scale organization, reaching more youth throughout the City of New Haven (and at some point possibly beyond). But we want to grow in a way that creates more long-term contact with youth. There- fore, we developed the idea of a Neighborhood Model. In this model, now being pi- loted in the Westville Manor public housing development of West Rock, we are devel- oping a menu of programs that reach youth from age 5 to 18. Youth in the commu- nity have opportunities to Explore! Do! And Teach! throughout their adoles- cence. The programs are designed for youth to build on previous experience, gaining more leadership and responsibility as well as skills, knowledge and personal strength. Here is a sample of Neighborhood Model Programs: S TEWARD TEAM: our keystone pro- gram that guides youth in (1) exploring their local commu- nity, learning ecology and teamwork through hands-on experiences—Kids Explore!, (2) devel- oping community service action pro- jects that address an issue in their envi- ronment - Kids Do!, and(3) teach what they’ve learned to others—Kids Teach! C ITYCOLOGY: teenagers are trained as environmental educators who then lead programs for younger chil- dren in their neighborhood. S ERVICE CREW: youth participate in weekly projects that help others. So far in 2008 they have planted a garden whose harvest will be donated to a local homeless shelter, built raptor boxes for injured birds, planted flowers in elderly neighbors yards, removed illegal dumping from the woods behind their community, and much more. Volume 7 2007 Year-in-Review NEWSLETTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS Aviv Aviad Ed Bonilla Zoe Brookes Joe Denicola Nicole Dunnaville Youth Member Heather Gilbert Rebecca Gratz Javaughn Harris Youth Member Norris Haynes Rachel Hereema Cathy Jones Shakila McKnight Youth Member Chris Rector Joanne Sciulli Kate Walton INSIDE see our 2007 accomplishments and how Kids Explore! Kids Do! Kids Teach! SOLAR YOUTH GROWS UP WITH STRATEGIC PLANNING Moet Charles and Kim Barnes hiking in West Rock Park Nehemiah harvesting sunfowers in the garden A DVENTURE TEAM: weekly adventures that get youth moving and explor- ing, such as hiking in West Rock Ridge State Park, discovering insects in Wintergreen Brook, fishing and more. In addition to expanded programs, our 3-Year Stra- tegic Plan includes build- ing our organizational ca- pacity to become a larger organization, and planning for growth — e.g. raising the funding to support expansion. These are to prepare us of our ultimate goal or replicating the model in other neighborhoods of New Haven. Turn the page and see how you can help! I n 2007, Solar Youth went through its first strategic planning process. Sup- ported by Empower New Haven, staff, Board and youth took the oppor- tunity to reflect on what we have ac- complished in our first 7 years. We then launched into exciting brainstorming about where we want to go and who we want to be. Led by Brenda O’Neil of Lightspeed, LLC and our amazing committee chair Zoe Brookes, we re- searched other organizations and in- terviewed our many stakeholders, eventually coming to some conclu- sions. Based on our experiences, confirmed by research, we see the most powerful outcomes in the youth come about when there is lasting contact — when Solar Youth becomes a positive, reliable and con- sistent influence in a young person’s life. One major example is that of JJ Harris (see page 8). Jaleesa Freeman, another long-time participant (youth highlight, page 10), says it well in her college essay: “Solar Youth has opened many doors for me and helped me explore many things in life. I not only learned about my com- munity but it helped me to explore myself as well. Solar Youth showed me not only what nature was, but the defi- nition of leadership, responsibility and hard work.” During the planning process, we de- cided that we want to become a city- Solar Youth showed me not only what nature was, but the definition of leader- ship, responsibility and hard work. -Jaleesa Freeman Service Crew ready for trailblazing
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Transcript
scale organization, reaching more youth throughout the
City of New Haven (and at
some point possibly beyond).
But we want to grow in a way that creates more long-term
contact with youth. There-
fore, we developed the idea
of a Neighborhood Model.
In this model, now being pi-
loted in the Westville Manor
public housing development of West Rock, we are devel-
oping a menu of programs
that reach youth from age 5
to 18. Youth in the commu-nity have opportunities to
Explore! Do! And Teach!
throughout their adoles-
cence. The programs are designed for youth to build
on previous experience, gaining
more leadership and responsibility as
well as skills, knowledge and personal strength.
Here is a sample of
Neighborhood Model Programs:
S TEWARD TEAM: our
keystone pro-gram that guides
youth in (1) exploring
their local commu-
nity, learning ecology a n d te a mw o r k
through hands-on
experiences—Kids Explore!, (2) devel-
oping community service action pro-jects that address an issue in their envi-
ronment - Kids Do!, and(3) teach what
they’ve learned to others—Kids Teach!
