In support of their work to engage youth in civic participation projects through multimedia technology, Chinatown Beacon Center (CBC), a program of Community Educational Services (CES), has been awarded $20,000 in grants through the national Youth Visions for Stronger Neighborhood program (YVSN).
CES is honored to have the opportunity to work with YVSN in achieving its mission of empowering youth to transform their lives, schools and communities.YVSN (http://www.ctcnet.org/youthvisions) is an innovative three year initiative by the Community Technology Centers' Network, funded through Learn and Serve America, a division of the federal Corporation for National and Community Service. Grants provide innovative nonprofit programs with collaborative, peer-driven curriculum development support and evaluation assistance to empower young adults (ages 14-18) take action on the concerns affecting their communities.
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*Through the Youth Visions for Stronger Neighborhoods program, our youth will strengthen the Chinatown community by not only increasing awareness of this neighborhood's assets as well as community needs, but also by developing themselves as advocates for all who live, work, and play here… for everyone who calls Chinatown 'home'," said Aimee Vicencio, Chinatown Beacon Center Youth Visions Coordinator.
Chinatown Beacon Center was selected from among a competitive pool of over 70 organizations nationwide. The Youth Visions grant will support a development of six-month program integrating community-based activities and multimedia training, affording communities the means to view young people as important community assets and dynamic forces for addressing critical social concerns.
"We congratulate Chinatown Beacon Center on its Youth Visions for Stronger Neighborhoods grant, awarded in recognition of your effectiveness in helping young people use multimedia technology for community impact," said Kavita Singh, CTCNet Executive Director. "At a crucial time when programs serving youth and their communities face severe budget cuts, if not elimination, vital programs such as Chinatown Beacon Center serve as an example of community resources working hard daily to provide hope and opportunities for young adults in rural and urban America."
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The work of CES's programs, staff, youth participants and volunteers are a powerful testament for people working together for the betterment of children, youth and families.
To insure our programs continue to empower the community, CES welcomes support for ongoing sustainability of our programs. Send your contributions to Community Educational Services, 80 Fresno Street, San Francisco, CA 94133.
Community Educational Services is a non-profit youth agency that was created in 1969 to assist youth in the San Francisco Chinatown and North Beach area to develop their educational, employment, and leadership skills. It is best known for running excellent youth leadership and employment programs and for pioneering partnerships to improve the quality of public schools. Through its youth development approach, CES possesses tremendous strength in the area of community-based programs for youth ages 5 to 18.
Along with Chinatown Beacon Center 2005-2006 Youth Visions for Stronger Neighborhood grants were awarded to:
Appalshop: Appalachian Media Institute (Whitesburg, KY)
Beyondmedia Education: Girls! Action! Media (Chicago, IL)
Chinatown Beacon Center (San Francisco, CA)
DANEnet, in collaboration with Atwood Community Center (Madison, WI)
Deproduction: The [denverevolution] Production Group (Denver, CO)
EducationWorks, Inc: Germantown Beacon Center (Philadelphia, PA)
The Media Aid Center (Los Angeles, CA)
Wide Angle Community Media (Baltimore, MD)
Since the project's inception in 2004, 23 organizations in 15 states have been supported through project grants totaling nearly half a million dollars. 2006 marks the final year of the Youth Visions grant stream. CTCNet will seek to obtain support in order to make the curriculum and program infrastructure available to any interested community organization next fall.
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