Legendary "Last Poet" Sharing Poetry and Life Lessons at ETEC (4/2006)

Dr. James P. Comer To Receive Local Honor At Youth Continuum's 40^th Anniversary Celebration (4/07)

NEW HAVEN – On Friday, May 4, Youth Continuum will present the 2007 Youth Advocate Award to Dr. James P. Comer, the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine's Child Study Center, at a Ruby Gala at the LoRicco Ballroom, 216 Crown Street, New Haven. The Youth Advocacy Award honors those who work to improve the lives of children and youth through education, access to health care, employment, and enrichment. Also attending are Youth Continuum founder, Dr. I. Ira Goldenberg, and first executive director, Dr. Wesley T. Forbes, Sr.. Youth Continuum is pleased to have Veronica Douglas, director of special projects for WTNH/MyTV9 as mistress of ceremonies.

Dr. Comer, perhaps, is best known for the founding of the Comer School Development Program in 1968, which promotes the collaboration of parents, educators, and community to improve social, emotional, and academic outcomes for children that, in turn, helps them achieve greater school success. His concept of teamwork has improved the educational environment in more than 500 schools throughout America.

A prolific writer, Dr. Comer has authored nine books, including Beyond Black and White; School Power: Implications of an Intervention Project; Waiting for a Miracle: Why Schools Can't Solve Our Problems, And How We Can; and Leave No Child Behind: Preparing Today's Youth for Tomorrow's World. Dr. Comer has also written more than 150 articles for Parents Magazine and more than 300 syndicated articles on children's health and development and race relations.

The Yes, I Can! Scholarship awards will also be presented at the event. These funds provide opportunities for youth to pursue academic and enrichment goals with up to $5,000 in scholarships dispersed each year. Previous scholarship awards have helped our clients to continue college studies in the fields of communications, health care, and fine arts.

“This is a very special occasion for Youth Continuum,” noted Carole A. Shomo, Chief Executive Officer, “and we opted to hold our anniversary celebration in May, which is National Foster Care Month, in an effort to highlight the need for support of foster youth. As an ‘institutional’ foster family we are proud of the resiliency and determination of the youth in our care.”

For ticket information or questions about the Ruby Gala, call 203.562.3396, or visit www.youthcontinuum.org. For more information about National Foster Care Month, visit www.fostercaremonth.org.

The event is sponsored by NewAlliance Foundation in partnership with Yale-New Haven Hospital, and is generously supported by AT&T, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the Connecticut State Medical Society, Lewis G. Schaeneman Foundation, Merrill Lynch, New Haven County Medical Association, People’s Bank, RC Knox, Suzio York Hill, Tri-Con Construction Managers, Trinity Financial, Tyler Cooper, UHY LLP, and Yale University.

Youth Continuum Donors Meet Matching Grant Challenge (1/2007)

Thanks to the generosity of many, Youth Continuum successfully met a challenge set forth by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. This fall, the Community Foundation launched its Making A Good Gift Better matching grant challenge for agencies serving the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter in our community. All new and increased gifts raised by December 31^st were eligible for a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $5,000 per agency. Youth Continuum was notified that our application was successful and the organization will be receiving a grant from the Foundation for the entire $5,000!

Since 1928, donors to The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven have built the community's endowment currently valued at approximately $245 million. In 2005, The Foundation Board of Directors distributed over $14 million in grants from over 600 different named charitable funds supporting a wide range of programs and projects. The Foundation’s service area encompasses: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge. For more information about The Community Foundation visit www.cfgnh.org.

YC Youth Win $15,000 Award from Ameriquest Mortgage Company To Help Their Local Neighborhood (9/2006)

Youth Continuum has been recognized by Ameriquest Mortgage Company and awarded a $15,000 grant through Ameriquest’s Create Your Legacy program. YC won as the result of its creative grant submission – where boys from Forbes, Bradley, and Uno houses created a comic strip demonstrating how they would use funds to improve programs at the MacMullen Center and their community.

“This is an opportunity to provide a grant that can really help children make a difference in their community,” said Julie Brandt, senior vice president of philanthropy and community engagement at Ameriquest.  “We are proud to have selected an organization where the kids have demonstrated an active and passionate interest in supporting their community”

Winning programs were selected based on need, appropriateness, creativity, originality and the involvement of youth in the planning and development of the projects, and were chosen by Ameriquest associates nationwide.  The $15,000 grants were given in recognition of children’s innovative and creative ideas for improving their after-school programs and their neighborhoods through community service and teamwork.  This is the first year of the Create Your Legacy program which is expected to award up to $1 million annually.

Youth decided to use the funds to purchase equipment for a recording studio at the MacMullen Center and are planning a community service project to help fix up a playground for Mutual Housing Association.