C ITYCOLOGY: teenagers are trained
as environmental educators who
then lead programs for younger chil-
dren in their neighborhood.
S ERVICE CREW: youth participate in
weekly projects that help others.
So far in 2008 they have planted a
garden whose harvest will be donated to a local homeless shelter, built raptor
boxes for injured birds, planted flowers
in elderly neighbors yards, removed illegal dumping from the woods behind
their community, and much more.
Volume 7 2007 Year-in-Review NEWSLETTER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Aviv Aviad
Ed Bonilla
Zoe Brookes
Joe Denicola
Nicole Dunnaville Youth Member
Heather Gilbert
Rebecca Gratz
Javaughn Harris Youth Member
Norris Haynes
Rachel Hereema
Cathy Jones
Shakila McKnight Youth Member
Chris Rector
Joanne Sciulli
Kate Walton
INSIDE see our 2007 accomplishments and how Kids Explore! Kids Do! Kids Teach!
SOLAR YOUTH GROWS UP
WITH STRATEGIC PLANNING
Moet Charles and Kim Barnes hiking in West Rock Park
Nehemiah harvesting sunfowers in the garden
A DVENTURE TEAM: weekly adventures that get youth moving and explor-
ing, such as hiking in West Rock Ridge
State Park, discovering
insects in Wintergreen Brook, fishing and more.
In addition to expanded
programs, our 3-Year Stra-tegic Plan includes build-
ing our organizational ca-
pacity to become a larger
organization, and planning for growth — e.g. raising
the funding to support
expansion. These are to prepare us of
our ultimate goal or replicating the model in other neighborhoods of New
Haven.
Turn the page and see how you can help!
I n 2007, Solar Youth went through its first strategic planning process. Sup-
ported by Empower New Haven,
staff, Board and youth took the oppor-
tunity to reflect on what we have ac-complished in our first 7 years. We then
launched into exciting brainstorming
about where we want to go and who
we want to be. Led by Brenda O’Neil of Lightspeed, LLC and our amazing
committee chair Zoe Brookes, we re-
searched other organizations and in-
terviewed our many stakeholders, eventually coming to some conclu-
sions.
Based on our experiences, confirmed
by research, we see the most powerful outcomes in the youth come about
when there is lasting contact —
when Solar Youth becomes a positive, reliable and con-sistent influence in a young person’s life. One major example
is that of JJ Harris (see page 8).
Jaleesa Freeman, another long-time
participant (youth highlight, page 10),
says it well in her college essay: “Solar Youth has opened many doors for me
and helped me explore many things in
life. I not only learned about my com-
munity but it helped me to explore myself as well. Solar Youth showed me
not only what nature was, but the defi-
nition of leadership, responsibility and
hard work.”
During the planning process, we de-
cided that we want to become a city-
Solar Youth showed
me not only what nature was, but the
definition of leader-ship, responsibility and hard work.
-Jaleesa Freeman
Service Crew ready for trailblazing
Solar Youth, Inc. provides opportunities for young people to develop a positive sense of self, and a connection and
commitment to others through programs that incorporate environmental exploration, leadership and community service.
2007-08 Adult Staff
Joanne Sciulli EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Rosana Garcia PROGRAM MANAGER (SPRING)
Evelyn Diaz
OFFICE MANAGER
Gamaliel Moses PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Elizabeth Studley PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Kimberly Barnes ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR
Zeny Pfisterer ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR
Jessica Heringer ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR
Kelly Misiak ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR
Maggie Dressel
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR
2007 Youth Staff
Nicole Dunnaville Jody Ann Purcell
Sara Torres Tatiana Winn Carlene Barnes Bernice Council Dontae Lucky
Shawanda Miller Leshae S. Sparks Tayler West
Valerie Rodriguez Joel L. Suarez
Taleequa Arrington Shanea Lucky
Shakila McKnight Stacey Dixon
Fransmari Dippini Jaleesa Freeman Quanisha Solomon Robert E. Hickerson Science Burress Arthur Mabry Luquaia Melton
Rodnesha Williams-Green Jamika Henry
Jose Benitez-Rivera Aisha Gambrell Aurora Wright Glorive Rivera
Every year we produce a newsletter that highlights our accomplishments. It has
taken a while to get the 2007 Year-in-Review completed, but we feel it essential
to share with our friends, families and partners last years’ adventures.
As the article on the front indicates, 2007 was the beginning of a new vision for
Solar Youth. The first task—piloting our new Neighborhood Model—is well un-
derway. The second two tasks are ones we need your help with.
In order for us to take what we have learned and make a difference in more
children’s lives, as we believe we can, we need the support of a vast network
of people. I encourage you to read about our youth’s accomplishments, and
then think about how, if you also believe in what we do, you can be a part of
it— by becoming a FOSY (Friend of Solar youth through donation), leading us to
resources, or offering help or advice.
