YouthCares

Wednesdays at Newcomer High School

2009-07-10T16:49:00.001-07:00

A Testimonial from Minh

I think summer cycle tutoring at Newcomer High is pretty good so far, and it even gets better in the following weeks. In the first day of my work site, we tent to give students general idea of what regular high school is about since some of them are going to transfer this fall semester, but it turned out that we- tutors- were only from Lincoln High and Galileo High, so we changed the lesson plan into the similarities and differences between high school here and in their home cities. Besides that, we played a lot games with the students in order to get to know each other. I think that section was not bad for the first day with totally new tutors, except me lolz. I asked Ivan- Salvador- whether he liked it or not, and he said he enjoyed it, and that was definitely our success.The second week, we went to field trip at Exploratorium. There were fewer students than last week :(, but they all had fun whether they had been there before or not. (I had fun too, haha ) The third section, which means this week, we had less students than the second week :((. We had only five students :((. We all decided that we was going to tell them about "Suicide Prevention", however my group at VYDC said that they weren't ready, so we had to change the lesson (again) into Richard's idea about giving them a guide of what to do and where to go that are so cheap and even free, but still cool. The section was so good and everybody went home with smiles on their faces. And this is all because the NHS-Wed group is so awesome (and I will tell you about them after this paragraph :) ). Also , we played "two truths and a lie" and "musical chairs" with the students. I was so glad to see the students really tried their best to say in English without tutors'help of translation. Next week, the last week, we are going to Chinatown after everybody voting since some students have never been there before. Being honest, I would like to take them to Downtown, but that was their choices , so we respected that. We decided ourselves about this field trip, because the Tue-group having field trip next week , so why can't we ??? In brief, this summer cycle has been really really good. You can ask whoever works on Wednesday how they think about the cycle, and I bet you will hear the same answer.

And about the Wed- group, I like them a lot. I like everyone, Ian, Vivian Tam, Vivian Tong, Richard, Bernie, Najah, Rahul and Nawaz. They really DO things and COME UP with idea for lesson planning. They make my work enjoyable and much easier. When we have agenda, and I ask anyone of them if they want to do this or that, they NEVER say "NO." They even think of their own way to make everything a little bit different and much better. I'm sure that they DO KNOW WHAT they're doing and HOW TO DO it. They put themselves into the work and take it seriously. So yeah , this group is SO AWESOME !!! And for once in a while, I feel like I'm not so "not-smart" when I signed up for Wednesday at Newcomer High ... lolz

YouthCares @ Tartine

2009-05-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

Angela's experience at Tartine:

My first impression of the bakery was wow its busy, and after spending a couple hours there I can tell why. The food is delicious and fresh, the people there are friendly and warm. I did not know that there was so much work put into making a loaf of bread, all the mixing and shaping that needs to done, but in the end you get such a great product. I think this experience really sparked an interest to open my own bakery just so i can eat all the stuff we would be selling.

Erica's experience at Tartine:

Visiting Tartine Bakery and shadowing Eric was an amazing experience. Not only did we witness the process of bread making, we learned how to check for good bread, how to flour baskets properly, and how to make yeast. To test if the bread is good, you would look at its shine on the crust, and the size of the hallow holes in the crumb (the interior of the bread). If the bread’s crust is shiny, and the holes in the crumb vary in sizes, the bread is good. The shine on the crust is the result of flouring the baskets properly. The correct way to flour the bread baskets is to flour only the sides and the middle, rather than dusting flour all over the basket. Last, we learned that the only ingredients used in Tartine’s breads are water, flour, and salt. Now, how is it possible to make bread without yeast? There are two options: use yeast, or make your own yeast. To make yeast, you would mix water and flour together, and then leave it out overnight. After a certain amount of time, the mixture would be able to be used as yeast.

Aside from learning about bread making, Eric gave us some free bread to taste. He allowed us to taste their walnut bread and sesame bread. Both were fresh, warm, and tasty. The outside was crunchy, and the inside was super soft. He also made us some olive dip for the sesame bread. Not only did we taste Tartine’s bread, we tasted their freshly made hot chocolate and cranberry tart. The hot chocolate was extremely creamy compared to the hot chocolate made from the Nestle cocoa powder. The tart was the best of the day. I believe the filling was made with sliced almonds and topped with dried cranberries. One word to describe the tart would be delicious.

PIL, thanks for a great year!

