Thank you to Help Portrait!

Thank you to Pete Hansen and all of the photographers with Help Portrait! Help Portrait came to the community center this Saturday, set up all of their equipment and took incredible professional portraits of individuals and families in the community for free. They printed many of the portraits there and are compiling picture CD's for each family. More than one local resident said was the first professional portrait they had ever done for themselves or for their families. All of the photos turned out beautifully and we have some portraits to put up on the blog coming soon... To learn more about Help Portrait check out: www.help-portrait.com/

O Christmas Tree

Kristin and Bjorn Trejo from Spanish Fork, UT generously donated a beautiful, real Christmas tree to the community center. They decorated it with lights, ornaments and candy canes for the kids. After the kids finished their homework at tutoring on Thursday night, they had a great time making ornaments from pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks and bells etc,. Thank you, Kristen and Bjorn!

Free Professional Photography! - ¡Fotografía Profesional Gratis!

Help-Portrait is an international movement of photographers giving support to those around them, and the local chapter is coming to the community center to take free Holiday pictures for South Franklin residents!

Bring yourself, your family, a friend - anyone you want a picture with!
Local Photographers will be providing their services for free to families and individuals who would like to have some portraits taken for Christmas on Saturday December 12 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.


Help-Portrait es un movimiento internacional de fotógrafos dando apoyo a sus vecinos, y el grupo local estará al centro comunitario para tomar fotos gratis para los residentes de Franklin Sur!

Traiga usted mismo, su familia, un amigo—cualquier persona que usted quiere una foto con! Fotógrafos locales expondrán sus servicios de forma gratuita a las familias y las personas que les gustaría tener algunos retratos para la Navidad el sábado 12 de diciembre de 3:00 a 5:00 p.m.

Door decorating contest - Concurso navideño de decoración de puertas

Celebrate this Holiday season with your neighbors in a neighborhood door decorating contest! Get creative! Winners will be chosen on December 11th!

¡Celebra esta Navidad con sus vecinos en un concurso navideño de decoración de puertas! ¡Sé creativo!¡Los ganadores serán elegidos el 11 de diciembre!

Neighborhood Meeting - December 12th

The South Franklin Community Center has hosted two neighborhood meetings in the past couple of months. They have been a way for residents to gather and work together towards improving their community.

These meetings will continue to take place, and will be held the 2nd Saturday of each month at 1:00 pm. For this month, that falls on the 12th. Come connect with your neighbors and learn more about the community you live in, how to get involved, and how to improve your own life and help others do the same.

Resume Workshop for Single Mothers

Saturday, December 12th at 10:00 am, there will be a free resume workshop specifically for single mothers. The workshop will take place in the classroom in the Community Center and will be a great opportunity for single mothers to learn more about the employment-seeking process.

Additionally, the community center has received a generous donation of 4 computers. So soon, attendees of this workshop can come use the community center computers to put their new skills to work! More information on the computers coming soon!

Thanksgiving Festival!

The Thanksgiving Festival was a great success! Thanks to Freshmen Academy for organizing and running it! And thanks to both Freshman Academy and Community Action Services and Food Bank for providing the treats!



A lot of residents from the neighborhood came to enjoy the fun and to visit with each other. There were various craft activities, enjoyed both by kids and adults. There was also bingo, a reading corner with Thanksgiving books, face painting, and a "I'm thankful for" paper chain. See all the great pictures on our Facebook page!

Thanksgiving Festival!

Join us for the Community Center Thanksgiving Festival! There will be:

-Arts and Crafts
-Face Painting
-Games and Activities
-Storytelling
-Refreshments

Come prepared to share holiday traditions and recipes or just come and have a good time!

Saturday, November 21st from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the community center!

See you there!!

Neighborhood Meetings

Every month the Community Center keeps on growing! More and more people are getting involved in their own community. Last week, there was the first of a series of Neighborhood Leadership Meetings. These meetings are the result of a collaboration between VISTAs and DCFS workers/University of Utah Social Work grad students. The meeting went well, with neighbors discussing what they liked about their community, and what they thought could improve. The second neighborhood meeting will be on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm at the South Franklin Community Center (750 S. 650 W.)

Daily Herald

There is an article about the Community Center on the Daily Herald online!

http://heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/article_8b103bc4-dca8-5950-9dd2-376eb2628aad.html

October - The best month yet at the Community Center!