Thank you in advance for your interest and support!
Sincerely,
Joanne Sciulli Executive Director
Here are our youths’
suggestions for saving energy.
Go outside Go outside Go outside Go outside instead of watching TV all day
Put on more clothes more clothes more clothes more clothes to stay warm instead of heat.
Ride a bikeRide a bikeRide a bikeRide a bike, or walk instead of a car
Hang clothes Hang clothes Hang clothes Hang clothes up instead of putting in the dryer
Change your light light light light bulbs
Plug appliances into a power strippower strippower strippower strip— this saves energy
E ach year during the April
Spring vacation, Solar Youth
runs a three day program
where youth from our city wide NEIGHBORHOOD STEWARD TEAMS
gather and focus on one theme
as they Explore! Do! and Teach!
Last year staff focused on issues of
energy and climate change.
DAY 1 Based at the ranger station in East
Rock Park (thanks Ranger Dan!),
staff taught youth about energy,
sources of energy, and the differ-
ence between renewable and
non-renewable energy.
After lunch we then used our bod-
ies’ energy to hike to the Summit
of East Rock. In the picture to the
left youth begin their assent up the
Giant Steps.
Day 2 On the second day youth learned
about the natural greenhouse
effect from interns Nicole, Shakila
and Tatiana. Through an active
game and discussions, they
learned about the connection
between energy use and global climate change.
Day 3 On the New Haven Green down-
town, staff led youth in a Energy
Conservation Relay where they
learned different ways to conserve
energy.
Later, in the Children’s Room of the
New Haven Free Public Library,
youth educated children and par-
ents in about what they learned
during the Summit.
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 3
YOUTH SUMMIT—APRIL 2007
Nicole and Tatiana teach the Greenhouse Effect
Youth Summit Stewards and Staff in front of New Haven City Hall
Tenajah and Moet present their energy poster
Juan hangs clothes on a line during Energy Efficiency Relay Race.
At left, Javier plugs appliances into energy-saving power strip.
STREET TEAM for the Spring Season. After the team put a lot of thinking and energy into
developing plans for their C-SAP, the George
Street Team decided on a beautification
project for their community. They worked with Olivia and Rick from Mutual Housing to plant
flowers around their building.
Mutual Housing - Poplar St. The POPLAR STREET TEAM planted flowers in
the empty beds of their new housing devel-
opment with supplies donated by Mutual Housing. They learned how to plant flowers,
what plants need to live, and how to deal
with problems that come up. When some
other kids wrecked some of the flowers, they planted more and put little fences up to pro-
tect them.
Hill Central Teams The HILL CENTRAL 5th Grade Team identified
no recycling bins in the classroom as the problem they wanted to address for their C-
SAP. They reused 35 cardboard boxes to
make recycling bins. The school janitors par-ticipated in the project by committing to
collect the recycling along with their trash
pick-ups.
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 4
Neighborhood Steward Teams (NSTs) are After-school Programs run in collaboration
with NEW HAVEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS and COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS. Fol-
lowing the model Kids Explore! Kids Do! Kids Teach!, adult educators and high school interns guide youth through community and science explorations, the Community Service Action
Project (C-SAP) cycle and in creating a Public Education Project. Based on strong youth de-
velopment principles, the program empowers youth to become positive agents of change.
Westville Manor The WESTVILLE MANOR TEAM started off the
season by learning about natural resource
conservation. They learned about landfills and what happens to trash once they put it
in the dumpster. They talked about the three
R's, decomposition and composting - nature's
way of recycling. They adopted 1,000 com-posting red worms and started feeding them
food scraps. They took soil samples from
around the neighborhood and looked at the different layers, talking about biotic and
abiotic materials in the soil.
The WVM Team decided to focus on the
problem of cigarette butts as litter for their C-
SAP. During their cleanup, youth picked up over 1000 cigarette butts. In choosing their
focus, youth made some good connections
between cigarette butt litter, watersheds and
decomposition, or lack there-of. Their clean-up was followed by a PSA video shoot where
they explain the harmful effects of cigarette
butt litter. WATCH IT NOW! At http://solaryouthinc.blogspot.com
Mutual Housing-George St. Water, Ecosystems, Resource Conservation,
Trees, Cultural differences, Oh My! This was
the lesson plan for Mutual Housing’s GEORGE
The HILL CENTRAL 4th Grade Team learned
about point source and non-point source
pollution. They identified litter in their commu-nity as the problem and organized a clean-
up. Paul Bass, from the New Haven Inde-
pendent, came in to teach the team how to
write an article about their C-SAP and access the website from their school.