2009-05-15T14:43:00.001-07:00

Partners in Learning @ Pier 39

2009-05-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

To celebrate PIL's last day at Newcomer High School for the Spring 2009 semester, we had a scavenger hunt at Pier 39.

But first, we made some sandwiches for the road!

The Future of YouthCares

2009-04-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

I want to be a designer, because I like to paint. - Salvador

I want to be a computer engineer so I can improve the future. - Brian

I want to be a lawyer because I like defending people. - Karina

I want to become a police officer, because I want to protect people. - Nawaz

I want to be a psychologist because I want to help people. - Juliessa

I want to be a social worker and help teenagers relate to and learn from their experiences. - Shirley

I want to be a doctor to help people. - Jiawei

I want to be a designer to sell cars in the shop. - Suyog

I want to be a basketball Player because I am tall. - Yong Jun

I want to be a teacher because I'm good at math. - Feilong

I want to be an engineer because I like computers. - Zhun Jun

I want to be a lawyer because I want justice. - Ruihao

I want to be a clothing designer because I like drawing and wearing clothes. I hope people can wear beautiful clothes too. - Eva

I want to be a hotel manager because I like to deal with people. - Kelly

I want to be a dentist because I want everyone to have a good smile. - Phuong

I have a strong aspiration to pursue a career in the field of Biomedical Science. I would Like to make changes in the medical field. - Jason

Community Gardening Day!

2009-03-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

Linh's Personal Statement

2009-01-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

The image of an eight-year-old child sitting at a dining table eating her dinner with tears filling her little round eyes and streaking her chubby cheeks always linger in my memory. The girl just sat there and cried, but no one seemed to care. That little girl was me. Since I was six-year-old, I have heard my parents arguing about money issues weakening their already fragile relationship. They argued every minute that they were together. All they focused on were each other’s mistakes and faults. This taught me that love and happiness can be negatively affected by money. Therefore, I made a commitment to find a good career and not let money dominate my life.

However, my dream of getting into a good college and obtaining a successful career seemed out of reach. Our family did not even have a permanent place to stay. Our old house in Ca Mau, a city in Vietnam, was burned down after a fire when I was six. No one knew the cause but it cost us our home. We moved to Bac Lieu, a small town in Vietnam, hoping for a fresh start. We had to stay in a sub-standard house with leaking roof because we could not afford a better accommodation. As a result, during the rainy season, our house flooded. The living room was our kitchen and we slept with plastic bags over our beds. Lying on my bed with the chilly wind piercing through my body, feelings of self-pity and hopelessness washed over me and left me crying night after night.

I remember an old saying from my country, “God loves those who have a good soul.” If this is true, then He loves me. He had spared me some luck and given me hope when the news came that my family was moving to the U.S. Already living in the U.S., my grandpa would tell me about life there whenever he came back to visit. He said that in America, schools are public, and they even serve you free lunch. After high school, the government would provide money for college expenses. Now that I was going to America, my dream could come true.

I moved to the U.S. at the age of twelve. Everything was new to me: school, culture, people, and especially the language. I had a hard time at school because of the language barrier. I adapted quickly, thanks to a tutor at my school. Since she spoke some Vietnamese, she would teach me new words and translate them for me one at a time. Beside the language barrier in school, I also had to face pressure at home. My family and I lived with our aunties and uncles. They disliked and looked down on us because we were poor, and they felt that we did not contribute enough financially. I sometimes heard my parents sobbing at night, and I too cried from the anger and shame they made us feel. Although a part of that feeling of bitterness will never completely vanish, I decided not to let it get in my way. Rather, I will use it as a constant reminder to push myself forward.

My mom and dad were consumed with working days and nights in order to earn the money to provide my siblings and me a better life and future. After a year, they looked worn-out and lifeless. My mom complained about her aching back and her weakening eyesight while my dad suffered constant headaches. I wanted to ease their pain but did not know how. For this reason, I want to go to a good college and have a good career, so I can support my parents in the future.

I was known as the quiet little girl sitting alone in the corner of the class. People around me remembered me by my timid personality. I would sit in a class all day and not say a word. There were ideas popping out of my head whenever the teacher asked the class a question, but I never had the courage to voice my opinions. I worried about my accent and feared that people would laugh at my mispronunciation. It haunted me every time I tried to engage in any discussion. I was tired of letting my insecurity hold back my ideas and thoughts, so I tried to confront it by pushing myself to try new things to improve.

