A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Dentist

In response to a posting Friends of Youth made requesting donations of school supplies for our homeless youth and those in need, I received an e-mail from Redmond Family and Cosmetic  Dentistry asking for our most pressing needs. A few days later, I received another e-mail saying there was a donation ready for pick up. I googled Redmond Family Dentistry and headed out.

I bounced into the office and announced to the 2 awaiting receptionists who I was and why I was there…only to find out that I was at Redmond Family Dentistry – the wrong Dentist office!  As I was apologizing for the intrusion and preparing to leave, I was told to wait right there and off went one of the receptionists returning with a box full of toothbrushes and toothpaste.

What a very thoughtful gift to an intruder who just barged into their office!

I finally arrived at my initial destination (Redmond Family and Cosmetic Denistry) and was given a box full of binders, calculators and backpacks, items we were in desperate need of!

Within a matter of 15 minutes I had meet two fabulous and supportive dentists and their front line staff. Yes…Dentists can give you a lot to smile about! Thank you both for your help and donations!

Submitted by Cheryl Schnelle, Volunteer Coordinator

TRANSITIONS

After 22 years of service with Friends of Youth, our Chief Executive Officer, Joan Campbell, has retired. While we are saddened to lose Joan and her extensive experience providing services to at-risk and homeless youth in King County, we are equally excited to inform you that we have promoted our present Chief Operating Officer, Terry Pottmeyer, to the position of CEO effective August 1, 2011.

Terry joined Friends of Youth in early 2010 and has held two high-profile positions within the organization: Chief Program Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Our Board of Directors considered carefully the qualifications necessary for the CEO position, including our new strategic plan for 2011 – 2015, and determined that Terry had the experience and knowledge to provide the best possible leadership for Friends of Youth going forward. The Board’s decision to promote from within Friends of Youth will ensure a smooth transition of executive leadership, allowing the organization to focus on serving youth and young adults in challenging circumstances, while providing new leadership for our new strategic plan that will strengthen the agency’s work.

A retirement party to celebrate Joan’s years of service to Friends of Youth and to youth in need throughout King County will be held on August 18^th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Bellevue Hyatt.  If you are interested in attending please RSVP to Kami Dockery at 425-869-6490 x300. We’d love to have you on hand to wish Joan well!

If you have a fond memory involving Joan at Friends of Youth over the past 22 years of her service, we invite you to reminisce with us by posting below.

Breakfast Buddies Cereal Drive

In a matter of 5 days, students from Wilder Elementary School were able to collect 71 boxes of cereal for Friends of Youth through their annual Breakfast Buddies Cereal Drive. The student’s compassion and efforts on behalf of homeless youth on the eastside has given new meaning to the “Breakfast of Champions.”   Friends of Youth has just expanded one of its shelters, The Landing, from 5 nights of shelter to 7  nights of shelter. Dinner donors (volunteers who cook hot meals for the youth) provide a stable evening meal; however, there is no formal breakfast program at this time and the breakfast buddies will ensure that the youth start the morning on the right foot!

 

Written by: Cheryl Schnelle (Volunteer Coordinator, Friends of Youth)

Bright Spaces Foundation remodels New Ground Sand Point

New Ground Sand Point received a much needed make over to the living room space thanks to the Bright Spaces Foundation and the parents and staff at Chestnut Hill Academy. The Bright Space Foundation teams with various organizations to help raise money to design learning environments in housing programs that serve young children. Chestnut Hill Academy staff conducted a fund raiser that earned enough to completely revamp the living room for the mothers and babies at New Ground Sand Point.

The living room space is the hub of the program. It is the space where mothers rest the last day of their pregnancy, nurture their newborns, and bond with their toddlers. This is also the space where the mothers develop friendships with each other. 

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I have once heard that ‘your house should rise up to meet you.’ This captures the idea that one’s home should be a place of peace and comfort based on the emotional and physical state within the home. With a coat of fresh paint, a beautiful flower mural, and a play area at the focal point of the living room the newly renovated living room space reflects and honors the promise and hope that each mother and their child has as the enter New Ground Sand Point.

Written by: Kendra Junius-Roberts (Transitional Living Program Coordinator, Friends of Youth)

RYPAC Gives the Redmond Foster Home Garden a Makeover

Jacob Hobbs, 17, and Joss Horslen, 16, plant flowers

Someone asked me the other day, what I liked about my job. The answer was easy…working with volunteers. This past year has become even more fun with Friends of Youth expanding its teen volunteer program. In response to calls from parents seeking volunteer opportunities for their teenage son or daughter to fulfill junior high or high school service hours, Friends of Youth started a program called 3 in a Row. Teenagers get together once a month and do three hours of community service in one afternoon. Each month is a different focus, but all incorporate learning about a specific Friends of Youth program and how youth come to be in that particular program.

