Promotores: New Pathway at LAYC

In 2007, Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) rolled up its sleeves to complete a strategic plan that will serve as the foundation for its work over the next 5 years. With funding from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, LAYC worked with The Bridgespan Group to complete one of the most exciting aspects of our strategic plan: the new Promotor model for youth.

This spring, LAYC will pioneer a “youth-centric” approach for young people at highest risk. This new model for youth development will connect young people with the greatest need to Promotores. Promotores are adults who work intentionally and deliberately to build relationships designed to transform a youth person's life. LAYC's Promotores will build relationships with youth, ensure that youth receive appropriate sets of programs and services, and coordinate their movement through those programs and services that enable them to succeed academically, obtain long-term employment, and live healthly and productive lives.

This new Promotores model for youth development is LAYC’s ground-breaking plan to help re-connect youth disconnected from the mainstream world. Youth who are, for example, homeless, have dropped out of school, in foster care, involved in the juvenile justice system, or are experiencing mental health issues, need a supportive adult in their lives who will guide them towards success. This is the new Promotor model at the LAYC.

“LAYC believes the Promotores model is a critical element for successful youth development in the 21st century,” said Lori Kaplan, LAYC’s executive director. “This model, once proven to be a success, insures that youth who once had limited hope for their future will lead successful lives full of possibilities for years to come” added Kaplan.

LAYC’s Learning and Evaluation Division estimates that 5,000 to 8,000 youth between the ages of 14 and 24 in D.C. are at risk of becoming “disconnected” from society. Overlooking this growing crisis could result in substantial financial cost to our society.

Using available economic data, LAYC has conservatively estimated that each promotor will save the D.C. metropolitan area an average of $1.7 million. For a full complement of 25 promotores, the economic benefit realized by local governments would likely be in excess of $42 million.

Although this model will be officially implemented during the spring 2008, the premise has been proven effective through LAYC’s work over the past 35 years.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without Chico. I know I wouldn’t have graduated from high school or even try to go to college,” said Jesus Amaya, former program participant at LAYC and current computer technician at the Latin American Youth Center, about his unofficial promotor.

LAYC will launch this new Promotor model with a 80 - 100 young people in April 2008. To find out more about this exciting new part of the LAYC's recently cmpleted strategic plan, contact Lori Kaplan, LAYC Executive Director at lori@layc-dc.org Stay tuned for more news on our strategic plan and promotores initiative.

What's New at LAYC

LAYC Staff Making the Difference Overseas
In January, Scott Perry, WISE’s Division Director, and Shenique Everett, Ben & Jerry’s Social Enterprise Manager, attended the Ben & Jerry’s Global Franchise Community Gathering in Cancun, Mexico. While in Mexico, they participated in a community project to refurbish a primary school in the small fishing town of Puerto Morelos. The school is supported only by the parents and had fallen into a state of disrepair. Scott and Shenique spent about three hours gardening, painting, and repairing playground equipment. Afterwards, about 400 of the 700 students took a look at their new school, ate Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and got a chance to meet and play basketball with some of the volunteers. ¡Bien Hecho!

Staff Members Join Maryland’s Hispanic Affairs Commission
On February 5, 2008, Luisa Montero, Maryland Multicultural Youth Center’s (MMYC) Managing Director and Ricardo Flores, LAYC’s Director of Advocacy and Public Education, were sworn in by Governor O’Malley onto the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs. “The competitive future of our state depends on our ability to build on our greatest strengths, the skills, talents and the diversity of our people,” said Governor O’Malley.

YouthBuild Public Charter School Students at the Ritz
YouthBuild PCS student leadership council participated in their first two-day Student Leadership and Professional Retreat at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City on January 15 and 16. The four council members benefited from several workshops and activities including professional business etiquette, leadership development, employee shadowing sessions, and five-star guest treatment from the hotel’s staff.

According to Allison Lee, placement specialist at YouthBuild PCS, through the workshops the students learned about the hotel industry, but most importantly this exposure allowed them to make a self assessment of their behavior and to recognize what is like to be in a professional setting. Dorothy Bues, 19, says at first it was shocking to see the hotel’s staff treating everyone like “important people.” Dorothy also learned the significance of behaving a certain way. “[Etiquette] is very important because you never know who is around watching you. This real life experience opened my eyes,” she said.