Over the summer of 2006, I participated in a leadership program with hopes to gain self-confidence and communication skills as well as to conquer my fear of public speaking. Here, they taught me how to plan activities and be comfortable with myself. However, after two months of work, I felt that nothing had changed. Fear was still holding me back. As I was stepping into my junior year, I joined another leadership program called Au Co Vietnamese Youth Team to continue building skills. Through my community services and cultural dance performances, I felt a light of hope had ignited. Each performance strengthened and boosted my confidence. I could feel that my fear was lessened. My hard work had finally paid off. I knew that I had triumphed over my shy and timid personality when I stepped on the stage with self-confidence, while I was performing at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown. I had gained not only confidence on stage but also in myself. It enabled me to feel comfortable with myself and voice my opinion in and outside of class.

I tried, and I succeeded. I did not give up after my first attempt but persevered without fear of failing. The outcome was astounding because I am not the little shy girl in the corner any more. I stood up for myself and no longer afraid to voice my opinions. I had learned that once I put my mind to a goal and try my best, the results are endless. I am proud of this accomplishment because I grew strong enough to challenge myself to pursue my dreams.

Jason's Personal Statements for UC's

2008-12-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

Although life may be uncertain, I know that a turbulent beginning does not always mean a happy ending isn’t attainable. I grew up in a traditional village in China where there were no educational opportunities. Attending school had grown to be a tedious and mundane task, full of note-taking and lecture-listening, only to have to repeat it all over the next day. Such repetitiousness led to my disinterest in learning, so I spent my hours after school playing video games and doing other activities that held my interest. The lack of engagement and interest in my studies coupled by the fact that my grades would not be affected whether I completed my homework or not, resulted in my overall carelessness toward academia. However, despite starting out on the wrong track, I have developed an interest and passion for science since my arrival to the United States. It’s without doubt that positive educational factors and peer support have shaped my aspirations and developed my interest in learning.

I immigrated to the U.S. in 2005. Far different from the comforts of China, America has brought new challenges and has motivated me to set a new vision for myself. The days of doing the bare minimum and being at the top of my class no longer exist. U.S. schools are combat zones, categorizing students into regular, honor and Advanced Placement (AP) classes, where I considered students who were taking honors and AP classes to be academically superior. Gradually throughout high school, I surrounded myself with a group of ambitious friends who I admire deeply for their academic rigor and their passion for success. I often feel pressured to follow suit to avoid feeling excluded. With such an intense amount of positive pressure, I have motivated myself and have been taking AP and honor classes since my sophomore year. My first AP class was biology, which I like to call a turning point in my life. Besides merely taking notes and listening to lectures, I learned how to use lab equipment and conducted different experiments. These hands-on experiences were far from mine in China. In my favorite AP biology experiment, I transformed bacteria by incorporating an antibiotic-resistant plasmid into the DNA of E.coli. I was in awe by how a simple introduction of one gene could lead an E.coli to become resistant to antibiotics. In no time, I began to imagine how this experiment’s results could apply to our lives today; I was immediately reminded of the SARS incidence that had hit too close to home for me. As I reflect on the project, I’m thankful for these hands-on experiences and can only wish that I had the same opportunities in China.

My most memorable experience in high school occurred in 2007, when my AP Biology instructor selected me to attend an event at the J. David Gladstone Institute sponsored by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). At this prestigious event, I was introduce to a number of intriguing subjects including cardiovascular disease, virology, immunology, neurological disease, and the function of stem cells. I was honored to meet a knowledgeable researcher who was studying Huntington’s disease and allowed me to use high-tech lab equipment to perform a four-hour experiment about how Huntington’s disease is developed through genetic mutation. The researcher’s insightful views fascinated me to imagine possible cures for the disease. This experience further motivated me to pursue a career in science.

Throughout the past three years in the U.S, I embraced the changes by engaging in both school and extracurricular activities. With the great influence of my peers and professional scientists, I challenged myself to pursue a higher education. In the future, I will continue to work hard to reach my full potential in the field of biomedical science. Despite a troubled start, I am now heading in the direction of my happy ending.

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Many people say they are proud of themselves because people recognize their accomplishments, but for me it is my experience and motivation to learn that makes me proud. I learn not because I want to be recognized, but for the sake of learning and curiosity.

