There's a New VISTA Face at the Community Center!

Erica

I'm the new Americorps VISTA working at the South Franklin Community Center! I'm excited to get started and interact with this wonderful community. I was previously working with Welcome Baby, another United Way program, which holds their playgroup at the community center every Friday from 11 am-12:30 pm. 

I graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a B.S. in Child Development, and a minor in Communication. I interned at United Way and loved it so much that I decided to stay! So here I am at the community center. I've always wanted to help people and I love working with youth, so it seemed like a perfect fit. Though as adults we have much to teach the youth, they in turn have a lot to teach us. 

I was born and raised in Ecuador, and moved to Colorado when I was 9 years old. I love Ecuador and living there has given me an appreciation for life and has helped me with my outlook on the world. All my life I've wanted to lift others up and help them get to a better place than were they were before. Every person has something to offer and at the community center, we are able to learn from other people's talents. South Franklin gives opportunities to those in the community to grow and gain knowledge. 

10 Facts about ME!  

1. I loved playing hide-and-seek as a child.

2. I enjoy photography and went to Photoshop World in Vegas.

3. I once got my foot stuck in the mud in the Amazon Jungle. 

4. I have climbed 7 fourteeners (mountains).

5. Watermelon is my favorite fruit.

6. I am the baby of the family.

7. I love finger painting.

8. I played the clarinet for 8 years.

9. I have been to the middle of the world where I've straddled two hemispheres. 

10. I swam with sharks...and didn't die.

Day of Caring

United Way Day of Caring is for local businesses and organizations to provide service to their community. Yesterday was Day of Caring in Utah County and over 1200 volunteers came to 31 project sites to help with landscaping, painting, repairing, and cleaning.

South Franklin Community Center was one of the sites that received help from over 25 volunteers to help organize and categorize the library catalog. We now have about 4,000 books sorted and labeled into 17 different genres.  This system will improve the kids experience in our library. They can now come in and find a book within seconds.

Thanks to all those who came and helped from Brigham Young University's MPA program and Utah Community Credit Union. We couldn't have done it without you! 

Game Day

Though the weather is still flirting with winter, spring is in the air and soccer season is here. Mark your calendars because the South Franklin Community Center’s Soccer League has its first game day on April 9th. Run completely by community volunteers and donations, the program is a part of United Way of Utah County’s focus on education and helping children succeed in school and beyond. The South Franklin Community Center is in its 5th season of providing a free soccer league to families in Utah County. On April 9th, eight games are scheduled and soccer players, ages 5-18, are eager to start the season off with a win. Don’t miss out; grab a blanket, a poster, your favorite fold out chair and your best friend. See you on the sidelines!

POSTER IDEAS:   GOAL!! -GO, FIGHT, WIN!- Nice Shot- Beckham’s got nothing on YOU!

The soccer league is still in need of volunteers, specifically referees. If you are interested in volunteering, visit http://bit.ly/ehcNB2 .

When: April 9, 2011

Where: Boulder Apartment Field & Franklin Elementary Field

Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

By: Allyse Robertson from United Way of Utah County

Tobacco Prevention!

Centro Hispano's Respira Utah came to the Community Center to educate kids on tobacco prevention and cessation to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke. Through outreach efforts to the children in the South Franklin area the kids will have the knowledge necessary to live healthy lives smoke free.

 A fun activity for the kids to participate in while learning!

Special thanks to those involved in planning this event for the youth! 

Be a Philanthropist Grant to Fund Summer Activities for Teens

Hello, friends of South Franklin!

It's a very busy time of year for us at the South Franklin Community Center. This Saturday, March 26 from 9-12 we will be kicking off our spring soccer season with scrimmages, sign-ups and an opportunity to meet the coaches. We are very thankful to all our volunteer coaches and referees who have committed to spending time with South Franklin's families over the next couple months. Thank you, thank you!

If you are not currently signed up to participate in soccer and you would like to help, we would love for you to be a referee. Sign up using the link to the right.

In addition to preparing for soccer and holding our regular classes and programs, we are also starting to plan our summer activities. It may seem a little early to be thinking about summer (although the more it rains, the more I think about it!), but a lot goes into planning the summer camps for the kids. If you have volunteered at South Franklin, you know what wonderful kids we have in the neighborhood, and you know that they are definitely worth the effort.

In past years we have focused on creating fun, high-quality learning experiences for the children, such as museum trips, fire department and police visits, cultural awareness days with groups like BYU's Living Legends dance group, nutrition days, music days, and more. We hope to build on the current program by dividing the children into two age groups to better serve their skills and interests. But we are also very excited to focus on the teenagers this coming summer. We are pleased to announce a new teen activities campaign!

This effort has no name. It is not a camp or a program. We simply want to focus more on the wonderful youth ages 13-18 who live in the South Franklin neighborhood. They are good young men and women who work hard in school, care for their siblings, support their parents, and have dreams. More details will be forthcoming, but we hope to hold regular sports activities, break dancing classes, age-appropriate music events, and more. This wish of ours will be funded by a generous grant from Be a Philanthropist.

Be a Philanthropist is a grassroots philanthropy organization funded by students of Brigham Young University. The group focuses on high impact efforts. We are grateful to Be a Philanthropist for recognizing the significance of working with the youth of South Franklin. If you want to learn more about them, their website can be found here.

Thanks to Be a Philanthropist, our soccer volunteers, our sponsors, and all our other volunteers. You really are making a difference!