The Community Center is exploding with activity!! In addition to the previous classes and groups that have been going on, a TON of awesome new things are starting! Here are some of them:

Introduction to Drawing
Ever wanted to learn how to draw? Then contact us to sign up for a FREE 6 week Introduction to Drawing course, taught by a BYU art/animation student. First class is October 8th. Class is every Thursday at 6:00 pm. The teacher speaks Spanish, so invite your Spanish-speaking friends to come as well!

Dance Class
Starting October 2nd, come every Friday at 5:30p.m. to take a free beginning social dance class! Learn to Cha-Cha, Waltz, Rumba, and more!

Exercise Class
Come Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. to get fit and have fun! First class is on October 10th!

Democracy School
Learn how to get more involved in local government! Class starts on Thursday October 8 at 8:00 pm and is on every Thursday!

Day of Caring 2009

United Way of Utah County's 2009 Day of Caring brought lots of great volunteers from Zions Bank to the South Franklin Community Center. These amazing workers not only spruced up the Community Center, but they also wonderfully transformed the soccer field as well fix up some playground area.

Here are the projects that Zions Bank completed for us:
- Repainted the staircase banister in the community center as well as some door frames and added molding around a window that was missing it
-Added shelving to four closets in the community center. The extra storage and organizational space has already served us well!

-Re-cemented and re-painted the goal posts at the soccer field
-Measured and striped the soccer field - complete with goalie box, penalty box, everything!
-Cleaned up the playground areas and went above and beyond by purchasing two truck bed loads of playground bark and filling in a playground area.

Thank You to everyone at Zions Bank!

South Franklin End of Summer Bash!!

The South Franklin Community Center hosted a neighborhood End of Summer Bash at the end of August. It was a huge success!! Tons of people from the neighborhood came to enjoy a free BBQ, carnival games, entertainment and to get information on community resources!

The BBQ portion of the event delicious! We had hot dogs, chips, cookies, and drinks. A very big THANK YOU to Wonder Bread, Costco, Macey's, Harmons, and Community Action Services and Food Bank for your very generous donations!

We had a volunteer DJ who kept the tunes coming while residents visited booths to find out more about programs and activities going on in their community. The following were all there:
-South Franklin Community Center Book Club
-South Franklin Soccer Program
-South Franklin Community Center Health Class
-South Community Center Tutoring
-Centro Hispano
-Provo City Library
-Utah Community Credit Union
-Wasatch Mental Health
-Early Head Start
-BYU ROTC
-United Way of Utah County
-Central Utah Center for Independent Living

There was also lots of fun entertainment! Jump for Joy donated a Combo Bounce House/Slide. Living Legends came and performed four dances!

There was face painting, hair spray-dying, and incredible balloon animals! There was also lots of carnival games!

Thanks to everyone who came, donated, and volunteered!!!

End of Summer Bash!!

The Boulders Management along with The South Franklin Community Center at The Boulders is having an End-of-the-Summer bash! There will be food, music, games, prizes, and more!

It is on Wednesday August 26th from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm.

We need volunteers to help with:
-Face painting
-Cotton Candy
-Carnival Games
-Ring Toss
-Dart and Balloons
-Arm Wrestling
-Basketball
-and more!
-Limbo
-Musical Chairs
-Skateboarding Competition
-and more!!!

If your band wants to perform let us know! Also, if anyone knows a DJ that can help us out for a good price (or even donate services), let us know!

The South Franklin Neighborhood has been burdened by a poor reputation in the past, but thanks to the Boulders management, the Community Center, the South Franklin Soccer Programs, and other local programs and volunteers, it is now flourishing!

Be a part of making a difference!

Contact us to find out more information, more volunteer opportunities, and to register as a volunteer for this event!

English Practice/ práctica de inglés

The second semester of English as a Second Language is beginning on July 14th at the Community Center. This semester, in addition to the class, volunteers will be providing an "English Language Lab" every Monday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and every Thursday from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. During this time, anyone from the community (whether or not they are enrolled in the English class) can come and practice their English while talking with a volunteer about whatever subject they want. If you are interested in volunteering with this program, contact us! 801-691-5282

El segundo semestre de Inglés como Segundo Idioma está comenzando el 14 de julio en el Centro Comunitario. Este semestre, además de la clase, voluntarios se proporciona un "Laboratorio de Inglés", todos los lunes de 9:00 a.m. al mediodia y todos los jueves de 1:30 a 3:00 pm. Durante este tiempo, cualquier persona de la comunidad (ya sea que estén matriculados o no en la clase de inglés) puede venir y practicar su inglés por manera de hablar con un voluntario sobre cualquier tema que deseen.