John S. Martinez School With help from the City of New Haven’s Liv-
able City Initiative and Grand Paint, the
JOHN MARTINEZ TEAM accomplished their objective of painting over the graffiti on the
building across from the school's playfield. As
a result, they were featured in many local
newspapers and on the New Haven Inde-pendent website! The youth learned that
they can make a difference, and persever-
ance pays off!
Westville Manor This fall the youth of Westville Manor explored the rich natural resources around their
neighborhood, including West Rock Ridge
State Park and Wintergreen Brook, both in
their backyards. They helped put their com-munity garden to bed for the winter and har-
vested the
remaining to-
matoes and peppers they
planted last
spring. For their
C-SAP, Youth saw that a
memorial gar-
den in their neighborhood
was in ...
Barnard School At Barnard Environmental Magnet School,
our NST team had the privilege of spending
our afternoons at West River Memorial Park. After an exciting trip to the Garbage Mu-
seum in Stratford, CT, the team had the idea
of separating the trash that had been col-
lected at the park on many afternoons and making Trash Art with the recyclable materi-
als. Our creative minds worked together to
form some interesting new artwork to spice up the front lobby at Barnard!
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 5
poor shape. They decided to clean up the garden in addition to plant bulbs and design
a new sign for the garden.
Mutual Housing-George St. This season George Street Steward Team
learned about New Haven’s rivers, treking to
Edgewood Park to see the West River. Along with learning about the ecosystem, resource
conservation, and trees, the group did a
cigarette butt clean up around their apart-ment (over 400 butts!) and were photo-
graphed for New Haven Magazine to recog-
nize their community service.
Mutual Housing - Poplar St. Participants at Mutual Housing Poplar Street
revisited Adaptations, Ecosystems, Water-
sheds, Tree ID and Resource Conservation. Since all the participants were returning, new
games and hands on activities were used to
reinforce past topics. They also explored
“Natural Magic” by conducting science ex-periments in the dark and learning about the
unique things nature can do for them. For this
fall season of NST the students were hoping to
volunteer at an animal shelter but due to age restrictions, they brainstormed and iden-
tified another way to give back to their com-
munity. Participants did a clean up in their
community and decided that their commu-nity center needed bigger recycling bins.
John S. Martinez School The Team explored Adaptations, Ecosystems,
Trees, Resource Conservation, Energy and
Climate Change and Natural Magic! Team-building was a major part of every day, as
well as learning how to give back to the
community. Students chose their own C-SAP
project after working through the C-SAP process and decided that garbage was a
major environmental issue in their school’s
community. Over the course of two days
students picked up cigarette buts, card-board, plastic and countless other items.
Truman School This fall was Truman’s first season with Solar
Youth and the kids really got into it! Along
with learning about the ecosystem, water-sheds, adaptations, and resource conserva-
tion, they put their knowledge to great use
by doing a GIANT trash and glass clean up
around their school! The group collected over 25 pounds of glass and was amazed by
how much they accomplished when they
worked as a team!
Hill Central School Youth identified graffiti as their problem. They
decided to create a comic book to hand out in order to educate others about the
issue. They learned that graffiti is an art form
and is not always bad.
Fall Steward Team Staff Training at Camp Whitman
Excerpt from Hill Central's Graffiti Comic Book
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 6
Y outh studied the
ways in which a landscape’s history
shapes its features
and organisms that
inhabit it. We identi-fied native and inva-
sive plants, explored
u rban ecology,
gardens and parks. Some of the places
we visited were the Marsh Botanic Gar-den, Edgerton Park and Outer Island.
Y outh examined the environments in
which animals inhabit. We explored the
place where a species is found, and identi-fied the characteristics of the place i.e. cli-
mate or availability of suitable food or shelter
that makes each location especially well
suited to meet the needs of that species. We explored tidal, inter-tidal and shore ecology
and their animal inhabitants. We studied
The CSSC unites youth from all over
New Haven in an intensive environ-
mental education and youth develop-
ment program utilizing our Kids Ex-plore! Kids Do! Kids Teach! model.
Youth visit different locations in Con-
necticut to learn about the environ-
ment and come up with Community
Service Action Projects to help solve
problems. The summer ends with a
Public Education Project, where friends and family learn about all the youth
learned and accomplished!
S ummer 2007’s theme was Biodiversity. In harmony with our diversity
theme we were fortunate to have a diverse staff from around the
globe: China, Dominica, Kenya, Vietnam and the United States. Each
week educators, interns and campers explored a different topic in depth
through field trips, hands-on lessons and games, and visits from guest
speakers. Here is a summary of what we did!
