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CC - Item 5B - M. Janet Chin Funding RequestROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: OLIVER C. CHI, CITY MANAGER ~;.C~ DATE: DECEMBER 16, 2008 SUBJECT: M. JANET CHIN YOUTH FOUNDATION FUNDING REQUEST SUMMARY Recently, the M. Janet Chin Youth Foundation (Foundation) submitted for City Council consideration a funding request (Attachment A) to assist with the development of a youth engagement project here in the City of Rosemead., The proposal request seeks a City contribution in the amount of $57,000 to develop what the Foundation has termed, Operation Civic Pride Service Learning Program, an initiative that seeks to accomplish the following objectives: ^ Establishment of a legitimate voice for Rosemead youth. ^ Creation of a youth advisory board. ^ Help youth in decision making. ^ Mentoring. Based on current funding restraints and existing City efforts in the realm of youth programming, staff does not believe it to be prudent to grant this request at this time. Staff recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council deny the funding request by ,the M. Janet Chin Foundation. ANALYSIS Staff would recommend against funding the request submitted by the Foundation for two primary reasons, including funding constraints and existing & ongoing efforts by the City which seem to address many of the objectives in the proposal. Funding Constraints As part of the 2008-09 FY Budget, the City Council allocated a total of $100,000 for funding programs and initiatives proposed by community based organizations. Of that amount, the City currently has $56,631.63 remaining. At this time, staff is aware of at least one other pending funding request from. the Rosemead Youth Association that will be submitted during our current fiscal year. ~~~ ~o®„~ APPROVED FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA: City Council Meeting December 16, 2008 Page 2 of 2 Current City Efforts The City's Parks & Recreation Business Unit has been spending the better part of this past year developing an integrated and multi-layered Youth & Teen Program. This initiative includes components such as a partnership with the San Gabriel Valley Boys & Girls Club, the development of a Youth Commission, and the formulation of a Youth in Government program. These existing work plan items are listed in the City's 2008-09 Budget and staff has been expending much time coordinating these efforts. It does appear that these elements of the City's existing work plan serve as a duplication of some of the efforts being proposed by the Foundation. PUBLIC NOTICE-PROCESS This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process. Attachment A: M. Janet Chin Youth Foundation Funding Proposal • ~ . m. Janet Chin ~~ Youth Foundation Honorable Council Members City. of Rosemead 8838 E. Valley Blvd Rosemead, CA 91770 Dear Mr. Mayor and Honorable Council Members, I want to thank you on behalf of the M. Janet Chin Youth Foundation. for the opportunity to further develop a vision for youth engagement in our community. We are requesting an amount of $57,000 to initiate the Operation Civic Pride Service Learning Program. This youth program would begin in November and we would conduct an evaluation to ascertain the breadth and scope of the project and highlight what we've learned. As you know, strong communities require the participation of everyone. Since our inception in 2006, we have played a leading role in engaging pazents, community members, businesses, and other key stakeholders in providing young people with the tools to succeed. Finding adequate and long-term funding streams is critical to our work and we welcome the opportunity to apply for this grant. Several key elements continue to be compelling as we move our organization forward: • Timing -With the beginning of a new school yeaz, young people in our area will need to have access to after-school activities, especially as public financing for such endeavors continues to dwindle and more and more homes continue to be headed by two working parents. • Leadership - In the past two years the M. Janet Chin Youth Foundation has built relationships with key leaders in the public/private sector, within the community, (both nationally and locally) and amongst parents to launch this effort. The desire is there at the community level to expand the scope and reach of our programs and activities and we expect these to be long-term sustainable relationships. • Commitment -After two years of providing positive life experiences for young people in Rosemead through service learning initiatives that are designed to maximize their potential as future leaders and establish a clear path for success and goal-setting, we are no longer an organization in its infancy. We currently serve over 300 kids annually with plans to expand to 1,000 over the next few years. • Larger Vision -The City of Rosemead is undergoing several changes that bode well for the community, including redevelopment, investment and diversification in our city's infrastructure. We see our work as complementary to these exciting changes and believe that young people should be a significant focus of the planning efforts of our city. Thank you once again for this opportunity. Regards, M. Ja.K.e,~- Cttii.w President M. Janet Chin Youth Foundation Overview Youth leadership opportunities are essential in the City of Rosemead, where by-and-large access to positive out-of-school experiences are in short supply.. As a working class community, many of our young people are not left out because of neglect, but rather the demands of households headed by two working parents many times leaves kids without opportunities for engagement. Make no mistake about it: the youth in our community is the future of Rosemead. They will take the place of their predecessors as teachers, business owners, public officials, etc. With the blessing and guidance of the community at large we want to establish. opportunities to have a stake. in their future and a voice