Join us Thursday, May 4 for a community discussion with Dr. Rivera, Marietta City Schools Superintendent
This community meeting is a follow-up to Dr. Rivera’s visit with our teens last month. YELLS Community Action Cafe teens had the wonderful opportunity to engage in a very informative conversation with their Superintendent. The teens asked him many questions and shared their thoughts about the Marietta school system. They shared their views on everything from school lunch to how the school system can support their community. Dr. Rivera ensured the students that he will make Franklin Gateway a priority and welcomed them to invite him to all YELLS events.
Before leaving, Dr. Rivera wrote his promise to Franklin Gateway on a leaf to add to our YELLS Value Tree. His kept true to his promise, and brought his daughter to attend the students’ Franklin Fair event.
Dr. Rivera’s already shown incredible support for our community, and we’re thrilled to have him leading our schools! We look forward to continuing to grow with him and MCS. Thank you, Marietta City Schools, for allowing the teens a space to share their VOICE! We’re looking forward to having Dr. Rivera come back on May 4th to meet with our Franklin Gateway parents and the whole community!
Our YELLS youth amaze us each day as they demonstrate servant-leadership. Each month, we honor youth in each grade level that go above and beyond. Check out our students below from our Afterschool Program and Community Action Café who are constantly showing us great examples of how to be a YELLS leader:
Kindergarten: Llary Castillo Llary entered YELLS as a bright-eyed and energetic kindergartner in August with a defined sense of self and personality. Throughout the school year, Llary has made leaps and bounds in both academic and personal improvement. She has learned to use her energy and spunk to influence her classmates in a positive way and be a true leader! Way to go Llary!
First Grade: Lamaya Bates Lamaya has been a YELLS student for the past two years. Lamaya is the April Student of the month because of her constant growth which shines through on a daily basis. Whether it’s in the homework room, book buddies or just striving for excellence in recreation, Lamaya is constantly showing growth and progress! Congratulations Lamaya!
Second Grade: Talea Masterson Talea is the student of the month for the second grade because of her persistence and determination. When faced with a task—whether it’s learning new skills in Capoeira or pushing herself in enrichment—Talea is persistent and determined. Great job Talea!
Third Grade: Christian Pineda Christian is the student of the month for his continued dedication to excellence and showcase of leadership throughout the school year. Christian is always the first student to volunteer to assist, encourage his classmates or eagerly participate in YELLS activities. Keep up the good work, Christian!
Fourth Grade: Aryan Nayak Aryan joined the YELLS Afterschool Program this semester and has been a member of the YELLS Mentoring Program all year. Whether it’s in Mentoring or in the Afterschool Program, Aryan is consistently showing YELLS P.R.I.D.E. through his enthusiasm, willingness to help others and his leadership skills!
Fifth Grade: Micah Boyd Micah is a long-time member of the YELLS family and Afterschool Program. Micah is the 5th grade student of the month because of his dedication to personal growth on the journey to becoming a better leader. Throughout the year, Micah has shown great maturity by personally identifying areas of weakness and working to improve them by great strides throughout the year. Micah is a wonderful example of a growing YELLS leader!
High School: AJ Hurts AJ is the Community Action Café student of the month because of his dedication to academic excellence as well as his continued efforts to improve as a leader and entrepreneur. AJ regularly participates in activities in the Café while at the same time consistently attending tutoring and networking events where business leaders have recognized and praised him for his professionalism. Although he’s a new student in the Café, we know he’ll soon become a lifelong leader and example for other YELLS students to follow! Thanks for being a great YELLS leader, AJ!
Here at YELLS, we like to celebrate each and every member of our family. This month, we’re so excited to shine a light on our partners, the Rotary Club of Marietta, who have been such generous supporters of YELLS and our Franklin Gateway community! Check out this article in the Marietta Daily Journal highlighting our Community Action Teens Kortni & Zaccheus speaking about how much YELLS means to them and thanking the Rotary Club for becoming a part of the YELLS family!
The Rotary Club of Marietta provided the funding to sustain our YELLS Scholars Initiative this spring. Our YELLS teens are not only dedicated to running their Cafe for the community, but they are also dedicated to running and growing their academic success. Monday through Thursday, our teens arrive after school and jump right in to academics. YELLS provides academic support with specialized tutors and academic coaching. In addition to their daily work, our teens meet quarterly for individual academic interventions to set goals of improving their grades and study habits. So far, 69% of students who have completed interventions met their academic goals and 75% of students increased their grades by at least one letter grade.
Dasani Nicholson, a YELLS 10th grader says, “Thank you Rotary Club for donating to YELLS. I speak on behalf of the students here at YELLS with saying ‘thank you for supporting our academics.’ Your support is helping us better ourselves and our lives for the future.”