In the summer of 2007, I was accepted into “Project Watershed,” a yearlong water quality project sponsored by the Geology Department at San Francisco State University. I was fortunate to learn and work alongside geologists, graduate students, and other high school students. In “Project Watershed,” I learned about all the necessary subjects to design our study: watershed dynamics, chemistry, bay processes, map reading, contaminant transport, and environmental justice issues. I enthusiastically socialized and shared experiences with my colleagues, and always asked a lot of questions. Although I’m introverted and not fluent in English, I took the initiative to share my thoughts with my team, and forced myself to step out of my comfort zone.

I learned as much from my project members as I did from our daily assignments. I met with teams to collect and analyze water samples. This sampling process wouldn’t have been successful without our mutual collaboration. We completed data analysis and discussed the implications and possible solutions to our findings. We focused on three areas: environmental justice, the San Francisco Bay Ecology, and the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. In December 2008 I will present our program experience and water sampling findings at the American Geophysical Union conference. I am excited about this presentation because I will help others realize the threat of water contamination and promote awareness of bay preservation. In addition, I will have the opportunity to improve my public speaking skills and meet with knowledgeable professors.

Prior to the joining Project Watershed, I received an award titled “Overcoming Obstacles” from my high school because of my efforts spent in conversation with teachers to learn about their educational experiences in order to ameliorate my educational attitude, and improve my English.

Knowledge is the most powerful tool, and a college education will provide the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge, and allow me to contribute positively to my community. English was an obstacle but I am proud of what I have accomplished, and I look forward to future challenges.

From Volunteer To First Job by Kristie

2008-08-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

Before YouthCares I had no experience working or volunteering out of my school environment either. I’m glad I broke through that boundary when I signed up for volunteering at the YouthCares food bank. Originally I had signed up to work, but due to the fact that traveling to downtown from the Sunset and back again was completely out of the question, I settled for volunteering. At the beginning like most new experiences for me, it was a little intimidating to enter into a whole different atmosphere that. It seemed like everyone but me understood whatever was going on. Everyone at the food bank though who worked there seemed so kind and friendly to each other. I definitely wanted to be a part of it and am so glad I am now.

What will always make me remember YouthCares is everyone I got to work with, both seniors and youth. Although I haven’t been able to communicate with seniors very much because we speak different languages, I love working with them. Although it would be such a breeze if they spoke English, its still just as fun whether they speak Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, or Tagalog. Having a youth that speaks both English and another language helps to understand too. It gives a chance for those who normally don’t speak English to practice, whether senior or teen, and vice versa. I’ve made such wonderful friends at the food bank who are unforgettable and memories engraved in the pictures we all took together.

As soon as summer was starting to show, I was totally smitten with volunteering at the food bank. So naturally, I applied for working in the summer cycle. Once the summer cycle began I felt as though I was going to summer camp. Working with friends from the food bank and seniors at Woolf and Coleman house was more play than work. A bonus was that I was getting paid to do so but that part was easily forgotten when we were all playing bingo with the seniors, warming up for dancing, listening to music from Lanya’s father, or even just signing out of work with a check out question. It was an unexpected routine that all jobs seemed to have; only this job seemed truly more enjoyable.

Dancing with seniors at the Movement class this summer-David's Achievement

2008-08-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Dancing with the seniors was a great experience... the best part was the laughters even though it was mostly towards me but I like to think that they were laughing with me and not at me.

The most beneficial thing that came out of it was I learned a great new dance with the seniors and my co-workers. It was really hard to concentrate because I was the only guy from youthcares learning the dance and the girls got the dance down quicker than me. However, I got the hang of it right on time and everyone like the performance held at Coleman House.

In Her Own Words - Kelly's experience

2008-08-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

Time flies, this cycle of YouthCares in the summer has already finished. It was a memorable and exciting experience for me. Actually, this was my first time to participate in this program as a volunteer and l learned a lot from this program. l enjoyed every minute of it! l remembered that l wrote my goal on a sheet of big paper before l participated in YouthCares. It was "l want to make more friends and improve my English". l thought through this whole cycle in the summer, l did my goal that what l really wanted to do at first.

In Newcomer High School, we played games with students who studied in summer school.

We learned how to take care of our garden and knew more knowledge about plants, even l knew the name of some plants what l didn't know before from our gardening teachers.

Actually, we made salad and dips together, and they tasted really delicious.

