leadership.  I realized my vision of youth empowerment was misplaced – it should be centered in the community.

Daneea sharing her gift for inspiration

Daneea sharing her gift for inspiration

Daneea placed her faith in me to bring this vision to life, and connected me with the partners to make it happen.  Where I had been waiting for the funding, she convinced me to just do the work and the “how” would follow.  Before we knew it, we had a donated space in Flagstone Village Apartments, a committed Marietta PAL officer, Major Cliff Kelker, who transported our students each week, and a strong partnership with Park Street Elementary School and Marietta High School providing our first cohort of Bigs and Littles.

Major Kelker with one of our first groups of YELLS Mentoring Program Bigs

Major Kelker with one of our first groups of YELLS Mentoring Program Bigs

Without a dime of funding, but with the welcome arms of a community of engaged residents and supportive partners, YELLS began its journey in 2008.  I never could have imagined how much this community has changed me.  I’ve watched Franklin Road and its residents evolve and shape a neighborhood they can be proud of; I’ve cried with families through loss and celebrated their achievements. Franklin Gateway and YELLS truly are my family, and I’m forever grateful to each of you for being part of this beautiful story of love, resiliency, and achievement.  I look forward to continuing this journey and watching in awe at all our incredible youth and families achieve over the next ten years.

YELLS Featured on Focus Atlanta!

If you missed us live on The CW 69, you can still catch the segments here!  Thanks to the Cobb Community Foundation, YELLS had the opportunity to share our work with all of metro-Atlanta through an interview on Focus Atlanta with host Keisha Lancelin.

Check out the first segment where YELLS parent, Sabrina Jerome, speaks from the heart about how YELLS makes a difference for her family and community:

In the next segment, Board Member Bridget Reyes shares that she gives back because YELLS shaped her life:

Plus, we had a blast being on set and having fun with the green screen!

The episode featured the amazing work of the Cobb Community Foundation in supporting non-profits in our community, and YELLS was lucky to represent the many organizations they work with.  Check out Cobb Community Foundation Executive Director, Shari Martin, explaining the value of investing in community.

Another wonderful partner, Simple Needs GA, was also featured.  Their Executive Director, Brenda Rhodes explains how the Cobb Community Foundation helps them meet the needs of families in Georgia.