that echo their concerns. The funding we seek will follow our youth engagement model through service learning initiatives designed to maximize their potential as future leaders, critical-thinkers and volunteers in their community and establish a clear path for goal-setting and success. Executive Summary Since the inception of the M. Janet Chin Youth Foundation in 2006,, there has been a tremendous need for more service learning projects in Rosemead. Research has shown that students are more actively engaged in academics when they are involved in social action, real life experience, service learning outside of the home and school. We have experienced a tremendous amount of requests for volunteer service since we began, the majority of which being from the young people themselves. We have created a direct link from the youth to businesses, youth to the elderly, youth to the City of Rosemead, and have established the youth as a strong voice in the community. Part of the funding of the Operation Civic Pride Service Learning Program will. go to a Rosemead Youth Volunteer Database where youth can call; email or text message to receive up to date listings of service learning, volunteer projects or available internships. Since we have very strong ties to the local business community, we feel that we are the logical entity to connect young people to businesses seeking internships and vice versa. The database will also serve as a support mechanism for youth who need peer tutoring and create opportunities for students to socialize with other youth with shared interests in a safe and positive environment. We expect to eventually build this out to the point where mentoring relationships can be established between high school students and elementary students and where cluster communities can flourish amongst students with common interests. Often times, schools are not able to directly handle and find the best fit for the youth skills and talents. Because our youth are assessed through the quality of.the volunteer hours in a variety of situations, we are better able to link the youth skills and talents to the appropriate internships. The youth thus undergo a "casting interview" before being placed in the actual internship. We believe that our youth leaders will probably be highly recruited because of the type of experience and skill set they will have acquired while working with us. Program Concept We plan to implement the following strategies along with evaluation criterion to assess the feasibility of this initiative: Establish a Legitimate "Voice" for Rosemead Youth -The Youth Leaders group will constitute the single most influential voice in the city. This voice will not be confused with those who do not provide direct services to after scliooU enrichment program participants and their families. • Youth Advisory Board -The make up of this youth group will be diversified and truly be representative of the youth community at-large. The combined weight of this constituency will make the Rosemead youth uniquely qualified to inform City Council and staff by educating elected officials and responding to their requests for information about youth issues. • Help Youth in Decision-Making -Any private or public `organization is not likely to gather genuine feedback from the youth when the youth feel that -they are being evaluated or assessed at every- step. The Youth Leaders will learn to do self- assessments and report findings to the appropriate bodies. • Mentoring - As new Youth Leaders are produced, we envision our seasoned Youth Leaders to be able to guide younger youth leaders and encourage them to gather more service hours and experience. We also believe that through our service learning process, Youth Leaders will be helping to produce a new generation of leaders. Organizational Capacity MJCYF serves 300+ youth annually through a variety of programs in 5-10 week cycles. We tend to serve the youth with the greatest needs and fewest resources throughout the City of Rosemead. We provide a safe, high quality environment for the youth at no cost to parents. MJCYF currently collaborates with more than 15. community-based organizations to provide diverse and meaningful activities for the program. We continue to expand our network to include national organizations seeking local support or mobilization. Our organization is made of respectable leaders in the community who share and volunteer time in the Rosemead community network. Among the community leaders who dedicate their time and energy include military personnel, small business owners, teachers, law enforcement, faith based organizations, local elected officials, teen alcohol and drug prevention leaders, bus drivers, security officers, restaurant owners, and child/adult caregivers. These individuals are stakeholders in the community who are dedicated to the success of our mission, work and organization. Organization Model Our organizational model is mission centered with the youth at the forefront. We have established an organizational model that is inclusive of partnering with other community based organizations. We have the ability to expand upon the work of the Tiger Woods Foundation, the Mary Pickford Institute, Be The Change Inc, ServiceNation, and the Afterschool Alliance, Asian Pacific Family Center, Youth Service America, Kiwanis of Rosemead, YMCA of West SGV, Generation Earth, Tree People, just to name a few. Youth Leaders ~ Mission/ Bylaws ~ Board Members President 1 Executive Director i ~ Fundraising ~ Youth Advisory I Interns ~ / ~ Instructors ~ I Volunteers Board Communications Director ~~ , m. Janet Chin Youth Foundation Youth Leaders Service Learning Program Budget `" (November 2008-October 2009) . PT Project Coordinator 7,500 PT Volunteer Coordinator 2,500 Supplies/ Equipment 7,200 Transportation/Insurance 8,800 Capacity Building 20,000 Publicity/Promo/Web 5,000 Professional Tech Services 6 000. Total Requested $57,000 Matched Contributions In-Kind Donations 57,420 . Cash Contributions 8,000 Matched: $65,420