We're Still Making it Happen in 2020
2020 has been a rough year for so many, but thanks the support from our Yolo County community, Make it Happen has been able to provide support for transition age youth. While referrals were down in the first few months of the pandemic, we have served 23 transition age youth so far this year, with diverse backgrounds and needs:
One of the youth we helped this year had received support from us in 2019. Because of Covid-19, they were forced to relocate to the Bay Area to care for an elderly family member but had no means to transport furniture and were in need of a desk and bed. Make it Happen was able to arrange for direct delivery of a desk and mattress to their new home.
Make it Happen members often go “the extra mile”. This year we became aware that one of the youth referred to us had a toddler, so books and toys for the child were purchased with personal money to support this family.
Earlier this year, during the initial Covid lockdown, one of the youth referred to our organization was unable to physically be present at our storage units to pick out the items they would prefer. One of our Board members FaceTimed with them to show them the the options we had so they could decide which items they preferred.
A youth referred to us by Yolo County Probation department had lost two jobs due to the pandemic. While they were a little older than our usual youth, they definitely fit our mission of “underserved and at-risk youth”. They were trying hard to support themselves but had been negatively affected by Covid-19. We were able to support them by providing kitchen items, small appliances, sheets and towels.
New This Year: File Folders for Transitioning Foster Youth
When foster youth turn 18, they receive their social security card, birth certificate and other important papers, often with no way to carefully store or organize them. Make it Happen became aware of this need after speaking with one of the Yolo County social workers and began providing file folders to youth transitioning out of foster care with so they can properly store and organize these important documents.
Guardian Scholars Program Move-In Days
Though the number of participants in the UC Davis Guardian Scholars program was lower this year due to online classes and fewer students living on campus, we still helped nine Guardian Scholars move into housing this fall. A big thank you goes out to our new volunteer coordinator, Sarah Davis, for all of her hard work getting volunteers to help these students who have experienced foster care or homelessness.
Supporting Independent Living Program Graduates
We continued to provide incentive gift cards for transition age foster youth participating in Yolo County’s Independent Living Skills Program. Make it Happen also provided our second annual Youth Excellence Award to a graduate of the Independent Living Program. Each year, we give this award of a $500 stipend to a deserving youth in this program based on academic merit, character and personal growth.
Introducing Our Tag Line
We wanted you to be the first to hear that we now have a tag line for our organization: Moving Yolo Youth Forward. We are excited for this important marketing tool that further explains the important work we are doing. We will officially introduce the tag line at the beginning of 2021!