Best Year Yet

Here’s wishing us all the Best Year Yet in 2014.  Who could possibly object to this sentiment?  Yet to be the best year yet, there are some things you and Entrusted Legacy needs to do to be successful.  So taking the guidance of Jinny Ditzler who wrote the book, Best Year Yet, here is what we plan to do.  Check it out and see if there is anything you can apply to yourself.

Step one is to set goals:  Of course we all know that setting goals, actually writing them down, and referring to them regularly, helps to make those goals real and something you are focused on.  Setting goals allows us to “live our lives in a way that will show what really matter to us and that we are serious about accomplishing our goals.”  For 2014, Entrusted Legacy has goals to serve 30 new afterschool clients and connect them with online training 24/7/365 and 90 hours of face-to-face training spread across these 30 programs.  To accomplish this goal we have fund development and fundraising plans to ensure our success.

Once the goals are set, Ditzler says that to be successful you need to “prepare the space for the goals to flourish.”  This makes sense, so Entrusted Legacy is beginning that process by reminding ourselves of our cause, the work we do and why that work is so important for the future of youth and ultimately our country.  We believe that youth need positive role models and mentors. We believe that educating adults who work with youth will make a difference, and we believe that we can magnify that difference through the work we do to bring them training and staff development.  We believe everyone can be or support a positive role model and mentor who works with youth.  To that end, Entrusted Legacy has committed to work closely with sixteen new funders and investors who are willing to support the Entrusted Legacy Mission and Vision.

Ditzler also reminds us, ““Don’t let the weeds grow around your dreams.  Find the courage to act and face the big challenges and make your dreams come true.  Rely on your inner strength, step back from the busyness of life and pay attention to what really matters.”  She goes on to say we should all take responsibility for accomplishing our goals and simply step up and like Nike, “Just do it!”  So are taking that advice and stepping up our game.

At Entrusted Legacy we’re eager to make a difference.  Please join us and help us change the lives of youth for the better.  We can all remember that key person in our life that believed in us and helped us to be our best selves.  We are looking to support those adults.  Entrust your legacy with us and invest with us.  Contact us at www.entrustedlegacy.org or if you need more information, send your contact information to support@entrustedlegacy.org.  

Rediscovering Hope—Our Greatest Teaching Strategy

Richard Curwin wrote the book, Rediscovering Hope—Our Greatest Teaching Strategy, over two decades ago, but the message is still relevant.  While I agree that “hope is not a strategy,” I do believe that it is an essential ingredient for people to move from where they currently are into a brighter and more meaningful future. 

In his book, Curwin spends some time discussing the meaning of “at risk.”  We all have our definition for this, but it boils down to youth being “at risk” of dropping out of school and not achieving their full potential.  Instead of spending time on what “at risk” is, Curwin devoted space to what causes youth to be “at risk” beyond the typical things we identify.  He begins by sharing that youth begin to be “at risk” the first time they feel unwelcome at school or in an afterschool program.  They begin to be “at risk” when they feel that there has been an attack on their dignity. They sense other youth are valued and appreciated while they are not.  They start to be “at risk” when they are labeled and cynicism sets in when youth believes, “What’s the use?  No matter how hard I try, I’m not good enough.”  Once the seed has been planted, the feelings and actions that become synonymous with “at risk” begin to manifest, the spiral down speeds up.

What can we do to mitigate this spiral and transport youth from “at risk” to “in opportunity?”  We have to believe that afterschool programs are for kids, all kids, and that when we support them it begins first by building a relationship with them.  We must let youth know that we value them for who they are and that we believe they have something important to contribute.  We must help them begin to HOPE again.

Hope is not one of those “one size fits all” things.  There are different kinds of hope.  Hope can mean dreaming or wishing for something to happen that is beyond our control.  This kind of hope is like passive perseverance.  In other words, I hope this happens but I’m not really doing anything about it to make it so.  When we cling to this type of hope if something concrete and wonderful happens, then we can consider ourselves fortunate or maybe even lucky.  A second kind of hope is based on faith, the deep down inside you feeling that things will turn out all right.  This kind of hope too, is beyond our control with the exception that we believe it can be so.

