Thursday, May 20, 2010

Saying Farewell to Ally Trull, Director of Outreach

Earlier this month, we mentioned that Ally Trull, our first Director of Outreach, will leave us at the end of this month. Ally has contributed countless hours to the StandUp For Kids - Worcester chapter over the past three years. In honor of all her hard work and commitment, we recognized her during our Spring 2010 Volunteer Appreciation Party.

In picture (counter clockwise): Ally Trull, Donna Katsoudas (Executive Director), Liz Burrows (Assistant Executive Director), Jeff Burrows (Volunteer), Sue Kramer (Director of Kid Development), Cleon McClure (Co-Director of Adult Training), Jose Alvarez (New Director of Outreach), Kristina England (Co-Director of Adult Training).

Ally was presented with a scrapbook and some nifty little gifts before she leaves for a summer of volunteering. We hope to see her back in the Fall, perhaps with a job somewhere in central Massachusetts (Fingers crossed).

Ally's Last Street Outreach
Ally Trull conducted her last street outreach this week. Ally was joined by four members of the street outreach team: Jose Alvarez, Austin Eisele (Outreach Counselor), Kristina England, and Donna Katsoudas. We met several new kids during street outreach and even recruited a perspective volunteer for our June 16th information session.

Passing the Torch: Jose Alvarez, New Director of Outreach
We are excited to announce that Jose Alvarez has stepped into the position of Director of Outreach. Jose has been part of the outreach team for two years. He is best described as a lovable teddy bear by the other outreach counselors. Jose's responsibilities will include providing outreach updates to the street outreach team, managing the street outreach schedule, and most importantly, acting as a liaison between our kids and the many local services within the Worcester community. Ally Trull has transferred her wealth of knowledge to Jose. As an outreach counselor said, "It's tough shoes to fill" but we know Jose can do it!

Hard Shoes to Fill: Ken Latham, Co-Executive Director
It's with much sadness that we announce Ken Latham's departure from the Co-Executive Director position at SUFK - Worcester. Ken was our direct contact to the National Office. He maintained our monthly reports and provided us with all the latest news from National. Ken also served as an outreach counselor for a year. His presence will be truly missed. We wish him the best in his future ventures.

Upcoming Events
Today (right now actually), three of our volunteers are participating in the Worcester Police Youth Summit. Liz Burrows (Assistant Executive Director), Jeff Burrows (Volunteer), and Rob Donnelly (Volunteer) are running an information table at the event to get the word out about youth homelessness in the Worcester community. Liz also unveiled some new handouts today - a StandUp For Kids Crossword Puzzle and a StandUp For Kids Word Search. Liz definitely wins most creative volunteer for such exciting awareness materials!

This weekend, new volunteer Cleon McClure will step into the Co-Director of Adult Training position. He will co-train new volunteers with Kristina England.

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