Support our YFC Soaring Scholars!
Tax deductible
Support our YFC Soaring Scholars!
Personal note from the Sheriff:
I have set up a GoFundMe account to receive donations in support of this wonderful center. I know charitable donation requests are prevalent in today’s social media channels, but this center does so much good for students. Please consider making a donation to support the Youth & Family Center Soaring Scholars Tutoring Program and educational support for Holmes Elementary School students.
All donations will be used to buy books, tutoring supplies, computers, and back-to-school supplies for the tutoring program held at the Youth & Family Center and specifically for children from Holmes Elementary School.
We would love to raise about $4,000 in support of the center.
Thank you for your support!
Youth & Family Center Background:
Macarthur Boulevard in Superior Township is an area of concentrated, isolated, generational poverty. Located in that area are two major low cost apartment complexes, Danbury Park and Sycamore Meadows. Sycamore Meadows is 100% section 8 housing (federal contract) and will be until 12/31/32. Sycamore Meadows has 262 units, 560 bedrooms, with an estimated 1102 persons when fully occupied. Danbury Park is 97% section 8 (federal contract) and will be until 6/30/32. It has 150 units, 146 section 8, with 296 section 8 bedrooms, 581 persons when fully occupied. (affordablehousingonline.com/HUDdata )
Currently the only community resource in the Macarthur Boulevard area is a small, one room library. There are no food stores, no laundromat, no recreation facility, and no support for youth. The area is served by a bus line, which has had limited hours. One of the things that Sheriff’s Office deputies, rental unit staff, librarians, etc. consistently report is that children are hungry.
The children of the Macarthur Boulevard area attend the Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS). The elementary school and the middle school which the Macarthur Blvd. children attend are both "priority schools”, which means both schools are performing in the bottom 5% of all the schools in the State of Michigan. Third grade reading readiness scores which are predictive of future academic success are some of the lowest in the state.
While it is still in the early stages, the YFC has developed an organizational structure and begun programming and events.
YFC Structure
The YFC has come under the umbrella of Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County which acts as its fiduciary agent. There is a formal MOU in place with New Christian Love Fellowship International which will be providing the space for the YFC in its large (22,000 sq. ft.) annex/fellowship hall, which is a separate building from the actual church service building. CSSW is providing insurance coverage for all YFC programming (insurance policy is in place) and will be handling all fiscal/fiduciary responsibilities for the YFC. CSSW will be providing and maintaining an YFC page(s) on its website. The director of the YFC has been given employee status at CSS. While the YFC is under the fiscal umbrella of CSSW and the space is provided by NCLFI, it is a separate non-denominational entity.
The YFC has a Mission and Vision statement, a Statement of Values, and Goals:
YFC Mission
The mission of the Youth & Family Center (YFC) is to improve the quality of life and life outcomes for our children, youth and families by providing educational and supportive services.
YFC Vision Statement
“Building Strong Families and a Strong Community”
YFC Statement of Values
Compassion, Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Leadership, Stewardship, Service and Community
YFC Goals
• To help build a sense of community and belonging
• To create opportunities for educational, social & emotional development, enrichment and community building
• To provide information about resources and facilitate access to supportive services to meet basic needs
• To promote community transformation and economic development
The Youth & Family Center has a committee structure that includes an Executive Committee (primary decision makers), a Steering Committee (primary partners), a Community Council (adults who live in the area), a Youth Council (youth who live in the area) and Operations Committees (which operationalize specific programs and events). The YFC also has put together a grant writing committee. The United Way has encouraged the Youth & Family Center to apply for a grant.
YFC Programming
The YFC has begun programming at the Youth & Family Center, and will be tracking YFC programming and developing metrics to measure impact and value added to the community.
Current programming at the YFC includes:
Soaring Scholars Tutoring Program – Meets every Tuesday and Wednesday from 3:00p-5:00p. Currently the Youth & Family Center has 10 students that are bussed from Holmes Elementary that receive academic services, in conjunction with The Family Learning Institute. The YFC currently has 15 tutors/coaches that provide 1 on 1 tutoring to the students. The YFC also distributed coats and hats to the students and their parents that were in need. The Soaring Scholars Program plans to expand the pilot program this coming school year to reach more children and families.
Neighborhood Summer Camp – The Youth & Family Center is partnering with Superior Township and Washtenaw County Parks and Rec to assist with providing a free summer camp for the children in the Macarthur area.
