Quick read: The SAW Youth Program is a community program in the Boston area that supports young women aged 14-24 to build life skills to become successful community members, advocates, and tradeswomen.
November 29, 2011
Dear Friends and Supporters:
The SAW Youth Program is seeking financial sponsors whose contributions will enable us to build and continue our program year round. Since the commencement of the program last year, we have established strong partnerships with other community organizations and incorporated many collaboration efforts that not only benefit our program but also strengthen the communities in which we live, work and are most effected. The SAW Youth Program was established for at-risk young women, ages 14-24 from seven neighborhoods in the Boston area: Roxbury, South End, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, Mattapan, Hyde Park, and Roslindale with the goal of getting them off the path of destruction and onto the path of construction. Through our program we promote life skills, health education & physical fitness, self-esteem, relationship building, secondary education planning, job readiness, television production, financial literacy and offer an array of awareness workshops such as anti-bulling, medical insurance basics, environmental awareness as well as an opportunity to consider a career in the building trades - in a safe and supportive environment. Currently all of our participants are from low-income families.
The SAW Youth Program is located at the Blackstone Community Center in the South End of Boston. This facility allows us to provide a safe haven for our participants to learn and grow to their full potential. In our first summer cycle, our goal was to enroll 24 at-risk young women in our program with a 100% completion rate. We are pleased to report that we had a success rate of 92%. Two of our participants acquired full time employment, one participant was accepted into a trade program and one participate was accepted into a GED program. The remainder of our participants returned to school and became valued members of our first Alumni Class. The Alumni Class was able to continue to use valuable resources throughout the fall which included but was not limited to, health and wellness training, post secondary education workshops, job search assistance, mentoring, tutoring, Drivers Education Training, computer training and membership to the Roxbury Boys & Girls Club now the Yawkey Club of Roxbury. It is now clear that our approach demands a 12 month involvement during which time we continue to build on the “Alumni” services which are needed in our communities.
SAW truly appreciates the support we have received from so many of you during our first two years and encourage you to remember the SAW Youth Program with its path of construction in your year-end charitable giving. State funding has been drastically reduced for teen programs while at the same time parents’ ability to pay their children’s way has become even more difficult. In order to continue to offer this unique program free to our participants, SAW will need all of our friends to give - whether they be churches/temples, foundations, city/state entities, local businesses or individual donors.
Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to help us expand and keep our program running at its highest level in 2012. Our fund-raising goal for this effort is $137,000. Thank you for your interest and investment in our young women of Boston.
Sincerely,
Me’Chelle “Mikey” Myles, Executive Director