The third kind of hope involves taking some sort of action—or being proactively perseverant  I think of the story of former astronaut Jose Hernandez who applied 12 times to be an astronaut----the first 6 times with passive persistence and the last six with proactive persistence.  When hope resembles this, it becomes actionable, and with actionable hope we have great possibilities.  One person commented, “People with hope chase rainbows and sometimes catch them.  Those without hope see little reason to try.  They do not believe that rainbows can be caught and that even if a rainbow could be caught, it would be nothing more than colored mist.”  Positive role models and mentors give substance to rainbows. Hope gives youth the courage to be a rainbow chaser. 

Please join with Entrusted Legacy in promoting hope; hope that is about forming a positive future.  It is proactive when we begin to orient ourselves to this future we have imagined.  It is the beginning of our future self and of being convinced we have the capacity to become so much more than we are.  If you are not able to work directly with youth to support them as a role model and mentor, then support someone who is.  Invest in the future by investing with Entrusted Legacy.  Contact us at support@entrustedlegacy.org or by going to our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org  

3.5 Hours to Change America

Entrusted Legacy has raised the question, “Can 3.5 hours a day change America?”  Is there remedy to be found in the 3.5 hours after-school each day?  If we are to believe Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education when he states, "If we are serious about having more students be productive citizens, if we are serious about having more students prepared to be successful in college, dramatically improving the quality and the quantity of after-school programming is going to be at the heart of our work as a country." then the answer is a resounding “YES!”  Entrusted Legacy believes after-school is an integral part of the solution.

After-school programs provide something every person needs—mentors and positive role models.  How many mentors have you had?  Do you remember seeking advice from this wise and trusted counselor and teacher?  Think back to the person who had a profound and positive effect on your life and the choices you’ve made as an adult.  Picture the person’s face.  Hear the words of encouragement and absolute belief in the possibility of you in this person’s voice.  Recall the feelings of self-confidence and assuredness you had in your personal judgment, ability and power to get things done because this person first believed in you.  Was this mentor your parent, a grandparent or your pastor?  Was your mentor a favorite teacher, coach or tutor?  Was it the plumber or mechanic down the street who could fix anything?  Or was it your best friend’s mother who always had time to listen to you?  Imagine what it would be like to have the opportunity to replicate this with hundreds of youth.

Join with Entrusted Legacy to be sure that afterschool professionals have been trained to handle the responsibility of being a positive role model and mentor for youth.  Entrust you legacy to us.  Donate now!  Contact us at support@entrustedlegacy.org, by calling (661) 322-3437, or going on line at www.entrustedlegacy.org and donating now!

Importance of Mission Driven Work

What does it really mean to be a mission driven non-profit?  Certainly it means to embrace a social cause and be essentially purpose driven to address this social cause.  It is important that we are able to integrate the cause into our mission and our values and establish core business practices to we can have an authentic social impact and accomplish our mission. 

As a non-profit, we agree with Steven Van Yoder.  He states that a mission-driven non-profit cannot succeed on the passion of the Board and a few volunteers.  He goes on to say that a mission-driven organization needs the commitment of others to support the economic engine required to accomplish its goals.  He then indicates that the mission must be supported by core values and beliefs.  He also stated that the organization must be absolutely committed to the cause and the work to be done to fulfill the cause. 

At Entrusted Legacy we think that afterschool programs are a vital part of the solution for reinvigorating learning in our K-12 system.  We are committed to supporting the adults who work with youth by providing the training and staff development needed by these youth workers to successfully role model and mentor these youth. 

If you find our mission compelling, we ask you to entrust your legacy with us and help us to make a difference in the lives of youth and youth leaders.  There is an old adage that states, “Many hands make hard work light” and we believe that our mission can be accomplished if we work together.  Please fo to our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org and invest in the future of our youth.  