Culturally Diverse Staff called for
BioDiversity Education this summer! Adult Staff (and place of origin), left: Gameliel Moses (Dominica), Kelly Mahoney (Texas), Cody Norris (New Haven), Yale President Public Service Fellow: Amandla Obooko (Kenya),
Yale China Interns: Anita Nananan(Hong Kong), Ming Nah (Vietnam)
interrelationship of humans, animals and society through a visit to the Yale horse sta-bles with Leg Up, Inc., Mystic Aquarium and
a day with a visiting artist whose work focuses
on the adaptive skills animals use to carve a
niche in developed areas.
F ood is an exploration of culture! What we
consume, how we get it, who prepares it,
who’s at the table and who eats first is a form of communication, rich with meaning. Food
is a bond which brings together families, indi-
viduals, communities and countries. This
week we explored human-based food webs including the cultivation, production and
industry of food by visiting City Seed’s down-
town Farmers Market, picking blueberries at
a local farm, and going on a scavenger hunt in Shaw’s Supermarket! Youth learned that
there are 120 restaurants located within a
two block radius of downtown as they wrapped up the week with a delicious food
tour sampling the diversity of food represen-
tative of the history of ethnic immigration to
New Haven - Thai, Jamaican, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Indian, American, Spanish, etc.
Fall NST Staff Training at Camp Whitman
One of our daily team-building challenges
Snack Magoo and helper Niamke after handing out snack!
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 7
T he CSSC Public Education Forum was held at the New Haven Free Public Library. Everyone played an introductory game which demonstrated that
we all had something in common. Youth then presented what they learned
and what they did for the summer to an audience including community mem-
bers, family members and Solar Youth supporters. Through skits that included audience participation, they taught others about the importance of habitat
conservation on biodiversity and their experiences learning about new cultures.
Then the entire camp lead everyone in a presentation of song and dance.
This program was made possible by the fol-
lowing:
•New Haven Public Schools
•Louis G. Schaneman, Jr. Foundation
•City of New Haven Youth@Work
•Yale President Public Service Fellowship
• Yale China internship program
•Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
•And individual FOSY (Friends of Solar Youth)
Y outh were split into three Teams to go through Solar Youth’s Commu-
nity Service Action Project process. In
this process youth identify problems,
choose a problem to address, re-search that problem, brainstorm solu-
tions, develop action plans, and take
action.
The 2 Step Tigers Team designed
postcards in order to address the problem of global warming. They drew
pictures of actions individuals can do to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide
and methane which causes the
greenhouse gas effect.
The Transformers Team de-
cided to address the problem of stray animals and endangered species. So
they made large posters to encour-age people to protect and care for
the animals we share the earth with.
The Ligers Team believed that
they as campers could do outreach for Solar Youth so they decided to
make an information card about Solar Youth using the lunch trays they col-
lected. This also reinforced the impor-
tance of reducing and reusing things.
K ids learned about the natural systems in
a given environment and how they influence what a village, town or city pro-
duces. In discussions and while visiting the
Mashentucket Pequot Museum we com-pared the material culture of indigenous
and native peoples to that which we pro-
duce today.
Christian and Randell picking (and tasting) blueberries
2007 Youth Staff Plus age and # years with Solar Youth in ()
Shakila McKnight 16 years old (9 in SY)
Jaleesa Freeman
17 (9)
Shanea Lucky 15 (3)
Stacey Dixon 16 (1)
Fransmari Dippini, 16 (1)
Taleequa Arrington
17 (1)
Exploring tidal pools at SCSU’s Outer Island
T his summer we offered a Digital Storytel-ling Program in collaboration with The
Color of Words. a six-week summer program
offered to eight young people ages 14 to 19
led by Magalis Martinez. This program served as a media internship that included compre-
hensive writing and technology based work-
shops where participants developed the fol-
lowing skills: writing, public speaking, presen-tation, critical thinking, digital photography
and digital video production/editing.
Each intern was to complete a digital story— 2-3 minute “mini-movies” which include a
personal narrative (voice-over) accompa-
nied by photos and/or video footage. In their
personal stories they revisited their personal experiences and explored their growth as
young individuals. It was an amazing experi-
ence to have them open up in such ways.
The stories had as much an affect on their audience, composed of family and friends,
as it did on the Interns themselves.
In their own words: I could never forget the day I watched my
personal digital story come to life. It was like
watching my whole life, being summed into 4
short minutes. It made me feel as if I had
done something that very few people get the
opportunity to do, and helped change my
outlook on life into a totally new direction!...