The Parent Café – The Parent Café is run in partnership with the WISD. It brings parents together the first Monday of every month to talk about issues that are important to them, to help each other and build community. Childcare and food are provided.
Safe Sleep Education – A Safe Sleep Event was held at the YFC in partnership with the WACC and the Sheriff’s Office Outreach. Around 25 parents attended and learned how to keep their babies safe while sleeping and received free Pack 'n Plays and other new parent needed items.
Election Day Childcare – Election Day Childcare was provided at the polling place which was also located at the YFC (NCLFI) location. Healthy snacks were provided and connections with parents were made.
Rides to the polls – Rides to the polls were offered if needed, in partnership with other groups in Washtenaw County.
Thanksgiving Dinner – A Thanksgiving Dinner was held which fed about 75 families.
Turkey giveaway – 80 turkeys were given away to needy families identified by Holmes.
Holiday Dinner – A Holiday Dinner was held which served a packed room of about 150 families and sent home additional food. Gifts were provided for the children who attended. There was music by a men’s singing group and a young people’s jazz group—it was a great event.
Holiday Boxes of food – Boxes of food were given away to needy families identified by Holmes.
Clothing Needs – Dress for Success is partnering to provide clothing for adults who want to job hunt or need basics. The YFC plans to have an on-site clothes closet (“Boutique”) that would include access to clothing for young people. We also plan to have washer and dryers available in the future to make sure that the lack of clean clothes does not keep students home from school.
Food Distribution for the Community – Food is distributed every 2nd and 3rd Wednesday of each month.
The YFC is working on developing an expanded food pantry to serve the area families. In partnership with Food Gatherers the YFC currently provides cold food prepared off-site for the Parent Café’ and Soaring Scholars tutoring program. CSSW want to purchase and provide frozen meals that could be warmed up for the Soaring Scholars students and the Parent Café so that the youth can receive a hot meal.
Food Gatherers want to provide a better variety of food and they want to make our Food Bank a USDA site that will provide quality foods. The long term goal is to make the YFC a food pantry site, which means we could better serve the community with quality food. Food Gatherers and Shelving has already been provided by Food Gatherers in the room designated for our Food Storage area.
Personal note from the Sheriff:
I have set up a GoFundMe account to receive donations in support of this wonderful center. I know charitable donation requests are prevalent in today’s social media channels, but this center does so much good for students. Please consider making a donation to support the Youth & Family Center Soaring Scholars Tutoring Program and educational support for Holmes Elementary School students.
All donations will be used to buy books, tutoring supplies, computers, and back-to-school supplies for the tutoring program held at the Youth & Family Center and specifically for children from Holmes Elementary School.
We would love to raise about $4,000 in support of the center.
Thank you for your support!
Youth & Family Center Background:
Macarthur Boulevard in Superior Township is an area of concentrated, isolated, generational poverty. Located in that area are two major low cost apartment complexes, Danbury Park and Sycamore Meadows. Sycamore Meadows is 100% section 8 housing (federal contract) and will be until 12/31/32. Sycamore Meadows has 262 units, 560 bedrooms, with an estimated 1102 persons when fully occupied. Danbury Park is 97% section 8 (federal contract) and will be until 6/30/32. It has 150 units, 146 section 8, with 296 section 8 bedrooms, 581 persons when fully occupied. (affordablehousingonline.com/HUDdata )
Currently the only community resource in the Macarthur Boulevard area is a small, one room library. There are no food stores, no laundromat, no recreation facility, and no support for youth. The area is served by a bus line, which has had limited hours. One of the things that Sheriff’s Office deputies, rental unit staff, librarians, etc. consistently report is that children are hungry.
The children of the Macarthur Boulevard area attend the Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS). The elementary school and the middle school which the Macarthur Blvd. children attend are both "priority schools”, which means both schools are performing in the bottom 5% of all the schools in the State of Michigan. Third grade reading readiness scores which are predictive of future academic success are some of the lowest in the state.
While it is still in the early stages, the YFC has developed an organizational structure and begun programming and events.
YFC Structure
The YFC has come under the umbrella of Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County which acts as its fiduciary agent. There is a formal MOU in place with New Christian Love Fellowship International which will be providing the space for the YFC in its large (22,000 sq. ft.) annex/fellowship hall, which is a separate building from the actual church service building. CSSW is providing insurance coverage for all YFC programming (insurance policy is in place) and will be handling all fiscal/fiduciary responsibilities for the YFC. CSSW will be providing and maintaining an YFC page(s) on its website. The director of the YFC has been given employee status at CSS. While the YFC is under the fiscal umbrella of CSSW and the space is provided by NCLFI, it is a separate non-denominational entity.