The retreat was made possible by Jay Bonstingl, a trainer who has been working with YouthBuild PCS and the Ritz Carlton.

Silver Spring Whole Foods Makes Donation to Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers
In January, community members and Whole Foods’s employees shopped until they dropped to benefit the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers (MMYC).Whole Foods selected MMYC as the first organization in 2008 to receive proceeds from Five Percent Day, where five percent of the day’s profits go to a selected nonprofit. MMYC received over $5,000 thanks to all the hard work of everyone involved.

Youth in the Spotlight

Youth Leading the Way to the Future: Girls Leadership Planning for Mayor’s Youth Summit
Young ladies from LAYC’s Girls Leadership gang prevention program are enthusiastically helping coordinate the Mayor’s first Latino Youth Summit in the District of Columbia to take place at the end of February. About 15 girls ages 12 to 17 meet weekly to discuss format, logistics, workshops, and every little detail regarding the huge event.  From designing flyers to coming up with a tag line for the event, the girls’ creativity is flying high. “This remarkable experience has been a great youth development opportunity,” said Jasmin Benab, coordinator of the program. The summit will cover issues related to education, cultural identity and awareness, Civil Rights, and other topics of interest to Latino youth.

The Latino Youth Summit is scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 29th, 2008, at the Inter-American Development Bank - 1330 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

Kudos to our Newest Media Stars ¡Buen Trabajo!
Martin Luther King Day didn’t go unnoticed at the LAYC as two AmeriCorps members delivered a resounding message about the importance of this day. Jennifer Zuniga and Maria Solorzano took Univision’s microphone and gracefully shared with thousands of viewers their thoughts about Dr. King.

“It is important that other Latino kids learn about Martin Luther King because it shows the community is working together,” said Jennifer. Both girls nailed the message and were highly praised by Univision’s reporter on their performance. The interview was aired on the station’s evening newscast, Friday, January 18. “It was a great experience. I was glad we had the opportunity to do it,” said Maria.

In late January, Nancy from Girls Leadership talked to a syndicated columnist and reporter for LaTeen magazine as an expert on issues affecting Latino youth, particular young women. The reporter was conducting research for an upcoming article and needed to connect with young people who could share their views. Nancy was to speak to the columnist for 10 minutes but the reporter was so enlightened with Nancy’s insights that the conversation extended to close to half an hour. With Nancy’s help, the reporter will be able to paint a clear and accurate picture about issues affecting our youth. “She was a very good interview journalistically, and quite impressive as a young woman as well,” said journalist Mary Sanchez. The article will come out in the March edition of LaTeen.

Wowing LAYC Friends
Jennifer Estrada, from Girls Leadership, and Nelson Quintanilla, LAYC alumni, were key speakers at LAYC’s Future Fund friend- and fund-raiser on February 6. Jennifer and Nelson narrated the challenges they have had to deal with in their young lives, but thanks to the constant support of LAYC staff and programs today Nelson is a sophomore at Columbia Union College and Jennifer will soon begin nursing school. These remarkable young people’s compelling stories generated loud applause. LAYC’s Future Fund ensures that the organization’s critical programs and services will always be there for the people who need them.

Youth on the Move
After completing a 30-question application and undergoing an intenese interview, youth from LAYC's job training programs, youth leadership programs, and YouthBuild Public Charter School have been hired to work at DC's first Target, which opens in Columbia Heights in March. Congratulations and Buena Suerte to: Damoune Hamilton, Loretta Singletary, Raymond Gibson, Bridgett Espinoza, Yesenia Ortiz, Adrian Harrison, Ikea Fulmore, Dontike Miller, Claudia Lovo, Keonte Moss, Lenny Webb, Reina Espinal, Ebonie Bazemore, Dorothy Dues, Morgan Hatton, William Davis, LaToya Butler, Sonia Amaya, Shonntia Hinnant, Ericka Deal. We look forward to seeing you soon hard at work in our new neighborhood store, Target!

Honoring Ernest Yombo’s Father
As many of you know, Ernest Yombo grew up and was on staff at LAYC for many years. He is now assistant principal at MacFarland Middle School. When his father died, LAYC started the Michael Yombo Commitment to Leadership Award. This $250.00 scholarship is given annually for post-secondary educational to a member who has shown commitment to leadership and has shown grace and dignity through their year of service in AmeriCorps. The first scholarship has just been awarded to Juan Carlos “JC” Marcia. JC was an exceptional AmeriCorps member from the 06-07 team. He is now enrolled in a two-year program at Montgomery College to pursue a degree in Web Design. LAYC will present JC with an award for outstanding performance during his tenure at AmeriCorps. The award will allow him to purchase books and other educational materials.