Thanks for not only believing in my work, my
abilities, or my character, but for just... believ-
ing ...in me. - Dontae Lucky, 15
… It’s like I got a second opportunity to do
something different for my life, for the good of
me. Going through the process of making my
own digital story made me a better charac-
ter. It let me see different views of different
things. … I learned how to never judge any-
one, regardless of the standards of which
they live in. … I proved to myself and to eve-
ryone else that i can do anything i put my
mind to. – Shawanda Miller, 15
This collaboration was
supported by
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 8
A collaboration with
J avaughn Harris has been involved with Solar Youth since 2000. He has served as
Youth Advisory Group Coordinator, been a
member of the Board of Directors for 6 years,
and represented New Haven at the Children's
World Summit in Japan in 2005. Last summer
(before starting his senior year of high school)
he started his OWN youth program to serve
the children on his block. The most extraordi-
nary part of the story was that when he called
for some advice, he was not asking if he could
do this. In fact, it never occurred to him that
he couldn’t. We are so proud of JJ and Ca-
price! -Joanne
Thompson Street Youth Coalition By Javaughn Harris
T he Thompson Street Youth Coalition was
founded by Caprice Taylor and myself.
The reason why Caprice and I wanted to
start our own organization was because there really wasn't anything for youth
to do in the Newhallville area of
New Haven. Our first thought
was just have a big awareness event where all the kids from the
Newhallville area could come
and there would be different reps for youth organizations
around New Haven, but as we
started to plan we decided it would be more
effective for us just to have our own program.
As more planning went on I decided to call
Joanne at Solar Youth to tell her about our efforts and what we were trying to do.
Joanne was very enthusiastic and happy to help us with all that she could do, including
getting us in contact with two people that
really helped us in a big way. One was Andy
Boone who gave me guidance on making the actual outline of the program. I had many
meetings with Andy, talking about the pro-
gram side, but also the business side. He let me know people would be
willing to help us more if we had a
fiduciary where people can donate
there money too, so they can feel safe in where their money was going.
I decided that we should ask Solar
Youth to be our fiduciary because
Joanne and Solar Youth were really the reason I realized there was a need for a
youth program similar to Solar Youth in the
Newhallville Area.
Other people that helped were Paul Bass who
got us attention through the New Haven Inde-
pendent online daily, and Andy Ross who
donated a lot of money to help us out.
After all the business was in place it was time for the summer to start. The first day of camp
was very exciting and fun. We started out the
day with all the kids getting to know each
other by playing games and telling stories about themselves. After lunch we took the
kids downtown on the Green to play. I wish I
could say that was how all the days went dur-ing this summer. I learned that anything that
could happen, would happen. That is why this
summer was a great learning adventure. Me
and the staff experienced bus cancellations, not having lunch for the kids, and not even
having a place to hold camp the last few
days.
Some things I learned
this summer was that you always have to
plan, then organize,
then plan again be-
cause you always have to have plan B.
Some other things I
learned were that
mistakes will happen, and the people that
are suppose to really support you and be on
your side are sometimes the ones who will
hold you back.
All in all the summer was really fun and excit-ing. I really learned a lot and the kids did also.
Some of them still call my house asking when is
camp going to start because they had so
much fun, and they cant wait for next year.
Thompson Street youth on the New Haven Green
...we decided it
would be more
effective for us
just to have our
own program.
Youth Start their OWN summer Program Youth Start their OWN summer Program
Clockwise from top left: Geraldine Robinson, Carlene Barnes, Valerie
Rodriguez, Shawanda Miller, Leshae S. Sparks, Dontae Lucky, Joel L.
Suarez, Science Burress, Tayler West, Robert Hickerson
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 9
The mission of the YAG is to is “to advise
Solar Youth on what kids like to do, act as a
youth voice, support the success of Solar
Youth, and help youth grow in their attitudes,
knowledge and skills we will need in the future.
“Don’t litter, don’t litter, don’t litter on the
street. Keep it clean and keep it neat, don’t
litter on the street.”
This is the chorus of the song Jalana Kelley wrote in the Eco Arts and Culture Program. The program, led by Gamaliel Moses, al-
lowed youth to express themselves through different art forms as they learned about the
Carribean environment and cultures. Partici-
pants played Afro-Caribbean drumming
rhythms as they learned about Caribbean ecology (tropical rainforests and volcanic
islands) through storytelling, poetry and
popular theater. Youth wrote poems, songs
and skits then performed them to the sound of drums and other percussion instruments
played by other participants. The program
ended with a ‘Bang’ with the youth perform-
ing for the community at Katherine Brennan School. They also performed at the West
Rock Community Pride Parade and on the
New Haven Green at the International Festi-
val of Arts and Ideas Village of Villages.
HOLA: Hands-on Outdoor Learning Adventure
HOLA is Solar Youth’s in-school program that compliments Connecticut Science Standards
though experiential learning with hands-on, fun lessons. We have continued and expanded our
partnership with Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School.