Soccer - Fútbol

The South Franklin Soccer Program is gearing up for its second season! The first season was a great success, with around 90 children and young teenagers playing on six sponsored teams, each coached by local volunteers. The games are held at the park in the Boulders, where goal posts were installed for the league. If you are interested in having your child participate in this free league, contact us by calling 801-691-5282. If you are interested in sponsoring a team, please also contact us for more information. See ya on the field!

El Programa de Fútbol de Franklin del Sur se está preparando para su segunda temporada! La primera temporada fue un gran éxito, con alrededor de 90 niños y adolescentes que juegaban en seis equipos patrocinados, cada uno dirigido por voluntarios locales. Los partidos se llevan a cabo en el parque en el Boulders, donde se instalaron goles para la liga. Si estás interesado en que su hijo participe en esta liga gratis, pongase en contacto con nosotros: llama al 801-691-5282. Si usted está interesado en patrocinar a un equipo, por favor pongase en contacto con nosotros para obtener más información. Nos vemos en el campo!

Health Class! / Clase de salud!

The Community Center has added a new class: Health! The class is taught be volunteers and it has two sessions (English and Spanish) which meet once a week for an hour. The teachers have put together a great curriculum which residents of the South Franklin Neighborhood can benefit from for FREE! The English class meets on Tuesdays at 6 pm and the Spanish class meets on Wednesdays at 6 pm. Both classes meet in the classroom of the community center.


El Centro Comunitario ha añadido una nueva clase: Salud! Los maestros de la clase son voluntarios y la clase tiene dos períodos de sesiones (inglés y español), que se reúnen una vez a la semana por una hora. Los maestros han elaborado un gran plan de estudios de que los residentes del barrio de Franklin del Sur pueden beneficiarse GRATIS! La clase de inglés se reúne los martes a las 6 de la tarde y la clase de español se reúne los miércoles a las 6 pm. Ambas clases se reúnen en el aula del centro comunitario.

Growth to the South Franklin Community Center

June has been an exciting time for the South Franklin Community Center as it picks up more attention! More and more South Franklin residents are becoming aware of the Center and what it has to offer. So have other people in the community!

Although in the past, the South Franklin Neighborhood has had a less-than-desirable reputation, thanks to the work of Boulders Management, Community Center workers, local community members, and volunteers, that image is changing. As residents are getting more involved and connecting more with their neighbors, lots of positivity is coming in, dispelling the negative images of the past. The South Franklin Neighborhood is coming alive. Contact us to be a part of it!

Yard Sale Fundraiser Saturday June 20th 8am-12pm

A yard sale will be held June 20th, 2009 from 8am-12pm at the South Franklin Community Center to fund raise for the Youth Summer Day Camp that will be also be held in the Community Center. It will be held from July 6th - 22nd and will run 10am-1pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Your donations would be appreciated. A pick up run will happen Friday morning in the South Franklin area. If you have any donations please leave them on your porch in a bag or box and we will come pick them up. If you are outside of the South Franklin area, please contact Trent.

If you have any questions about the camp or the yard sale please contact Trent at (801) 691-5925 or tmano@unitedwayuc.org

Donating for the yard sale or coming buy and purchasing will help a lot!

JUNE at the Community Center! /JUNIO en el centro de comunidad

MONDAYS/LUNES
11:30 a.m. - Welcome Baby Playgroup. This is for all expecting mothers and new mothers with their children (up to age 4).

6:00 p.m. - Family Home Evening.

TUESDAYS/MARTES
11:30 a.m. - Institute

7:00 p.m. - hour-long tutoring program for students. Each session, there is reading time followed by fun learning activities. Kids have the chance to win prizes based on their effort.
- una hora de tutoría para los estudiantes. Cada período, hay tiempo de lectura seguida de actividades de aprendizaje divertido. Los niños tienen la oportunidad de ganar premios en base a su esfuerzo.

WEDNESDAYS/MIERCOLES
5:30 p.m. -Bienvenido Bebé Grupo de Juegar. Esto es para todas las mujeres embarazadas y nuevas madres con sus hijos (hasta la edad de 4).