Scholarship Organization Salutes its Newest Recipients
Five LAYC students became recipients of New Futures Scholarships, which will allow them to pursue post-secondary educational opportunities. The awardees included Keith Hines, who is pursuing a bachelors in Special Education at UDC; Dominique Howe, who studies cosmetology at Bennett Career Institute; Andrea Lopez, a graduate from YouthBuild now studying English as Second Language at Bennett Career Institute; Beatriz Priscilla Mendizabal, and Minerva Lazo, both pursuing dual bachelors and masters degrees in Human Services at Lincoln University. Keith, Beatriz, and Minerva were re-applicants, and this is their second time winning the scholarship.

To honor the students, New Futures organized a luncheon at Potter’s House on January 26 attended by Keith, Andrea, and Monica Fernandez, LAYC’s In-School Program Coordinator and Upward Bound Senior Advisor. During their emotive speeches, Keith and Andrea thanked the scholarship organization for the opportunity, and stated that if it weren’t for the extra help, they wouldn’t be able to pursue their studies.

LAYC in the News

LAYC said goodbye to 2007 with several exciting media events, all within the space of one week:

• Patti Santucci, program coordinator for Focus on Kids, was interviewed by local Univision, the top-rated station for Latinos in DC, MD and VA.

• The Wall Street Journal article Doing Due Diligence on Your Donations described LAYC’s efforts to track outcomes and quoted our director of Learning and Evaluation Isaac Castillo, who said: “Fear of finding that something is not working" is what keeps more charities from investing in research about what works.

• Our Art + Media House’s Winter Exhibition, where students proudly displayed paintings, fashion designs, and graffiti art, was featured in DC’s Spanish language weekly Los Tiempos USA.

• LAYC was selected as one of Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s 2007 Neighborhood Builder Award recipients. This award recognizes organizations that are helping neighborhoods achieve excellence.  The award comes with $200,000 over two years in core operating support and leadership training.

2008 kicked off with a story in El Pregonero about Hispano/Latino Literacy Program, an interview with Washington Post reporter and Mario Gamboa about the Literacy Program and a mention of LAYC in Washington Post Target is Hiring article published Sunday, January 6.  DC NORTH wrote an article about our gang prevention work. The article illustrates the story of a former gang member whose life was transformed by our Girls Leadership program and also quotes Mai Fernandez, Legal and Strategy Director. Special Thanks to Jasmin Benab, coordinator of Girls Leadership, for helping make this article a reality.

Communications efforts in 2008 will include production of With Dignity and Joy, LAYC’s first marketing DVD; and the inaugural issue of an internal staff newsletter. Youth-centric pages will also be added to the website this year.

Additional media coverage in January and February included: an opinion piece about the significance of Martin Luther King in El Diario La Prensa, NY’s major Spanish language daily, and interview with Univision (local tv) with two LAYC’s youth about Martin Luther King, two articles in Maryland’s Gazette about LAYC’s efforts with the national citizenship and voting Ya Es Hora campaign, and another one about a community mural painted by some of our youth.

Farewell to 2007

Continuing the Latin American Youth Center’s tradition of a year-end celebration for clients, the organization successfully closed out 2007 with more than 200 people gracing the main building on Columbia Road. Youth and families gathered to welcome the holiday season, celebrate accomplishments, and simply have a good time.

From beginning to end, the partygoers’ joy shone through. Children (some, not so small!) took pictures with Santa. Teens busted the latest dance moves. Adults shared quality time. And everyone enjoyed a traditional holiday feast.

The verdict according to the hundreds of smiles: a sensational party.

This celebration would have not been possible without Santa’s little helpers: LAYC staff who donated gifts and partnering organizations and individuals who kindly donated funds and gifts to make the celebration a hit.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you:

The LAYC Family of Organizations is a network of youth centers, schools, and social enterprises with a shared commitment to helping youth become successful and happy young adults, with the skills they need to succeed educationally, professionally and personally.  For more information, please go to www.layc-dc.org.