CBS46 visited the Community Action Cafe to hear from YELLS youth about what we’re doing to keep youth on the right track and positively shaping their neighborhood. Read more here, and check out the video below:
Connecting for Community YELLS youth and local leaders forged lasting connections during a magical night of networking for community. Our YELLS Mentoring Program “Bigs” and Community Action Cafe teens impressed guests with their professionalism and poise. The YELLS Networking Dinner offered youth the chance to practice the relationship-building skills they learn…
Our YELLS Afterschool Program youth amaze us each day as they demonstrate servant-leadership. Each month, we honor youth in each grade level that go above and beyond. This month’s youth include:
Kindergarten: Sofia Duarte Sofia has grown leaps and bounds this school year, particularly in the homework room. Sofia is committed to trying her best to learn her sight words, letter sounds, and numbers. The tutors are always impressed by her level of focus and dedication. Way to go Sofia!
First Grade: Jordan Garcia Jordan Garcia is the first-grade student of the month because of his positive attitude, joy for learning, and attitude of service. Whenever asked to help out with a task, Jordan gleefully complies. During homework, Jordan has become more independent and responsible. We know that we can count on him. Congratulations Jordan!
Second Grade: Nyeli Chavez Nyeli joined the YELLS Afterschool Program in February. Since joining, we have been so grateful to spend afternoons with her. Her pleasant and positive attitude, caring nature, and sense of duty for her academic work is why she is this months’s student of the month.
Third Grade: Norman Poch
Norman has been a part of the YELLS family for 3 years. In that time, we have watched Norman grow into a curious, confidant, and funny leader. We are so proud of his academic growth in reading and math. It is clear that Norman wants to do well, not only to please his family and teachers, but because he wants to do well in life. Keep it up Norman!
Fifth Grade: Sharif Bahar
If you ask any YELLS ASP kids or teacher to describe Sharif they would probably say the same thing: smart and funny. Everyone knows those things about Sharif, but he is also witty, thoughtful, and wise. This year at YELLS, Sharif has matured in the way that he interacts and communicates with his peers. We are all very proud of him!
Imagine if metro Atlanta’s most energetic young change-makers had the opportunity to utilize the power of relationship building and networking to impact their world and their lives. The YELLS Networking Dinner and Fundraiser offers the youth of the YELLS Mentoring Program and YELLS Community Action Cafe just that chance through…
This year, our Community Action Café teens and Mentoring Program “Bigs” began their journey as servant-leaders with a three-day Retreat jam packed with team building and leadership activities. The North Georgia Mountains provided the perfect landscape for our youth to bond with their YELLS Family and do some important reflective and foundational work. The Retreat revolved around Finding Purpose and Leaving Your Mark, and youth walked away with the desire to Live for Something Greater than Themselves. Below are some highlights of the trip:
Welcome to Camp Blue Ridge!
Upon arriving at Camp Blue Ridge, each student was grouped into a “family” for the trip which served as their team for all of our various activities and team building exercises. Teens had to “go all in” and dig their family assignment out from a bucket of guck!
Just as a rubberband stretches, YELLS will stretch you as you strive to be your best self and give to your community. YELLS Mentoring Program Bigs and Community Action Cafe Teens worked together in a watermelon relay challenge to see which Family could stretch enough rubberbands to make their watermelon EXPLODE first! To get their rubberbands, though, each Family had to complete multiple challenges that demonstrate YELLS Values.
Family Lunch Challenge!
Each day at lunch, Retreat Families complete challenges to build team morale and bond as a Family. Check them out below as they make an ice cream cone complete with syrup and sprinkles by dropping ingredients from above into a cone held by a Family member’s mouth!
Messy Twister Teaches Teens How to Leave Their Mark
Things got messy as our Cafe teens and Mentoring Bigs played an intense game of twister – with colored shaving cream! By the end, teens were covered in red, blue, green, and yellow. This provided a chance to talk about the different types of “marks” we can leave on each other. Through a group reflection, our youth were challenged to be sure the marks they leave on others are positive. Each youth shared one concrete way they will leave a positive mark on those they encounter.
Exploring Identity and Finding Purpose
YELLS youth participated in a series of workshops to explore their identity and search for their purpose. A blind-folded “Guess Who” activity revealed the superficial ways in which we often view our identity, and prepared teens to dig deeper. Youth explored the major influences in their lives and created “Identity Fingerprint Art.” They decoded a scavenger hunt using a compass to track down and uncover their “purpose.”
Live for Something Bigger than Yourself
YELLS teens discovered how they can live for something bigger than themselves. To help them remember and keep this call in their hearts, we had a little fun with a GIANT beach ball. We’ll always remember to give to our Franklin Gateway community and live for something bigger than us!
Family Bonding over the Campfire
Evenings around the campfire provided a special time for YELLS Family bonding. It was incredible hearing about the journey of each of our YELLS members, how YELLS has shaped their lives, and their commitment to leaving their mark on others.
Fun and Games!
Our youth learned a lot, but they also had FUN! When they weren’t planning their service initiatives or developing goals for their Community Action Cafe Apprenticeship Teams, our Teens and Bigs could be found canoeing, playing “Kiddie Pool Kickball,” or planning for their big YELLS Variety Show.
