Our YELLS Family is fortunate to be embraced by our friends at the Cobb Community Foundation. Shari Martin, Mayor Tommy Allegood, and their team are incredible community champions, always willing to give their time and support, and truly living up to their motto of “helping others help others.” They generously offered their time, talent, and space to host our YELLS Networking Dinner last spring at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. They always go above and beyond!
We’ve been honored to earn the Cobb Community Foundation’s Impact grant for multiple years, allowing us to stretch our services and grow our impact through supporting our YELLS Mentoring Program and YELLS Scholars Initiative. This year, the Cobb Community Foundation allowed for us to bring back our popular and very much needed YELLS Summer of Success Program. Their support certainly made an IMPACT for our youth and families…
YELLS Summer of Success
Parents could work in the summer knowing their kids were safe and learning in a six-week summer camp that empowered youth with high-energy leadership and service learning experiences and hands-on STEAM and literacy lessons. Through the support of the Cobb Community Foundation’s Impact Grant, we closed the achievement gap and accelerated learning while building community this summer.
We kicked off the summer with a massive scavenger hunt, ending in youth decoding our theme: Working Together to Uplift Others.
Books and Breakfast: Family Literacy Initiative
Early mornings before Summer Camp began, parents and their children would gather around a book together to foster a shared love for reading. Over breakfast, parents learned tips from a literacy expert on how they could help their child read and create a space that promotes learning and literacy at home. Then, parents and children could pick a book and read together. This shared reading promotion and celebration created a culture of learning and increased direct reading contact time, while positively shaping youths’ perceptions of reading and building camaraderie amongst families.
Leadership and Learning
Each day was filled with leadership and learning. Youth enjoyed interactive STEAM lessons with volunteers from Lassiter High School, and customized literacy tutoring with volunteers from Achieve through Education. Plenty of volunteers and a team of AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates made all this possible. Every day offered a new team challenge that fostered collaboration and positivity. Youth even had a special visit from their Altanta United hero, Michael Parkhurst!
Thank you, Cobb Community Foundation! You truly made an impact on our Franklin Gateway community this summer! We appreciate all you do for us and non-profits throughout Cobb County.