More information about Ameriquest’s Create Your Legacy program can be found at www.Ameriquestcares.org

Youth Entrepreneurs Get Busy This Summer at the City Jazz Fest (7/2006)

NEW HAVEN – Participants in Youth Continuum’s Youth Enterprise Project (YEP) are setting up shop at various events during the City of New Haven Jazz Fest, including Jazz in the Parks. The youth will bring their Three Brothers Vending project to the Jazz in the Parks series, held in various parks around the City, selling pre-packaged snack foods and soft drinks. At Jazz on the Green, the youth will operate a chair rental booth where patrons can rent a folding canvas chair for the evening for just two dollars.

The remaining dates for the Thursday evening Jazz in the Parks series sponsored by Empower New Haven are:

July 27 - Trowbridge Square

August 3 - Edgewood Park  (near the tennis courts)

August 10 - Quinnipiac River Park

August 17 - Goffe St Park

The Citizens Bank New Haven Jazz Festival on the Green presented by Casey Family Services runs Saturdays in August and includes:

August 5 – Dave Brubeck Quartet and Tito Puente, Jr.

August 12 – Kool & the Gang and Blue Orchid Orchestra

August 19 – Jonny Lang and T.S. Monk

For additional information about the Jazz Fest, visit www.newhavenjazz.com.

Youth Continuum Publishes Continuous Quality Improvement Report for 2005 (7/2006) Read the full report

ETEC is Renamed the MacMullen Center in Honor of Long-time Supporter (7/2006)

NEW HAVEN - Youth Continuum's Education Training & Enrichment Center (ETEC) has been renamed the MacMullen Center for Education, Training and Enrichment. The Board of Directors decided to name the program for outgoing Board President, Margaret (Peggy) MacMullen, who has been a major donor to the agency and a staunch advocate for the educational services provided at the Center.

For the past 6 years, Peggy has been a key friend and a driving force behind some of the agency’s most innovative ideas. Her passion for education has helped the direction and development of ETEC. And, next year, while still a member of the Board, she is committed to working on closing the achievement gap for our youth.

Peggy has been a friend to the youth; a major supporter of the organization; a dynamic leader; and a marvelous representative to the community and it is most fitting that we honor her in this way.

Murtha Cullina Employees Swapped Briefcases for Paint Brushes to Benefit the MacMullen Center (6/2006)

NEW HAVEN – To meet the demands of activities for youth this summer, Murtha Cullina LLP employees traded their briefcases for paint brushes on June 20th as they spruced up the agency’s MacMullen Center. Volunteers from Murtha Cullina’s New Haven, Hartford, and Stamford offices gave the main classrooms a facelift that included fresh coats of paint, a brand new 51” television, and bookshelves.

 “This is an amazing example of generosity,” said Carole A. Shomo, CEO of Youth Continuum. “Thanks to our friends at Murtha Cullina, the building is going to be in great shape just in time for summer programs for our kids.”

About Murtha Cullina LLP

With 130 attorneys and offices in Hartford, New Haven and Stamford, Connecticut and Boston and Woburn, Massachusetts, Murtha Cullina LLP offers a full range of legal services to business, governmental units, non-profit organizations and individual clients.

The firm's regional practice focuses on litigation throughout New England, transactional representation in the corporate, financial and real estate areas, estate and closely held business planning, and a full range of industry-focused legal services including Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights, Construction, Domestic Relations (Massachusetts only), Employee Benefits/ERISA, Environmental and Land Use, Government Affairs (Connecticut only), Health Care, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Municipal Law and Public Finance, Tax and Utility and Communications.

Legendary "Last Poet" Sharing Poetry and Life Lessons at ETEC (4/2006)

NEW HAVEN - Abiodun Oyewole, a founding member of the group The Last Poets has been turning local youth on to the power of poetry and the spoken word during April, which is National Poetry Month. Oyewole has conducted a weekly Hip Hop poetry workshop for boys ages 14 to 18 at Youth Continuum’s Education Training & Enrichment Center (ETEC). The workshops, which continue through June, focus on both the creative process of writing and the final product, with a goal of strengthening the youths’ self-expression.

Along the way, Oyewole has shared some life lessons. Like many of the youth in the workshop, he was able to overcome the same urban social maladies of a broken home or child abuse.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some of these boys,” said Ife Michelle Gardin, coordinator of the project. “They will hopefully look back on this time spent with Abiodun and understand the impact he has had.” Gardin was responsible for making the connection to Oyewole who is an old family friend.

The Last Poets are considered the rappers of the civil rights era, bringing together music and spoken word in a purposeful way. Oyewole has had a number of projects not under The Last Poets name, including recordings with contemporary hip hop artists. He is currently on the faculty at Columbia University.

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