Come Draw with Us on Saturday, June 12th!

Save the Date:
Chalk on the Streets/Turn Purple Campaign
Saturday, June 12th, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Worcester Downtown Common (Sidewalk in front of City Hall)
Questions? Email worcester@standupforkids.org

What is Chalk on the Streets?
Mari Sayama (Director of Community Resource Development) proposed an awareness event to us last Fall called Chalk on the Streets. Since the initial idea, we have held two Chalk on the Streets events.

Our volunteers show up at in front of City Hall (Downtown Worcester) with a box full of chalk and start drawing youth homelessness statistics on the sidewalks. We also replicate the StandUp For Kids logo using a pretty nifty stencil made by Mari Sayama.

While drawing, we answer questions from those passing by about StandUp For Kids and about youth homelessness. Plus, anyone can come draw with us! So stop on by and have some fun.

Or

Turn the Streets Purple!
In the Spring 2008, Kristina England (Director of Adult Training) came across a great awareness event called the Turn Purple Campaign on the StandUp For Kids - Philadelphia website.

All you have to do is dress in all purple and hand out fliers to passersby about the number reason for youth homelessness: child abuse. Plus, you can paint your face purple, too! That's completely optional as we hear at least one volunteer does some pretty lopsided smile faces (in fact it might be the same girl that discovered the event).

Or

Just come and talk to our volunteers during both events. We love getting to know the great people of the Worcester community. Just look for us in our Purple shirts.

Father's Fest - June 12, 2010
That's right, we are busy beavers on Saturday, June 12th. If you are busy on Saturday morning and can't make it to our awareness event, feel free to stop by our table at Father's Fest from 12:00 t0 4:00 at Institute Park. We've got a great new crossword puzzle that even some of our longest running volunteers can't solve... Thank you to Liz Burrows for her continued marketing creativity.

Welcome Diane Racine and Jason Goranson!
We have two new volunteers! Diane Racine has joined the program as an outreach counselor. Jason Goranson will focus on grant writing and fund development.

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.

We've got new volunteers

Over the last few months, StandUp For Kids - Worcester has welcomed the following new volunteers:

• Angela Della Porta
• Brian Finley
• Cleon McClure
• Kathy Senior
• Michelle Varner

The program currently has 25 volunteers. We are proud to have each and every one of them. Their commitment and passion is what makes us a success.

Thank You to Ally Trull
After two years as Director of Outreach, Ally Trull has stepped down from the position. Ally is graduating from Clark University in a couple weeks and will be leaving the area to pursue future endeavors. Her dedication and insight over the past three years has helped bring the program to where it is today. We'll miss you, Ally!

Join Our Great Group of Volunteers!
Our next information session is Wednesday, May 12th, 7:00 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist, 114 Main Street, Worcester. Please contact worcester@standupforkids.org for more details.