By Michelle Millet
As the number of children in Davis who live in poverty continues to grow, the need for our community to step in and help support these kids and their families grows with it.
The Davis 1,000 Mentors for Youth Challenge is working to do just that. This joint effort between the city of Davis and the Davis Joint Unified School District hopes to draw on and expand the community’s existing mentoring programs in an effort to help close the opportunity gap that often keeps our economically disadvantaged children from reaching their full potential.
Davis provides exceptional opportunities for our youths, but to be a truly exceptional community we need to ensure that these opportunities are equally available to all youths regardless of economic status.
To help make certain that every child has equal access to the many wonderful programs offered in our community the Davis 1,000 Mentors for Youth Challenge is taking this opportunity to highlight some of the scholarships available to youths who need financial assistance in order to participate in these programs.
* Davis AYSO is a recreational youth soccer league run by volunteers whose mission is to provide world-class youth soccer programs that enrich children’s lives. The league supports more than 1,800 players in its fall season and more than 600 in its spring season.
Any player who qualifies for free or reduced lunch at school automatically qualifies for a full AYSO scholarship. Other scholarship requests are awarded on a sliding scale basis. No player is turned away due to inability to pay.
AYSO also has other ways for kids to participate in soccer at no cost, such as being a youth trainer (assistant coach), youth referee, or buddy for its VIP program (a program for alter-abled players who are not able to participate in the mainstream program). Training and uniforms for these volunteer positions are free.
For more information, visit www.davisayso.org.
* Davis Little League believes that each child who wishes to play baseball should be entitled to do so regardless of skill, gender or financial circumstances. The league does not deny any child the opportunity to play baseball due to financial hardship.
Depending on the need, the DLL registration assistance program will cover some or all registration cost. A registration fee payment plan is also available. Applications for assistance must be filled out online and are available through a link on the Davis Little League website, davislittleleague.siplay.com.
* Davis Aquadarts offers swim programs for all levels of swimmers, including year-round programs as well as summer recreational teams, and fall and spring seasonal programs. Scholarships applications are available online. Forms are due each August, or upon joining the team. For more information, contact clbgregg@aol.com.
* Davis AquaMonsters is a grassroots swim team that offers swimmers a variety of opportunities for children ages 5 to 18. The success of the team has revolved around the idea that swimmers should have fun in the sport and be allowed to participate as a valued team member at any level of commitment. Financial assistance is available to families who could benefit. For more information, contact Koren Motekaitis at directors@davisaquamonsters.org.
* The Davis Arts Center offers a wide variety of classes and workshops for children, teens, adults and families. Community members can choose from ceramics, dancing, weaving, painting, drawing, cartooning, bookmaking, knitting, drama, music, yoga, martial arts, creative writing and numerous special-interest classes in everything from cupcake decorating to computer coding.
The Davis Arts Center maintains two scholarship funds. The Davis Arts Center Scholarship Fund provides full or partial remission of class fees for any student who demonstrates need and the Arthur Heehler Memorial Fund provides full or partial remission of class fees for adult creative writing students who demonstrate need.
Applications forms must be submitted at least three weeks before the start of the requested class in order to be considered. More information can be found online at www.davisartscenter.org.
* The Davis Schools Orchestral Music Association is a nonprofit volunteer organization that celebrates, promotes and supports a vision of a comprehensive musical education for all students in the Davis public schools.
Each year, the association serves about 1,000 Davis students from fourth grade through high school. It supports eight prize-winning student orchestras by assisting with instrument purchases, maintenance and repairs; supplying sheet music; supporting concerts; organizing field trips; advocating for our schools’ music programs; and providing scholarships and assistance to make the music programs available to every student who wants to play orchestral music.
To learn more about specific programs visit www.groups.dcn.org/dsoma.
* Acme Theatre Company is a youth-run, nonprofit theater company. Its mission is to present plays of high literary quality while providing opportunities for young people to learn various acting and technical skills in an organization run entirely by young people themselves under the direction of a small cadre of adult mentors. Visit www.acmetheatre.net.
* The city of Davis maintains a scholarship program for residents of all ages who live in the Davis school district boundaries. These funds may be used to help with recreation program fees, such as camp or class registrations, family swim passes, etc. Scholarship eligibility is dependent on the family’s size and combined income.
Applications are available at the Parks and Community Services Department at City Hall, 23 Russell Blvd., or on the city’s website at www.cityofdavis.org.
