Youth Leadership Academy Success!

Over the past year, students enrolled in our Reaching Excellence in Academics and Life (REAL) program have made significant strides in their academics. 21 students have made gains in their literacy and numeracy gains, and a number of them have answered the call of community service as a result of working with mentors provided by REAL.

One such story is Travon Washington. Travon was known as a student that was bright, but didn’t live up to his potential. When he first arrived in the REAL program, during the fall of 2008, his GPA was a dismal 1.6. By the spring of 2009, Travon turned himself into a 3.0 student. His grades are not the only thing that increased. During this past summer, Travon worked 180 hours at St. Stephens Church where he was able to assist staff with implementing program activities. Due to his strong work ethic in school and St. Stephens, Travon’s confidence has grown and he is looking to continue his success for his remaining years at Morse.

The CNC hopes to inspire more youth like Travon in 2010 and beyond through the good work done in our REAL program.

Christmas Tree Recycling Program

The City of San Diego’s Environmental Services Department will host the 36th Annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program beginning December 26, 2009 and running through January 23, 2010. This year’s program will offer 16 drop-off locations, available to City residents only, as well as curbside pickup for those customers with curbside yard waste collection.

Locations in southeastern San Diego are:

Encanto: Cielo Drive at Woodman Street
Logan Heights: Memorial Recreation Center, 2902 Marcy Avenue

Bus Passes and Compass Cards at Business Matters

MTS and Business Matters, with the help of Councilmember Tony Young, are bringing residents of the Fourth District access to public transportation. Bus Passes/Compass Cards will now be sold at Business Matters located at 336 Euclid Avenue, Suite 503, San Diego, CA 92114, inside Market Creek Plaza.

Happy Holidays from the CNC!

The CNC wishes you and yours a safe and happy holiday season!

CNC Holiday Hours

The CNC's offices will be closed Thursday, December 24 through January 3. The CNC will resume regular business hours on January 4 at 9am. Some Tubman-Chavez events will still occur during this time. Please get in touch with your point of contact for info regarding your event.

SIFE/YOEP Ceremony - December 18, 10am

This Friday, December 18 at 10am at the Tubman-Chavez Multicultural Center, students of the YOEP program will be receiving certificates of completion of work readiness training from San Diego City College's SIFE program. Since October, SIFE's director Dr. Leroy Brady and his students have been coming to the YOEP class every Friday to give lessons in personal and business ethics, work readiness, and business skills.

Eighteen YOEP students will be receiving certificates of completion after taking SIFE's Comprehensive Workshop Exam, which is an accumulation of lessons learned in workshops the students attended during the semester.

Join the CNC in congratulating these 18 students for their hard work and diligence during the semester as they strive to earn their GEDs and high school diplomas!

Bay Terrace Community Clean-up

During the summer, residents in the Bay Terrace Community had met with community builders at the Coalition of Neighborhood Councils to discuss organizing a neighborhood council. Together they decided to strategically plan the Bay Terrace Community Clean-up as a kick off for the council.

On November 21, 2009, over 100 volunteers showed up to participate, including 46 high school students, 34 middle school students, and 14 college students from Morse, Hoover, Sweetwater, Mission Bay, San Diego High, Bell Junior High, and UC San Diego.

Starting at 9:00 am, clean-up volunteers spent their Saturday landscaping hillsides, repairing and painting fences, and picking up trash from Alta View Road to Skyline Drive. Due to overwhelming turnout and the success of the event, the Bay Terrace Community Council is hoping to have a community clean-up annually as a central part of their council’s activities. They welcome anyone who would like to participate. For more information please call (619)325-3580.

The Grandparents Connection Recognizes the CNC

The Grandparents Connection has presented the CNC with a certificate of appreciation for its work with the Grandparents Connection and its work in the community. The CNC is glad to work with the Grandparents Connection and all other organizations that strive to make southeastern San Diego a better place to work, play, and live!

Call to Action for Our Residents

A call for help to the residents of the 4th District: Today (12/14) at 2pm, City Council will talk budget cuts. We are asking residents to call Councilmember Tony Young at 619-236-6644 to question cutting the Disability Services Department Analyst position. Please help us save this important position for our disabled friends, family, and neighbors!

Response to "Organizational Press Release" E-mail

On December 10, 2009, an e-mail entitled "UPDATE: Organizational Press Release" was sent out to the CNC's direct email list. This was not an approved communication by the Coalition of Neighborhood Councils, and the CNC is taking the appropriate steps and measures to ensure that this will not happen in the future. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Youth Opportunity and Employment Program update

On Wednesday, December 2, 2009, students from our Youth Opportunity and Employment Program (YOEP) attended the 24 Hour Fitness job fair at the South Metro Career Center. Our youth were excited about the employment opportunities that were made available to them, and four of them got the chance to interview and are looking forward to being contacted by 24 Hour Fitness. Several of our youth have successfully gained employment and are maintaining good standing with their employer and GED preparation. YOEP has 9 participants that have registered to take the GED exam. These youth have been faithfully committed to studying and are prepared to pass the exam.

The YOEP is an advocating stepping-stone for our youth. We are excited for our youth who have taken the initiative in attaining successful employment and registering for the GED exam. With the assistance of Students In Free Enterprise from San Diego City College, our youth have created resumes, cover letters, thank you notes and have obtained interview skills. Our youth are prepared for the employment process and are actively applying for employment opportunities. Our youth are adamant about practicing effective interviewing skills and learning successful employment tips. We are impressed with their diligence and commend them for their commitment to becoming better adults in our communities.

BUILDING OUR COMMUNITY TOGETHER - SATURDAY DEC 5, 2009

BUILDING OUR COMMUNITY TOGETHER SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2009.
Breakfast is served at 8:30 AM. Meeting occurs from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Join the CNC, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, SEDC and Councilmember Tony Young for a Building Our Community Together breakfast to celebrate seven years of progress and help create plans for the next seven years! The event will take place at the Joe and Vi Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Avenue, San Diego, CA 92114.

Click here to view the event flyer!
<http://www.cncsandiego.org/EMAIL_ASSETS/BOCT_12-5-09_Flyer.pdf>

Neighborhood Unity Foundation Grant Orientation - Dec 2, 2009

The Neighborhood Unity Foundation (NUF) new grant cycle orientation will be Wednesday, December 2, 2009 in Market Creek Plaza, Room 401 (next to L&L restaurant) from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.

If you have any questions regarding how to fill out the grant form for NUF please attend this meeting. However, if you have previously received a grant from NUF and know the process of filling out a NUF grant application, then you will be fine to simply turn in your application by the deadline of December 15, 2009. This is not a mandatory meeting. The Neighborhood Unity Foundation (NUF), in collaboration with San Diego Neighborhood Funders, is pleased to announce the 2010 - 2011 NUF Grants Program for the residents of southeastern San Diego. Eligible activities must:

• Promote this year’s theme, “Building Safe and Healthy Community;”
• Create connections between community members, and;
• Directly benefit the southeastern San Diego community.

Download the application here: Word / PDF