R eaching out to over 220 students, each class in the 2nd through 5th grades meets
with HOLA educators four times throughout
the school year to participate in customized
sessions in the tradition of Solar Youth, includ-ing games, songs and hands-on lessons.
W e are excited to have the opportunity
during our 2007-2008 season to intro-
duce youth to the Nature Center in West River Memorial Park, located across the
street from Barnard. Connected by a bridge
over Ella T. Grasso Boulevard, students and teachers have easy and exciting access to
the park.
“I just received notice that your group visited my daughter’s class at Barnard Environ-
mental Magnet School
today” commented a
parent of a 3rd grade student. “The visit had
such a positive impact
on her that she could-
n’t stop talking about it. Please keep up the
good work.”
M arjorie Drucker,
Barnard’s Magnet
Theme Content Coor-dinator, shares that
“Solar Youth provides a hands-on, minds-on
experience that appeals to all learners. The
techniques used are their trademarks and make learning fun. We are so glad to have
them as partners.”
This program was supported through the
school’s Magnet School funding, which
ends this year. We are currently looking for new support to keep the mutually beneficial partnership alive.
I n October, members of the Youth Advisory
Group attended the “Connecting for Change, Bioneers by the Bay Con-ference” in Massachusetts. The confer-
ence is “a hub of practical solutions for re-
storing the Earth and its inhabitants.” Five youth and two staff traveled to Dartmouth,
MA, and met other youth involved with envi-
ronmental and youth leadership work.
Throughout the conference, YAG members were responsible for conducting at least one
interview with a speaker, workshop organizer, or other youth group.
H esitant at first, the youth started
making their way through the crowds of attendees and speakers. Un-
knowingly, they came to interview some
of the most important people at the
conference, including Van Jones—a civil rights and environmental
justice advocate from Oakland, California.
In speaking and interacting with individuals
and organizations with similar goals, simple enthusiasm grew into a vision.
On the last day of the conference, the
Youth Advisory Group was asked to introduce themselves on stage to
the more than 400 conference at-
tendees. They led a game of
“Gotcha,” an ice-breaker, for the entire auditorium. As the members
of the YAG mentioned their number
of years in affiliation with Solar Youth, some going back eight
years, the crowd acknowledged
their commitment with roaring ap-
plause!
S olar Youth YAG members trav-
eled to Dartmouth for the op-
portunity to serve as participants in the Bioneers by the Bay conference
and came back an empowered
group of young individuals.
Arthur Mabry, Nicole Dunnaville, Shakila McKnight, conference
participant, Rodnesha Williams-Green, and Luquaia Melton
The visit had
such a posi-
tive impact
on her that
she couldn’t
stop talking
about it. -from parent email
Performing at the Peabody Museum, MLK Day 2008
Performing on the New Haven Green
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 10
Thank You Rose! Rosana Garcia came to Solar Youth as our Program
Manager in 2005. She kept Solar Youth on task by jug-
gling the day to day administration of programs. She has
moved on to new adventures with Easter Seals/Good Will Industries. Good Luck Miss Rose!
J aleesa has been a part of Solar Youth for half her life. In 1999 she was in our pilot programs,
and was one of the four youth who helped write
our mission, by-laws and vision in 2000. As a
member of the Board of Directors for the first four years, she was an excellent spokesperson for the
organization, and presented at conferences
such as the New England Grassroots Environ-
mental Fund and North American Association for Environmental Education. She has held roles
as participant, intern and youth educator. This
coming summer, at age 18, she may be hired as
an adult staff.
In the last 8 years, we have seen a spinly, sassy,
Left: 9 year old Jaleesa climbing West Rock in 2000
Above: Teaching Farnum Neighborhood House youth, 2006
On Saturdays, we invite members of all Steward
Teams to day-long ad-
ventures, to explore new
places and meet youth from around the city.
Here are highlights:
JALEESA FREEMAN
E velyn Diaz came to Con-necticut in the summer of
2006 from southern California
in search of adventure. She
found more that she bar-gained for here at Solar
Youth! As our first Office Manager, Evelyn organized
our systems, developed poli-cies and procedures, man-
aged our books and has
been a rock of support for
our growing family of staff, youth and volunteers. She has become an indis-pensable partner to SY’s Executive Director in all things organizational.
Regular office visitors Jalana and Teniya learned that she likes music, cheese
and the color purple. She aspires to have a career in audio production and
has taken classes towards that goal. Program Director Beth Studley says that “Evelyn brightens up the office with her positive attitude. You can tell that
Solar Youth is in her heart.”
