2011 Holiday Party
Submitted by LBYMCAYI on Thu, 12/15/2011 - 01:00
11th Annual YI Holiday Party!!
It’s that time of the year again – the annual Holiday Party at the Youth Institute. Youth and staff enjoyed a dinner of pasta, bread sticks, drinks and holiday desserts. We sang holiday songs and had a Christmas tree decorating contest between the boys and girls – the girls won. It’s always great to get together with all the YI staff & YI alumni and to enjoy each other company. Many of our college-alumni came to the party to see the new class and share with everyone their experiences at college. We all reflected upon what we shared this past year and are looking forward to what 2012 will bring us.
We wish everyone a Seasons Greeting and a Happy New Year
2011 Holiday Picture
Submitted by LBYMCAYI on Tue, 12/06/2011 - 11:55
Seasons Greeting from the YMCA Youth Institute and Change Agent Productions.
Capoeira and Youth Institute
Submitted by LBYMCAYI on Sat, 12/03/2011 - 01:00
Early December, a few alumni students of the YMCA Youth Institute took a Saturday trip to the Long Beach Dance Center in Belmont Shore. The five alumni and staff member attended the 2nd Annual Batizado—a weekend long event consisting of capoeira, dance, music and a ton of energy! BodySport Capoeira, a capoeira academy from Long Beach, coordinated the event. BodySport Capoeira provides a Brazilian cultural experience to our city through classes, workshops and events such as Batizado.
The YI alumni students participated in the Saturday event in which they attended a beginner’s class in capoeira. Our alumni were taught by Professor Macarrao, from Oakland, CA. YI alumni students seemed to fit right in with the other participants—luckily our alumni got a private lesson on the beach with Sabrina Hayat from SALVE, a capoeira program for at-risk youth in Long Beach, CA. All in all the Youth Institute alumni who participated enjoyed the event and were happy to take home some new knowledge of capoeira. Chandani, Youth Institute graduate in 2008, shared with the group, “It’s very cool to discover this capoeira community and hear how different capoeira academies interact and bond with each other all over the world!
2011 Holiday Dinner
Submitted by LBYMCAYI on Mon, 11/21/2011 - 11:26
This past November 21st, we held our Second Annual Youth Institute Alumni Holiday Dinner complete with turkey, stuffing, dressing, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and lots of other dishes such as chow mein and fried chicken. Over 80 Youth Institute Alumni came by and we had a family meal together and then played games and just caught up as a YI Family!
YI College Readiness Trip - CSUDH
Submitted by LBYMCAYI on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 00:00
The YMCA Youth Institute’s “College Readiness Program” has been in full effect since the beginning of the 2011-2012 academic school year. College Readiness includes two staff members, Eddie Gardiner and Ben Falealili, who assist the students with homework, school projects, scholarships, SAT/ACT testing, financial aid, college applications and act as another support system for Youth Institute Alumni. College Readiness has been busy this past month, assisting high school seniors with college applications and SAT registration. We plan to make college visits to many of the Universities and Community Colleges all around southern California.
The College Readiness Program went on a college visit to California State University of Dominguez Hills. This is the first college visit for the College Readiness Program, but definitely not the last. The students visited the entire campus—from the classrooms to the dorm rooms, the student union to the administrative offices. The eight students who attended are juniors and seniors in high school and have hopes and dreams to attend a four-year university along their journey to pursue higher education. One of the students who attended the college visit, Leo, was recently accepted to CSUDH. Leo gave some insight on his college visit experience, “It was nice to get to know the campus. The tour benefitted me by allowing me to get answers to all the questions I had towards CSUDH.”
Fall Trip – Yosemite National Park
Submitted by LBYMCAYI on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 11:44
This fall, the YMCA Youth Institute traveled to one of the most beautiful places in the world – Yosemite National Park. Thirty youth & staff spent four days enjoying the warmth of the valley and cool star lit nights. It was a first time experience for all the youth and some of the staff who attended and gazed upon this magnificent wonder of nature. The youth & staff hiked for 90 minutes to our secret climbing wall that was over 750 feet from the valley floor below North Dome. Youth and staff also biked around the valley visiting the museum, Yosemite Falls and Mirror Lake. It was an experience for all who attended; swimming in the river, night hikes into the meadows, rock climbing and riding bikes. This was the perfect venue to talk to the youth about their future academic goals and post-secondary education. Eddie Gardiner delivered a great College Readiness program discussion.