Hand Up, Not a Hand Out

There are a number of different “Hand Up Not A Hand Out” programs that you can subscribe to.  The Downtown Sacramento project is focused on reducing panhandling in downtown Sacramento by encouraging compassionate folks to donate to a trusted provider who will support the hungry and the homeless.  The Stand Down Program in San Diego works with homeless veterans which focuses on giving veterans a safe haven until they can reconnect with the world.  The federal Lifeline program is there to help families stay in touch, especially in these challenging economic times.  All of these programs are filling existing needs.  They are intervening in the lives of people who need support and a hand-up.

Entrusted Legacy takes a look at this challenge from a different vantage point:  prevention rather than intervening once something has gone awry.  Entrusted Legacy is interested in proactively supporting the development of role models and mentors so youth can make the connections needed to build resiliency and grit.  The work being done around the importance of non-cognitive skills (Paul Tough—How Children Succeed) confirms our belief that these two essentials supports the full development of young people and that the best place to develop those non-cognitive skills is with a caring role model and mentor.  

Entrusted Legacy has partnered with Consult 4 Kids to provide a comprehensive staff development program tailored for their needs.  Entrust Your Legacy with us.  Invest today in the future of all of our children and youth.  Find out more about Entrusted Legacy on our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org   Help us to support those who work with other people’s children every day be an outstanding role model or mentor.  

Changing the Learning Experience for Youth

What sort of experience do we want youth to have in our afterschool and other out-or-school time programs?  The Learning in Afterschool and Summer Principles capture this clearly—learning that is active, collaborative, meaningful, develops skills and broadens horizons.  Experiences for youth that embody these principles are key to closing the opportunity gap and creating citizens of the world.

The challenge is this—to be able to ensure that those experiences are provided, out-of-school time staff must be well prepared to be positive role models and mentors and understand the dynamics of working with youth.  Staff must be professional, focused on safety, understand how to manage the many different environments of out-of-school time while supporting positive behavior choices and implementing a fair and consistent discipline system.  These leaders must also understand holistic instruction how to manage transitions and debriefing the learning, and internalize the difference between direct and tell and questioning to connection. 

Entrusted Legacy is partnering with Consult 4 Kids to provide access to web-based training that is written, audio, video, and complete with a tracking system.  Help us to reach all of the out-of-school time professionals by investing in the future.  Go to our website at www.entrustedlegacy.org and join with others to make a difference and leave a legacy.

Many Hands Make Hard Work Light

What do hands, synergy and recycling have in common?  How do these three distinct things connect. 

When I was young, my mother used to tell my sister and me, “many hands make hard work light.”  We knew that those weren’t her words originally, I’m not sure how, but we got the message.  She expected us to work together and help each other out whether that was folding clothes, weeding the garden or doing the nightly dishes.  Many times she joined her hands with ours to make the work lighter for all of us. 

Steven Covey would share that we need to work together to synergize and not only make hard work lighter but change the face of the hard work altogether.  He believed that by working together, working to understand one another we created a space for something better that any one of us could have thought of on our own.  He labeled this notion as Habit #6. 

I would also like you to consider the whole notion of recycling.  Fifty years ago people may have saved things but it was not because they were interested in recycling but rather because many of them had lived through the Great Depression and learned that is was best to throw away nothing.  However their children (the Baby Boomers) learned that the world was disposable.  Evidence of this can be found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which stretches for hundreds of miles and have formed a nebulous, floating junk yard.  However, as our consciousness was raised, recycling hit most everyone’s radar and it is challenging to throw anything away that we think might recycle.  You find “blue cans” regularly, even in cities that require you to pay for the privilege of recycling.  The notion of many hands applies to this as does the notion of synergizing to accomplish something you couldn’t do on your own. 

Now it seems to me that out-of-school time should want to be the “next recycling” effort.  Imagine what would happen if everyone understood that afterschool programs are as essential as recycling.    What if everyone understood how important role models and mentors are for the youth who spend time in the afterschool programs?  What if everyone understood that if everyone does a little, what we end up with is a lot? 

Please join us in making a difference. Contact us at www.entrustedlegacy.org or at support@entrustedlegacy.org