Summer Countdown

The Mayor has released his Countdown to Summer and Sprockets is once again highlighted as a resource.  Much of the communications from the Mayor's Office will be encouraging families to go to www.SprocketsSaintPaul.org. To fully utilize this campaign be sure to have your organizations information on the Program Finder and Event Calendar.

The Countdown is fairly simple:

5 Days a Week of Active Play

4 New Places to Visit 

3 Fresh Fruits and Veggies Daily 

2 Summer Projects 

1 Time a day with a Good Book 

0 Soda pop – Drink more water

These points are great not only  for youth and families but great to keep in mind as a program partner.  Are your youth active? Are they eating healthy? Are they drinking enough water? We know that youth are often at our programs longer and we need to be sure we are aware of how they are spend all of that time. 

Neighborhood Network Team Meetings

Neighborhood Learning Community

May 28th 12 noon - 1pm at Baker Center

East Side Network Cafe

May 11th 10 am - 11:30 am at Arlington Hills Community Center

North End and Friends

May 14th 9:30 am - 11 am at North Dale Community Center

Leap Forward Collaborative for Youth

May 19th 10am - 12  noon at Mt. Airy Boys and Girls Club

Learn more about Neighborhood Network Teams, and let us know if you'd like to be on the listserv for one or more of these groups.

Take Action for Afterschool Funding

It’s time to take action to secure afterschool funding in Minnesota!

The 10 legislators of the Conference Committee have been announced, and they need to hear about the value of afterschool from all Minnesotans as they decide what to fund in the final budget bill.

This legislative session has been a rollercoaster ride – now’s the time to redouble your efforts, to push the Afterschool Community Learning Grants bill along the final stretch of the 2015 session! Here’s how:
 

1. Create your personalized email or call script, using our template.
2. Call or email as many Conference Committee members (view the list of legislators here) as you can to urge their support for the Afterschool Community Learning Grants Bill (House File 947, Senate File 1017) in the Conference Committee.

 
The legislative session ends on May 18th. Let's make these last two weeks count - Minnesota's youth are counting on us!

City of Saint Paul, DNR create one-stop shop for outdoor, nature-based activities in Saint Paul’s parks

Explore Outdoors Saint Paul season kicks off May 16 at Take Aim at Summer Fun event.

With the urban population increasingly disengaged from nature, and obesity-related and other health problems on the rise, reconnecting with outdoor recreation opportunities has never been more important. To meet this challenge, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are spearheading a new initiative called Explore Outdoors Saint Paul. The effort gathers over 100 existing activities from many local agencies onto an online calendar of events from May through September, geared for families, adults of all ages, and youth. Activities are free or low-cost, and all equipment is provided. The calendar is now available on the City of Saint Paul’s website at bitly.com/exploreSTP, with more activities to be added throughout the season.

651 Youth for Justice

I Am Video Blast

Help us blast Facebook and Twitter with you "I am" poem from May 11th - May 15th.  At the first 651 Youth for Justice event in October we opened and ended our program with "I Am" Poems.  Write an "I am" poem or statement, take a video, and post your "I Am" videos (does not need to be high quality video) to the 651 Youth for Justice Facebook page and #651youthforjustice.  Please start or end your poem with "I am 651 Youth for Justice."

Look to Facebook on May 11th for examples.

 Here is a sample:
"I am the highbridge and dancing in the rain

I am the one who they saw as smart
I am fear and sadness embodied knowing our world is not safe for all of us
I am 651 Youth for Justice"

Your poem can be longer or shorter; we welcome poems from youth and youthworker.  We want to blast your voices!
Look to the 651 Youth for Justice page that week and share posts with your friends and family.  Invite them to participate.  
Questions?  Contact shaun.walsh@spps.org

Saint Paul Youth Commission Recruiting

Encourage youth to apply to the Saint Paul Youth Commission

Involvement Includes:

• Leading community projects that matter to you; tackling serious issues by designing creative solutions.
• Ensure the views of youth are heard by city officials, state legislators and the community at large and play a key decision making role.
• Help fund other youth in your communities to start innovative projects through Youth Bank.
• Strengthen your leadership skills, expand your network, and build your power!

Membership details:

• The Youth Commission is a collection of 22 young leaders from neighborhoods all over Saint Paul.
• Youth Commissioners must be enrolled in 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade during the 2015-20156 school year and reside in Saint Paul.
• The Youth Commission meets every Monday night and needs members who can regularly attend and actively participate.
• Interested youth must submit an application and attend an interview.
• Applicants living in Battle Creek/Sunray, Como, St Anthony Park, Frogtown, West 7th/Downtown, East Side, Hamline-Midway, Payne-Phalen, preferred.

Questions? Contact Tabitha Mitchell Tabitha.mitchell@ci.stpaul.mn.us or 651-247-5538. Or download the application from
www.stpaul.gov/youthcommission