You can help
The Davis 1,000 Mentors for Youth Challenge is committed to finding ways to remove the barriers that keep youths in our community from taking full advantage of the many wonderful opportunities available to them, and we are asking for the community’s help to accomplish this.
A list of scholarship opportunities is being compiled to made available to the public. Please let us know if you are aware of one that was not mentioned. Also, if you, your service club or your business are willing to sponsor scholarships for individual youths or help in other ways, please take this opportunity to share your ideas and offer your support to help bridge the growing resource gap that exists in our community.
To contact the organization, email 1000mentorschallenge@gmail.com. To join the 2016 Davis 1,000 Mentors for Youth Challenge, visit www.djusd.net/volunteers or cityofdavis.org.
Great article Michelle. Thanks for getting the word out.
Now, wouldn’t it be nice if we did not have to make solicitations and announcements in venues like the Vanguard or the Enterprise requesting that people themselves have to out reach to volunteer, organize, and contribute to our community. Wouldn’t it be great if we all had the built in attitude that some form of contribution to our community was the general expectation, not just something that we do to “feel good” as the naysayers like to put it ? What if our community saw coordinated youth promotional efforts as say as important as the previous “Community Innovation Officer” position. What if the City Council and other city leaders were to put their weight behind such an endeavor not in terms of a paid position, or “another layer of bureaucracy” but rather as a volunteer position ?
So, where are you volunteering, Tia? I say this as both an individual, and having a spouse who have volunteered for years (like, 40+)… “put up, or…” Learned to do what I could since I was a teenager… still do… always will…
Your comment was somewhat pious/condescending …. so what are you doing, Tia?
Michelle… good piece… I’d be interested in mentoring kids in the math/science fields… most of your cites were more athletics (which, is important as well)…
I probably should have made this more clear in article. Raising awareness of the scholarship opportunities available to youth in our community is one very small piece of what this mentoring program is trying to accomplish. We are also actively recruiting mentors. If you are interested in becoming one please contact us through the email address I provided in the piece.
Agree Tia! Thanks Michelle. My only addition is that I had thought (and was gladdened) when I read title thinking the term ‘mentor’ meant 1:1 relationship beyond scholarship opportunities. Nothing against the program or the benefit it obviously gives and thanks to the organizations who have stepped up, but perhaps the next step might be ‘the next step’!
SODA- The work the 1,000 Mentor Challenge is doing is centered around creating one on one mentoring opportunities. This article is just a side bar.
Here is an article that provides a more comprehensive explanation of what we are attempting to accomplish.
http://www.davisenterprise.com/features/next-generation/city-and-school-district-issue-call-for-mentors/
hpierce
“Your comment was somewhat pious/condescending …. so what are you doing, Tia?”
I am sorry that you interpreted it so but I am happy to answer anyway.
I speak to groups on the UCD campus with regard to medical careers. I have taught sessions at community college medical interpreter classes. I have volunteered at local and regional health fairs providing both educational services and exams as well as student run clinics in Sacramento in conjunction with UCD. I have served as the proctoring doctor with Medical Brigades in Honduras.
I currently am mentoring residents and medical students in my office every week. I serve on the MCAH, FIMR board and Yolo County Health Council. One of the three gives me two hours of compensation for time spent actually attending the meetings, but nothing for any other associated activities which are on my own time.
In the non medical sphere, I have been tutoring reading one weekend day monthly for Reading Partner’s in Sacramento. This activity will end next week and I will be looking for a similar activity here in Davis for next school year.
I do not see this as either pious nor condescending. Remember what Frankly is always telling me. Altruism, by his definition, is giving up what you value the most. I tend to see it differently. I do not see altruism as the goal. I see contribution as the goal. What I value most is not my money, but rather my time. It is my time and expertise that I share and if you have read my posts over time, you will be aware that it really does not matter to me what people in our society choose to contribute, as long as they contribute something. Frankly, if would seem, is contributing by making loans and providing jobs. That is fine, but I do not see that as private business as the only way to contribute and would like us to move incrementally to a society that values all contributions, big and small to the well being of our society.
I
Fair answer… my mentoring has been pretty evenly split between youth and fellow professionals… my spouse’s mainly focused on the homeless, disadvantaged, and disadvantaged youth.
BTW… Twain/Clemens opined that there is no such thing as altruism… we do what gives us the least pain. See his “essays”… I believe there is much truth to his observations of the human condition…
and that is also true, hpierce…at least that is also what I have observed to be true…….I thought I had posted on this earlier, but now cannot see the post….I did share on FB ……that is where I share and save important info….