The YFC has a Mission and Vision statement, a Statement of Values, and Goals:
YFC Mission
The mission of the Youth & Family Center (YFC) is to improve the quality of life and life outcomes for our children, youth and families by providing educational and supportive services.
YFC Vision Statement
“Building Strong Families and a Strong Community”
YFC Statement of Values
Compassion, Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Leadership, Stewardship, Service and Community
YFC Goals
• To help build a sense of community and belonging
• To create opportunities for educational, social & emotional development, enrichment and community building
• To provide information about resources and facilitate access to supportive services to meet basic needs
• To promote community transformation and economic development
The Youth & Family Center has a committee structure that includes an Executive Committee (primary decision makers), a Steering Committee (primary partners), a Community Council (adults who live in the area), a Youth Council (youth who live in the area) and Operations Committees (which operationalize specific programs and events). The YFC also has put together a grant writing committee. The United Way has encouraged the Youth & Family Center to apply for a grant.
YFC Programming
The YFC has begun programming at the Youth & Family Center, and will be tracking YFC programming and developing metrics to measure impact and value added to the community.
Current programming at the YFC includes:
Soaring Scholars Tutoring Program – Meets every Tuesday and Wednesday from 3:00p-5:00p. Currently the Youth & Family Center has 10 students that are bussed from Holmes Elementary that receive academic services, in conjunction with The Family Learning Institute. The YFC currently has 15 tutors/coaches that provide 1 on 1 tutoring to the students. The YFC also distributed coats and hats to the students and their parents that were in need. The Soaring Scholars Program plans to expand the pilot program this coming school year to reach more children and families.
Neighborhood Summer Camp – The Youth & Family Center is partnering with Superior Township and Washtenaw County Parks and Rec to assist with providing a free summer camp for the children in the Macarthur area.
The Parent Café – The Parent Café is run in partnership with the WISD. It brings parents together the first Monday of every month to talk about issues that are important to them, to help each other and build community. Childcare and food are provided.
Safe Sleep Education – A Safe Sleep Event was held at the YFC in partnership with the WACC and the Sheriff’s Office Outreach. Around 25 parents attended and learned how to keep their babies safe while sleeping and received free Pack 'n Plays and other new parent needed items.
Election Day Childcare – Election Day Childcare was provided at the polling place which was also located at the YFC (NCLFI) location. Healthy snacks were provided and connections with parents were made.
Rides to the polls – Rides to the polls were offered if needed, in partnership with other groups in Washtenaw County.
Thanksgiving Dinner – A Thanksgiving Dinner was held which fed about 75 families.
Turkey giveaway – 80 turkeys were given away to needy families identified by Holmes.
Holiday Dinner – A Holiday Dinner was held which served a packed room of about 150 families and sent home additional food. Gifts were provided for the children who attended. There was music by a men’s singing group and a young people’s jazz group—it was a great event.
Holiday Boxes of food – Boxes of food were given away to needy families identified by Holmes.
Clothing Needs – Dress for Success is partnering to provide clothing for adults who want to job hunt or need basics. The YFC plans to have an on-site clothes closet (“Boutique”) that would include access to clothing for young people. We also plan to have washer and dryers available in the future to make sure that the lack of clean clothes does not keep students home from school.
Food Distribution for the Community – Food is distributed every 2nd and 3rd Wednesday of each month.
The YFC is working on developing an expanded food pantry to serve the area families. In partnership with Food Gatherers the YFC currently provides cold food prepared off-site for the Parent Café’ and Soaring Scholars tutoring program. CSSW want to purchase and provide frozen meals that could be warmed up for the Soaring Scholars students and the Parent Café so that the youth can receive a hot meal.
Food Gatherers want to provide a better variety of food and they want to make our Food Bank a USDA site that will provide quality foods. The long term goal is to make the YFC a food pantry site, which means we could better serve the community with quality food. Food Gatherers and Shelving has already been provided by Food Gatherers in the room designated for our Food Storage area.
Organizer
Kathy Wyatt
Organizer
Ann Arbor, MI
Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County (Cssw)
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