THURSDAYS/JUEVES
7:00 p.m. - hour-long tutoring program for students. Each session, there is reading time followed by fun learning activities. Kids have the chance to win prizes based on their effort.
- una hora de tutoría para los estudiantes. Cada período, hay tiempo de lectura seguida de actividades de aprendizaje divertido. Los niños tienen la oportunidad de ganar premios en base a su esfuerzo.

Starting on the 18th of June/empezando el 18 de junio
3:00 p.m. - Dance class for children/clase de baile para los niños

Help the Community Center while having FUN!

The South Franklin Community Center at the Boulders has teamed up with two great local restaurants to help gather funds. On Tuesday May 12th, 2009 eating at the following locations will also help the community as 10% of your bill will go directly the community center funds.

Chili's in Orem
122 E 1300 S
Orem, UT
Go anytime of the day (hours are 11am-11pm)
*Make sure to bring the flier

OR

5 Guys Burgers and Fries
1051 S. 750 E. (by University Mall)
Orem, UT
Go between 8pm-10pm
No flier needed.

Education First

This past Saturday was the first day of the Education first tutoring program in the Community Center. This program goes above and beyond providing tutoring for the students. It also provides a lecture series for the parents empowering them and teaching them how to help their children succeed.

Alfred Murillo, President and Founder of Utah Dream Center organized this program and brought it to the community center. For more information on the Utah Dream Center, visit utahdreamcenter.org.

Education First is on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m.

Be a part of The South Franklin Community Center!

Events at the Community Center are starting! Yesterday, the LDS Service Missionaries held an institute class/luncheon and The Boulders' management held the monthly prize drawing, awarding the winner with a vacuum. Events continue tonight with a Welcome Baby group meeting.

In addition to those already underway, there are many other classes/groups/activities in the works. Some things that we envision for this Community Center include:

-After School Tutoring
-Summer Programs
-ESL
-Gang Prevention
-Spanish classes
-Support Group Meetings
-GED preparation classes
-Holiday parties
-Neighborhood Watch
-Adopt-a-Grandparent
-Cub Scouts
-Exercise Groups
-and more!

The South Franklin Community Center is going to provide many individuals and families with opportunities to be involved in various classes, groups, activities, and events! In order to make this the best that we can, we are in need of volunteers from the community to help! We need individuals who can help teach classes, help tutor elementary and middle school aged students, or help supervise/staff the Center. We are also in need of donations. For more information on how to help, email us at sfccboulders@hotmail.com.

Service Project for Cesar Chavez Day

An Introduction to the Life of Cesar Chavez
Although many people know Cesar Chavez as a union organizer, he is most revered for his life of service to bring representation and rights to American minorities. Born to a middle class family in Arizona, the Great Depression eventually forced the family to leave their businesses and farm behind and join the thousands of desperate migrant workers in the fields of California. Seeing the destitution created from life in the fields, Chavez decided to take action. Despite only being able to achieve a minimal formal education, Chavez started his adult career as a community organizer. He interviewed thousands of Mexican Americans, helping them register to vote and become involved in political actions. He spent long hours studying non-violent protest as a means to gain greater representation. Through boycotts, speeches, unions, interviews, and his historic fasts--one of 26 days, and another of 36 days-- Chavez's efforts were key in eventually paving the path to unite minority workers in a way that gave them a voice and brought needed reform. After his passing in 1993, Chavez received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Cesar Chavez Day is currently a holiday in eight states, including Utah.

Cesar Chavez Day Service Project

This year, we have chosen to honor his legacy through a variety of service projects throughout the state of Utah. In Provo, the South Franklin Community Center is going to be at the heart of many of these projects. Volunteers will have the opportunity to help in several different projects, including:
-Preparing the local community garden.
-Organizing, painting, preparing the South Franklin Community Center.
-Mural painting.
-Running a book/game/movie drive to gather resources for after-school and summer youth programs in the community center.
-Re-painting walls that have been tagged and fixing fences.
-Help organize opening day of the South Franklin Soccer Program.
-Assist at Provo City Library.

The Service Day will begin at 8 A.M. on Saturday, March 28th at Dixon Middle School at 750 W 200 N, Provo, UT. Breakfast will be provided, as well as t-shirts for the first 100 participants. After breakfast, volunteers will head to their respective locations. All are welcome to participate.

The event is run by AmeriCorps*VISTA, United Way of Utah County, SALAS Club of BYU, the South Franklin Community Center, and other volunteers.