In the Food bank, sometimes l passed the food to seniors, sometimes l did an announcement in front of the whole group of people who sat on the bench or who got ready for passing out the food. Although at that time, l felt a little bit nervous, but l still had confidence and courage. Finally, l thought l did a good job. And sometimes l helped seniors to sign in and gave them the numbers. Of course, l got a litter of problems when l gave them a large number and they wanted to change it, l needed to explained to them the rules about that. Most of them understood, but some people still wanted to change it. But after other members and I explained to them again, they kind of understood so those problems got settled. And when seniors saw the food that they needed, they felt happy.

Actually l just volunteered Coleman house for two times. And l felt that was amazing. We taught seniors how to pronounce words and played games with them. What l missed the most was their smiles when they got those words. The last time, when this program in Coleman house was finished, one senior who l taught her before said thank you to me. Suddenly, l felt very gratified and delighted.

l felt the relationship between seniors and me is closer and l am so glad l can do something for them. During this program l made a lot of friends and l can talk to them in English more fluently than before. Youth Cares has not only improved my English but also improved my leadership skills, teamwork abilities and so on. This program is fantastic, it means a lot to me. l am so appreciative of what we have done. l am also very thankful that this program gives me this opportunity to express myself, practice myself and improve myself. So l want to keep doing this job and do my best!

Career Exploration Day

2008-06-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

During the month of June, YouthCares staff participated in Career Exploration Day as an opportunity to get a first hand view of what goes on in the workplace. Each youth chose a career they were interested in and were paired with a professional mentor to shadow for the day or to conduct informational interviews with.

Thank you to all the Career Mentors who participated in this exciting program!

After Career Exploration Day, each youth answered the following questions:

1. What were the most interesting things you learned or observed about your career?
2. What skills or talents did you learn are necessary for the job?
3. What advice do you have for other youth who are interested in your career?

Norie May - Nursing

2008-06-26T11:05:00.003-07:00

1. The most interesting things I've learned is that in 2 or 4 years program you need specific sciences such as Chemistry, Anatomy, and Physiology, and many times this becomes a three year process as a minimum. Also 4 years programs provide theoretical framework for practice, and they also spend time in the hospital or clinic. I also learned that you can start as a Nurse aid and then move into the Licensed practical Nurse program (LPN), and then into an RN program at any community college, but getting into a Nursing program you have to be in the lottery because it is very competitive. Heather said don't give up!!!

2. Skills and talents that I've learned are necessary for the job are communication skills, patience, and also to be friendly.

3. My advice for other Youth that also wants to be Nurse is that study hard and be patient. Also love want you want to do, and don't be scared to ask questions.

Heidi Vuong Baking at Tartine

2008-06-26T11:05:00.002-07:00

*When I first walk into Tartine, it was packed, I didn't expect that many people there since that place was hard to find!!! I learned that it is a really popular bakery in San Francisco and that they use all natural ingredients or they try their best to use almost all natural ingredients. I learned from Eric (the baker that we shadowed) that they prepare and bake all their breads and food the day before so that it's ready to sell the day after. Eric showed us two types of yeast that they use in Tartine and they're instant dry yeast and natural wild yeast where they make by putting flour and water together and let it naturally ferment and become yeast, it smells a bit like fart when he let us smell it. The yeast is used as a starter for the bread and when the bread is all risen up from the yeast, they're ready to make the shape of the bread and let it sit for a while then baked. We got to learn how to shape a bread so that it's all ready to bake and how to flour the basket right so that the bread bake without problems. I also learn that weather poses as a problem for bakers too! Yeast goes crazy in hot weather and that makes the bread rise really fast so if they don't shape them, the bucket of dough will overflow. Another fact that i learned is that flour can make you develop an allergy if you keep breathing in the flour so wear a mask when dealing with it. One thing that I observed was that it's impossible to go home clean after working a day at the bakery, I went home with flour everywhere on my clothes!

*A skill that is required for being a baker is that you should be ready to learn something new like how to make certain kind of food and the willingness to keep practicing because perfection doesn't come naturally. A talent that you need for this job will be the passion about baking or cooking because if you're not doing a job that you love, it will be boring to you and the results won't be as good.

*My advice to youth who might be interested in baking or being in the field of culinary is to volunteer at food places and learn valuable skills and work your way from bottom up because you can't always expect to score the job you want without some kind of footing first or some kind of skill.