Our YELLS Mentoring Program Bigs and Community Action Cafe Teens will take the lessons they learned and the bonds they forged at Camp Blue Ridge everywhere they go. We’re so excited to see the mark they each will make in the Franklin Gateway community and in our world …
Volunteer as a YELLS Service Coach and become a part of a movement of service with limitless impact. Our Marietta YELLS (Youth Empowerment through Learning, Leading, and Serving, Inc.) Mentoring Program youth are working hard to change our world, and they need your help! Our high school “Bigs” and the elementary “Littles” they mentor are implementing 3 large-scale, youth-led service initiatives.
We’d love to have your involvement as we put our plans into action! We are looking for three to six adult volunteers to help coach our youth through this process beginning this Saturday, November 5th, and continuing on the first Saturday of each month through the school year. As a Service Coach with YELLS, you will help teens develop life-long skills as you guide them to shape their community through service. Coaches assist with project management and coach youth with tasks such as writing proposal letters, meeting with business and community leaders for support, volunteer recruitment, budget creation, and more. You don’t need expertise in these areas, but just a passion to serve and the willingness to help keep our youth on track.
Service Coach responsibilities include:
Attend First Saturday monthly work sessions (9:00 am – 1:00 pm ) and actual service initiative implementation day(s)
Provide guidance in between meetings through weekly correspondence (emails, phone calls, or meetings – flexible based on your availability)
Help coach Bigs to keep up with project planning tasks and provide guidance and assistance where needed
Bigs have spent the last few months conducting a Community Needs Assessment, and have selected the following three service initiatives, each of which needs one to two Service Coaches:
Franklin Fair Block Party: The Franklin Fair has become an annual tradition and neighborhood favorite ever since our YELLS Bigs and Littles launched it in 2012. This year, our youth plan to make it bigger and better than ever!
Franklin Gateway Soccer Tournament: Building on the excitement of Atlanta United’s new training facility coming to Franklin Gateway, Bigs and Littles will use soccer to bring neighbors together for a competition between Franklin apartment complexes.
Parents’ Night Out: Our YELLS families work hard, and our Bigs and Littles want to give parents a chance to relax and have fun by inviting their Franklin Gateway children to play one weekend night each month while parents enjoy a night out.
Monthly First Saturday coaching sessions will take place at our YELLS Community Action Cafe location on Franklin Gateway. If interested in serving, please contact Laura Keefe at Laura@YELLSinc.org or 678-895-2854 for additional details.
On a warm September afternoon, YELLS youth burst through a banner that proudly proclaimed #welovefranklingateway to kick-off the first ever Franklin Gateway Academic Pep Rally! Music boomed around the courtyard as the teens from the Community Action Café and children from the Mentoring and Afterschool programs completed laps giving guests high fives. They succeeded in building spirit and hype around academics! More than 100 people participated in the Pep Rally and cheered on educational success in our Franklin Gateway community.
Several organizations came to the event, including the Marietta High School Student Success Center, LaAmistad ESL, Hands On Atlanta, Amerigroup, Alorica, the Latin American Association, Girl Scouts, and Franklin Road Community Association. Additionally, Stablegold Hospitality’s Ali Jamal came and engaged with YELLS youth by making a commitment at the Commitment Pledge table and checking out the Community Action Café. Mascots Scrappy the Owl and “Mari-Etta,” from Marietta Reads also made rounds at the event.
YELLS Youth and Families Cheering
Highlights of the Academic Pep Rally include the Spelling Bee, math Competitions, and performances and speeches from local talent including Young Entrepreneur and Dat Gurl Secrete. Line brothers from the fraternity Omega Psi Phi stepped and danced in vibrant purple and gold for a captive audience.
Shoutouts highlighted William and family for their involvement in YELLS and the community
Families had the opportunity to learn about educational opportunities available in the community, sign up for library cards, play educational games like brain teasers and giant checkers, and make personal commitments for their own academic goals. Once again, YELLS youth led all ages on Franklin Gateway in a movement of change – this time focused on uniting as a community to promote continued education and academic achievement for all ages.
I take everything I learned from YELLS everywhere I go. Your vision is truly being lived out through students like me.
Jonah, YELLS Big
At [the Community Action Café] we get people who sacrifice so much for us, and that motivates us to help those around us.
Tori
It’s all positive energy in here!
Devin, YELLS Graduate
The kids out here [on Franklin Road] are all looking for a better future, and we help them find that better future.
Ashami, Hospitality and Service Team Member
It makes you feel good to give back.
Devin
The way people see you changes when you help them address a problem in the community.
Ashami
The kids don’t always talk about their day at school, but they always want to talk about their day at YELLS.
Tosha Freeman, Afterschool Program Parent
When we first came to America we were timid. When we came to YELLS my mentality changed… YELLS has helped me to keep my family together and organized. Taking care of kids by YELLS is wonderful!
Patience Ehehom, YELLS advocate since 2012
YELLS has been a medium where I can actively change a life, and actively manipulate my own life to be what I want it to be.
Ana, YELLS Big
Because we learn about the community [from community members] we are more knowledgeable about the needs of the community.
