Changing Lives July 2017

JULY 2017

Catholic Charities

CHANGING LIVES Inside: A message from our new Chief Executive Officer, Volunteer Opportunities, and more!

DEVELOPINGYOUNG MINDS The summer slide is real, and significantly impacts low-income students, which is why we are working hard to keep low-income kids reading during the summer.

Read more inside.

ADDRESSING THE SUMMER SLIDE

Findings from key studies include:

Volunteer Ron Whiteside reads with a student at Catholic Charities Youth Club at St. Francis of Assisi in East Palo Alto

• Social status does not impact academic achievement gains during the school year; but during the summer, disadvantaged youth fall significantly behind in reading.

• By the end of fifth grade, disadvantaged youth are nearly three grade equivalents behind their more financially affluent peers in reading.

• Two-thirds of the ninth grade reading achievement gap can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities during the elementary school years; nearly one-third of the gap is already present when children begin school.

Remember how excited you were on the last day of school? After months of waking up early and days spent inside school, it was finally time for summer break!

Summer as a child should be a time to explore the outdoors, learn new things outside the classroom, and simply have fun being a kid.

However, for low-income families, summer can be a time of worry and setbacks.

• Early summer learning losses have later life consequences, including high school curriculum placement, high school completion, and college acceptance.

Source: John Hopkins University New According to a study from John Hopkins University, low-income children can Horizons for Learning (http://education. lose up to two months of their reading abilities during the summer break. This is jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/ in contrast to middle and high income children who report reading gains during spring2010/why-summer-learning/) the summer months. Children who are already behind and struggling with literacy can’t afford to lose any gain in their reading achievement. For example, “differences in a child’s summer learning experiences during his or her elementary school years can impact whether that child ultimately earns a high school diploma and continues on to college” (Alexander, Entwistle, & Olson, 2007).

Every summer, Catholic Charities Children and Youth Services in San Rafael, San Francisco, and East Palo Alto work to ensure that the “summer slide” does not become a reality. Catholic Charities provides not only a safe place for children to be when school is out of session, we help elementary students maintain and build on academic gains made during the school-year. At Catholic Charities Youth Club at St. Francis of Assisi in East Palo Alto, 93% of children maintained or improved academic gains last summer.

“At Catholic Charities, we are focused on breaking the cycle of generational poverty. Literacy is critical to ensuring children have the opportunity to pursue higher education, which is why our summer youth programs are so important,” said Tere Brown, Catholic Charities Director of Program Operations.

To donate or volunteer at one of our summer programs, visit CatholicCharitiesSF.org. 

GET INVOLVED

Your time makes a real difference in the lives of those in need. The opportunity to get involved is meaningful, enjoyable and often life SAN MATEO

SAN FRANCISCO

Activity Assistant Time Commitment: Flexible, Monday – Friday Catholic Charities Adult Day Services San Mateo County provides a friendly and welcoming environment for seniors and adults with disabilities. Activity Assistant volunteers will support in a variety of activities, including arts and crafts, bingo, games, music and DIY (Do-It-Yourself) activities for seniors.

Food Pantry Volunteer Time Commitment: Thursdays Catholic Charities 10th and Mission Family Housing provides a weekly food pantry distribution. We are seeking the support of ongoing volunteers to assist with the program’s weekly food distribution. Food is delivered through a partnership with the SF Food Bank in collaboration with Catholic Charities.

Volunteer Spotlight

NICK CASE

SAN FRANCISCO PATHWAYS TO CITIZENSHIP INITIATIVE

For four hours every day during three weeks this summer, seminarian Nick Case has listened to the clients at Catholic Charities Peter Claver Community. Nick has provided a chance to share their stories without fear or judgement.

“When I listen to the clients, they are sharing their stories, their struggles, their pain. It means so much to have someone willing to listen to their story,” said Nick. “I encourage anyone looking for a way to volunteer or give back to consider listening to the stories of clients at Peter Claver. I have received so much more from the clients than I have given. It is truly a privilege and an honor to spend time with them.”

