FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ® FOR HEALTHY LIVING FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ® FOR HEALTHY LIVING FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Aloha, They might as well have told me I’d never make it and not to waste my time— for all of the usual reasons: YES, I ATTENDED FARRINGTON HIGH SCHOOL. YES, I WAS FROM A TOUGH NEIGHBORHOOD IN KALIHI WITH A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, GANGS AND DRUGS. YES, MY PARENTS WERE FIRST GENERATION HARD-WORKING IMMIGRANTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES WHO DIDN’T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND COLLEGE. But yet, in spite of all that, I desperately wanted to go to college! While no one ever told me I couldn’t, I was never really encouraged either. Until I came across a YMCA College Camp flyer. I applied and was accepted. At the Y College Camp, I was encouraged to dream big and was filled with hope and endless possibilities. There, I was told I could go to college, in spite of my family’s meager income; that colleges would accept me with good grades; that I was not predestined or limited to what I could do, in school or in life. And that, if I was willing to work hard, my dreams could come true. And what are my dreams? Well, my first one came true - I am now a freshman at the University of Hawaii working on my business degree. The second one? My mom was so inspired by what I was doing, that she got a degree and is now following her dream working in healthcare.
YES, I CAN
As for the rest of my dreams? I want to start a business or perhaps open a restaurant one day – the one my dad had always dreamed of, but had to give up because of limited resources. I want to start a non-profit that encourages other at-risk kids in my neighborhood to focus on their dreams and go to college. I also want to change the “stereotype” perception people have of my neighborhood, my school and kids like me. Farrington High School is a great school. My neighborhood is full of kids just like me who are willing to work hard, get good grades and have a passion to succeed. Finally, I want to be more than what is expected of me. Because of all that I learned from the Y and the great people involved in their programs —I now know: I CAN. There are many others like me, who need a place like the Y and who need your support of the Y and all that it does for so many in Hawaii. I hope you’ll join me in supporting our YMCA Teen fund!
Shane
“At statewide school events, kids from other areas always assumed I was in a gang or had friends who did drugs.”
ymca teen programs deliver hope in abundance. y teens develop self - esteem , resilience , responsibility, leadership, character and much more !
Some of the teen programs that benefit from your donation: CLUB MID
HO’OKUPA’A
“LET’S GET TOGETHER” Hiroshima Exchange Program
Through service learning, leadership workshops and excursions, middle school students engage on a journey to discover new things about themselves, their peers and their world. School’s out program that teaches teens leadership skills and healthy living through the values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. An international exchange program, founded in 1960, between youth of the Honolulu and Hiroshima YMCAs to promote peace, goodwill and friendship.
YMCA COLLEGE CAMP RAGGERS
A leadership and college experience program that encourages Hawaii high school students to graduate and pursue higher education. A Y national program started in 1914 which focuses on Personal Development. Steeped in traditions and ceremonies to develop a “Lifelong Learner.”
STRIVE
YOUTH & GOVERNMENT
Summer program for teens providing opportunities to: 1) Develop fit and healthy lifestyles. 2) Be positive role models by engaging in volunteer/community service activities to pass on knowledge and share learned skills with others. High school and middle school students simulate all phases and positions of our state government, serving as legislators and other elected officials and researching and writing their own bills. Students learn about the legislative process, our State Government and increase their self-confidence and understanding of the group decision-making process.
JOIN US IN SUPPORTING THE YMC A’S TEEN DE VELOPMENT EFFORTS BY M AKING A YE AR-END GIF T.
Mahalo for your generosity. You may give online at www.ymcahonolulu.org, or return the enclosed envelope.