EVELYN DIAZ
Jan Peabody Museum-MLK Day CATS @ the Shubert Theatre
Mar Sleeping Giant State Park
Harbor Trail with Chris Osyck
Apr Sleeping Beauty @ the Shubert May Edgewood Park
West Rock Hike
East Rock Hike & Canoeing
Freddy Fixer Parade Oct Sleeping Giant State Park
East Rock Park Festival
Mercy Center and Children of
the Earth Foundation Nov West Rock Nature Center
East Rock Park
Trash Museum
Dec Norwalk Maritime Aquarium
With Mayor of New Haven at Freddy Fixer Parade Island clean-up along the West River
Hiking in the rain in West Rock Park Learning to make fird at Mercy
Interns Rodneshia, Luquaia, Aurora & Khaleya
Picking up broken glass from summit
of West Rock Ridge State Park
Castle at Sleeping Giant State Park
F.O.S.Y. F.O.S.Y. 20072007
FRIENDS OF SOLAR YOUTH
Aaron Amason, Joseph Ambrose, Aviv Aviad, Melissa Bailey, Lisa Bassani, Dave Bechtel, Madeline Bergeron, Erica
& David Millen, Meredith Miller, Florence Miller, G. Miller, Ross Mitchell, JoAnne Moore, Julia Moore-
Aiello, Artemis Morris, Elise Morrison, Joelle
Musante, Mark Newhall, Julie Newman, Sara
Ohly, Alison Ormsby, Elisabet Orville, Inge Osborne, Susan Papa, Kim Parent-Hayash, Christina
Park, Melanie Payne, Muffy Pendergast, Stephen
Pendergast, Alice Perry, Dennis Peters, Darren Peterson, Jackie Peterson, Zenaida Pfisterer, Stephen
Press, Dennis Preziosi, Mason Rabinowitz, Gretchen
Raffa, Kristen Rashidi, Brome Rice, Mats & Lauri
Robbins Ericson, Jackel Robinson, Josephine Robin-son & Dean Fischer, Rob Rocke, Randi Ruben
Rodriguez, Beth Rosen, Eva Rosenthal, Marjorie
Rosenthal, Andrew Ross, Renee Ruhl, Duane
Samuel, Jonathan Scheuer, Duncan Schmitt, Joanne Sciulli, Barbara & Frank
Sciulli, Michael & Dina Secchiaroli, Melina Shannon-
DiPietro, Judi Sheiffele, Matthew Short, Claire Shubik, Ina Silverman, Sean Smith, Felicia Smuts, Rob
Smuts, Timothy Speevack, Martha Stone, David
Streever, Shanna Strongin, Christian Taylor, Aisha
Thompson, Kevin Van Aelst, Christopher
VanZenton, Santos Vargas, Cass Vertefeulle, Jennifer Vickery, Janna Wagner, Kate Walton, Emily Watzl, Veitl Watzl, Harry Wexler, Robin
Wingate-Pettway, Robin Winnat, Louise Zemina
BOLD=SUPERFOSY (GIFTS OVER $200)
to our...
State of Connecticut Department of Social Services
Community Foundation of Greater New Haven
New Haven Public Schools
Empower New Haven Non Profit Academy
City of New Haven (Youth@Work and Youth Initiative)
Annie E. Casey Foundation Mutual Housing of South Central Connecticut
Housing Authority New Haven (in kind office space)
Lewis G. Schaeneman, Jr. Foundation
Public Allies of Connecticut
NewAlliance Foundation
United Way of Greater New Haven
Betsy & Jesse Fink Fund
City Wide Youth Coalition
E-bay Foundation
• RETURN ENCLOSED ENVELOPE TODAY! (don't wait)
• Send check to: 53 Wayfarer St., New Haven, CT 06515
• Donate online at www.solaryouth.org
• Sell things on Ebay? Donate a % through Missionfish.org
• Extra Time? Volunteer for trips, Committees or Board
• Tell a Friend—& join the FOSY Posse!
All $$ contributions are tax deductible All $$ contributions are tax deductible
SOLAR YOUTH, INC. x PAGE 11
53 Wayfarer Street New Haven, CT 06515 (203) 387-4189 [email protected]
www.solaryouth.org
NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE
PAID New Haven, CT
PERMIT NO. 67
In Their Words...
“He knows that is it everyone's responsibil-ity to help out with the
environment.” -Truman School
Team Parent
“[My son] has a difficult time behaving and getting along with other kids and I feel he has learned some valuable
skills this summer.” -Summer parent
“I plan to do some of my own exploring in the future because working at Solar Youth has truly influenced me to go out and try
new things and meet new people.” -Youth Intern
“Thank you and your students for be-ing such a positive force this week-end. ...Everyone in that room Sunday morning was blown away by your kids and they should be very proud
of themselves.” -Kalia Lydgate Organizer of Bioneers By the Bay conference
“She would share her experi-ences on the trips and she
would let me know things she learned about the environ-ment and taking care of it.”