Additionally, Friends of Youth partners with various youth groups for projects. Wilder Elementary School’s Care and Share Club, Overlake High Schools Community Service Day, Timbercrest Junior High for an annual stocking drive and now the Redmond Youth Partnership Advisory Committee (RYPAC). In honor of National Foster Care Month, the RYPAC crew came armed with gardening tools, donated plants and tons of enthusiasm.

(From left to right) Tylor Town, 14, teen programs director Ken Wong, and Kanon Shibata, 13, planting flowers

Their task was a yard makeover at the Redmond Foster Home. The crew split up and tackled weed pulling, plant transplanting, plant bed preparation, pruning and raking. The weed pulling crews reminded me of Pac Man…gobbling up every weed in site. It was amazing to me that the teens could differentiate between a weed and juvenile plant, but they could, and not a weed remained in any of the flower beds.

RYPAC chair Jesse Ewing-Frable, 17, glues buttons to a pot Saturday for the Redmond Foster Home

The donated plants RYPAC secured added a variety of color and texture to the established beds and the end result was pure artistry! As an added activity, terra cotta pots were embellished with paint, buttons, clay and twine, sprayed with varnish, and then given a plant to create a container garden. It was a fun opportunity for each teen to express themselves and oh did they. The pots were colorful and unique and created a beautiful garden centerpiece. It was an exciting afternoon and great opportunity for teens to support teens and I hope that Friends of Youth can continue to grow this relationship with RYPAC. They are definitely a volunteer force who completes what they set out to do and…has fun while they are doing it!

(From left to right) Mitch Fanning, 17, Joss Horslen, 16, and Jacob Hobbs, 17, display the plants they potted Saturday

Written by: Cheryl Schnelle (Volunteer Coordinator, Friends of Youth)

60th Birthday Recap

As a member of the 60th Anniversary Reception Planning Committee it was so satisfying to see the Harbor Club fill with so many of the faces that we had talked about during our planning meetings. The view from the Harbor Club was a glorious backdrop for a memorable celebration.  

Even with all our planning, I did not anticipate how touched I would be by those who have spent the last 60 years building Friends of Youth into the organization it is today. Truly, the room fell silent as Dr. Wayne Strom recalled vividly the highlights surrounding the founding of FOY.

 

 

 

And I will never forget the look on Mary Fleckenstein Simpson’s face when the program went “off-script” and she was presented with the Legacy Supporter Award.

But my greatest joy was learning that I was sitting next to the daughter of the pastor who preached the sermon that ‘started it all’, Pastor Ostrander from the University Congregational Church.  I had the joy of meeting his daughter Margaret Rose Ostrander, his great-granddaughter Margaret, and the current Pastor of University Congregational Church, Catherine Foote.  I watched as these three women quietly beamed with pride knowing the lasting impact that Mrs. Matsen, the congregational church and Dr. Ostrander created. It was truly incredible to know how a simple idea from a persistent woman can create a lasting legacy.

After 60 years the heart and soul of Friends of Youth continues to be the incredible individuals who devote their time and talent to made sure that all youth in our community have the opportunity to succeed. As Dr. Clinton Ostrander so clearly preached in his sermon on June 4, 1950,  “how richly your own life can be blessed by dedicating some of your time and talent and energy and means to bless and enrich the lives of others. It is a law of life that to give is to receive.” Thank you to all the Friends of Youth for 60 dedicated years.

Written by: Mary Jo Bruckner (60th Committee Member)
Photography by: http://www.solacearts.com/

Friends of Youth Celebrates 60 Years!

We are so excited about celebrating our anniversary on Wednesday, May 18^th!

We are even more excited to welcome our past ‘Executive Secretary’, Dr. Wayne Strom, as our keynote speaker. 

Dr. Strom was hired by Friends of Youth to serve as its Director in 1962 and served until 1968.  He was 27 when he was hired and was interested in the position because he had always wanted to run a home for boys.  Shortly after he arrived he found that there wasn’t enough money to meet payroll so he became, by default, a fundraiser.  He estimates that he gave 26 FOY sermons in local churches and 100 talks each year to raise funds.  Primary support for the agency was through the United Good Neighbors (now the United Way of King County), the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and individuals and churches throughout the community.

During Dr. Strom’s tenure the agency expanded from serving 12 foster youth to 22 youth, and a second home (Matsen) was built on the Griffin property.  

Today Friends of Youth still operates a residential treatment facility for boys on the original campus in the Kennydale neighborhood of Renton, WA.  The agency has grown from the shoestring operation of Dr. Strom’s days to a multi-million dollar human service agency providing a comprehensive range of therapeutic services for youth and young adults at 20 program sites in East and North King County and South Snohomish County

We are so excited to celebrate the legacy we have inherited from the visionary leaders who saw a need to support youth in 1951 and who have given us a solid foundation to continue that work in 2011 and beyond!

To learn more about our 60th Anniversary Reception click here.

Written by: Terry Pottmeyer (Chief Operating Officer)