Nick is just one of nine Archdiocese of San Francisco seminarians volunteering at Catholic Charities. The seminarians volunteer as part of their ministry in the community.

“Nick has an easy-going demeanor and a heart that is wide open. That, combined with his listening skills, is why he was able to make immediate heart-felt connections with residents who normally are reticent to open themselves up to strangers,” said Stan Stone, Peter Claver Community activities coordinator. “All of our volunteers come to us with no agenda except to give of themselves, it is this giving spirit that makes an indelible and often life-changing effect on our residents.”

Opened in 1985, Catholic Charities Peter Claver Community was one of the earliest attempts by any organization to serve those with HIV/ AIDS. Today, as a comprehensive care residence for 32 previously homeless adults, Peter Claver Community provides permanent placement and on-site care to lowincome San Francisco residents who have disabling HIV/AIDS. 

e-changing. Learn more at CatholicCharitiesSF.org/get-involved.

TREASURE ISLAND Classroom Grandparent Volunteer Time Commitment: Weekly, Monday – Friday Catholic Charities Treasure Island Child Development Center provides family support and full-time childcare for infants, toddlers and preschoolers in the Treasure Island community.

Grandparent Volunteers are needed to assist teachers in accomplishing daily curriculum goals for each class.

Photo credit: Alfredo Coyotl

Catholic Charities is proud to be part of the San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative, a partnership of community organizations that host free immigration workshops with the goal of naturalizing as many eligible immigrants in San Francisco as possible. Since 2013, the initiative has prepared nearly 7,000 citizenship applications. The workshops are free to attend and the Initiative works to ensure that all eligible immigrants are able to apply for citizenship regardless of ability to pay.

“Our staff is extremely well-trained and our reputation amongst immigrants of all nationalities, but particularly of Spanish-speaking countries is well-established,” said Francisco Gonzalez, Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigrant Services San Francisco Program Director. “I’m always impressed by the number of applicants coming to the workshops who know us. Our presence is seen as a seal of quality and trustworthiness. We are honored to be a member of this important Initiative.”

Partnering organizations include Self-Help for the Elderly, Catholic Charities, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, International Institute of the Bay Area, and La Raza Community Resource Center. On June 12 ,The San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative was honored with the Public, Private, Nonprofit Collaborative Leaders Award at the Inaugural Immigrant Leadership Awards for the 20th Anniversary of the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission.  Pictured: Francisco Gonzalez (center with award), Catholic Charities Refugee & Immigrant Services Program Director with members of the Initiative at the Inaugural Immigrant Leadership Awards

An easy way to learn more about Catholic Charities and volunteer opportunities is by attending one of our upcoming Volunteer Info Sessions.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017 | 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017 | 1:00 p.m.

990 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 Visit CatholicCharitiesSF.org/get-involved to see the full range of individual, group, seasonal and ongoing volunteer opportunities to find out what interests you today!

WELCOME FROM JILMA MENESES, OUR NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Dear Friends, I came to the Bay Area at age five as an immigrant from Central America. My family settled in the Mission, and I grew up in our vibrant, exciting, and hard-working city. It was San Francisco and organizations like Catholic Charities that welcomed my family and it is an honor to be returning home and joining Catholic Charities as your new Chief Executive Officer.

As a child, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Catholic Charities CYO Camp, where I experienced firsthand the positive influence summer programming can have on a child. As our story on the “summer slide” demonstrates, early summer learning losses can have drastic consequences for low-income children. Many of the children in our Children and Youth Services are already behind in reading comprehension and literacy, which is why our literacy curriculum is critical to their life-long success.

My own experience demonstrates how education offers opportunities. Professionally, I spent 17 years in higher education striving to create pathways for others, and now intend to do the same at Catholic Charities. Your partnership is critical. I look forward to meeting you and learning about why you are passionate about the amazing work Catholic Charities does each day in our community.

Blessings,

Jilma L. Meneses, JD Chief Executive Officer

CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES! The primary goal of Catholic Charities Canal Family Support Kids Club in San Rafael is to increase literacy and reading comprehension in order to close the educational achievement gap between high-achieving students and those who are falling behind. We are proud to share that two former Kids Club students who are current staff members have received scholarships to attend the University of California in the Fall!

Catheryn Melgar (top photo with students at Kids Club), who will be attending UC Irvine, has been part of the Kids Club family since immigrating to the United States when she was five years old. “Catholic Charities allowed me to meet great people that have impacted my life, helped open my willingness to try new things, taught me that I have a choice to expand my education and knowledge, and that I have so much to give to the world,” she said.

Saul Pimentel (lower photo with students at Kids Club), started attending Kids Club when he was eight years old. “When I was growing up, there would be a lot of gang activity. I am thankful to Kids Club for keeping me out of those situations. It was nice to have a safe place where you could come do homework together. When people support Catholic Charities, they are supporting a safe place for these kids to be. There aren’t bad people, just bored people looking for something to do. Kids Club keeps the community safe,” he said. Saul will be attending UC Merced this fall.

“We watch our students learn and grow year round. We develop a strong educational base for them to be prepared for where they are going after us, whether that be middle school, high school and beyond. One of the things I am most proud of is the fact that a lot of our students come back to us as high school volunteers and later on as staff members,” said Carlos Garcia, Catholic Charities Canal Family Support Kids Club Program Director.

“Our staff members who were students, like Saul and Catheryn are able to better connect with our current students because they have been in their shoes and provide a positive example of what success can look like. We are so proud of all our students and especially proud of Saul and Catheryn, who have given so much to Catholic Charities.”

Congratulations Catheryn and Saul! 

SUMMER LEARNING AT LEGO CAMP Thanks to our friends at Twitter, 74 kids at Catholic Charities Maureen & Craig Sullivan Youth Services attended the pre-engineering Lego Summer Camp. Twitter sponsored three full-weeks of Lego Summer Camp for our students, where they learned problem solving, critical thinking skills and concepts, and vocabulary of Engineering, Architecture, and Physics. By providing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) curriculum, we are providing our students with the tools needed to break the cycle of generational poverty. 

THANK YOU FOR A SUCCESSFUL LOAVES & FISHES! Thank you to our event sponsors and the over 300 people who gathered on Saturday, April 22 at the St. Regis Hotel for the Catholic Charities 20th Annual Loaves & Fishes Awards Dinner and Gala honoring former Super Bowl Champion and children and youth advocate Bill Ring. At the event, which raised over $650,000, we presented the 2017 Loaves & Fishes Award for Faith in Action to Bill Ring. During his 25 years as a Catholic Charities Board Member and Director Emeritus, Bill has actively engaged in strengthening and supporting services to children and youth.

Thank you Bill for your service to Catholic Charities and our community!

We also recognized our former Executive Director, Jeff Bialik, for his service to Catholic Charities.

The Mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee, proclaimed April 22, 2017 to be Jeff Bialik Day in the city of San Francisco in honor of Jeff! 

Bill with former teammates: Guy McIntyre, Keena Turner, and Eric Wright

Simon Manning, Jeff Bialik, and Archbishop Cordileone

KTVU’s Mark Ibanez interviewing Bill on stage

Bill with his family: kids Billy, Christie, Katie, and wife Connie

“I am very humbled to be honored. I think of this [honor] as I am sharing this; that it is a group effort. You are never an individual. It is all about the team. So many people have shared in helping to raise money for Catholic Charities.”

— Bill Ring

990 Eddy Street San Francisco, CA 94109 415 972 1200 CatholicCharitiesSF.org

WELCOME, Jilma Meneses!

Please join us in welcoming our new Chief Executive Officer, Jilma Meneses.

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