William and Jimmy's Amazing Day at the Dentist

2008-06-26T11:05:00.001-07:00

1. We learned that being a dentist is more than just doing certain things to people's teeth. Being a dentist involves business and having to communicate with your patients that are frightened to go to the dentist. Being a dentist you must be very social. We noticed that to be a dentist you have to be in school for a while even after high school. You take 4 years of college, and the dental school boards prefer that you major in a science or a math subject. After those years you have to go to 4 years of dental school, then you go into practice.

2. We noticed that you must have a steady hand, or you may mess up the delicate process with all those tools in the person's mouth. You must be able to converse well with your patients, since some of them are afraid of going to the dentist, talking with them will help them overcome their fear and calm them down.

3. For all the other youth who are interested in becoming a dentist, you must be prepared for at least 7 more years of school after high school. You must be hard working, and you have to overcome any problems of public speaking, which would mean getting rid of your shyness.

Shirley Lam and Immigration Law

2008-06-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

The most interesting thing I've learned from law of immigration is that if a woman immigrates to this country and is physically abused by her husband, she can get help from an immigration lawyer to leave her abuser and get legal status. I learned that you have to remember a lot of information and one little mistake can cause a big problem.

The skills that are necessary for the job is listening skills and communication skills, and you have to be trustworthy because you have to listen carefully to what your clients say, be generous to them, and try to solve their problems. Their client's information is also confidential so they can't talk about the situation outside of their office.

My advice for other youth who are interested in this career is to be prepared to take all the pressure because it's a challenging job. You have to get at least a 3.5 in a UC college and you should do really good on the LSAT because they count the LSAT the most.

Vicky Wu's Great Day with a Banker

2008-06-26T11:02:00.001-07:00

On June 20th, Friday, was the great day I have. Because I have a job shadow, and have a great person to carry me to visit Wells Fargo Bank. During the visit I learned many things...

I very remember have a banker, he tell us his experience, he tell us when he came to U.S.A. he don't know any English, but try study very hard, and he say, when you speak English, whenever you say wrong just say it. Try best you can. I very remember that.

And I believe one day I will be the successful person like him.

Judith Valdovinos and Immigration Law

2008-06-26T10:30:00.001-07:00

The things I learned at Immigration Law were very surprsing and interesting at once. Learning things such as people going through domestic violence and their being laws that can help people in this situation to obtain legal residence.Another fact I learned was the large amount of time that different situations can take depending on the type of situation and also that public lawyers do not make as much money as people think, they are more for helping people than earning a large amount of money.
The skills necessary for this job are patience,good listening skills,and good analyzing skills.Patience because at times their can be language barriers also the prople dealing with the situation might have a very difficult problem that may take a while. Good listening skills because you have to be able to hear the different situations and what's coming out each person's mouth, what they say can help lawyers decide if their qualified to help. good analyzing skills so you can analyze the situation and make the best decision possible.
My advice for future teens interested in becoming a lawyer is to study very hard during your college years because this is not a short learning career, also to make a good decision on whether you'd like to become a public lawyer in which you do not make as much money as a private lawyer who works for a big company.

Heng Wang Exploring the World of Banking

2008-06-26T10:22:00.001-07:00

The most interesting thing I've learned from this career is that a bank is divided into different branches, and each branch has its own job. They are separate, but tied together. And it is not really related to your college major, because the bank will provide different positions for people to work on. (P.S. Some basic economic and business knowledge is still required). When you are interviewed, those bankers do look at your college and your grades, however, the more important things they will consider are your personality and your working experiences. In addition, each freshman in the bank is equal, they will work from the basic level, and the only way of promotion is to work hard. Managers look at your achievements and how hard you work. It may be a long process, but you will get it.

Because the bank offers different positions for people, each position requires different skills. Generally, the people working in the front, which are the bankers we see everyday, they need very good communication skills, because they need to introduce lots of information and the sweeteners to their customers to let them choose your bank. For the bankers who work in the office, such as accountants and estimators, these positions require some really specific skills, which people will learn in college.

My advice for other youth, especially the ones who want to work in a bank, is to do well in math. It is really a required and basic skill in the bank, and working in a bank can be boring for some people. However, if you really enjoy it, you will find fun from it.

Joanna Woo Hanging Out with the Web Designers

2008-06-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

1) One of the most interesting things I learned about being a web designer is that you have to know more than just designing websites. As a designer, you often have to work in a team and clients. And in order to meet with some clients, you sometimes get to travel to other countries. I think the best part is that usually being a web designer you work in a small company, and all your co-workers are like your second family! :D

2) Skills that you need for being a web designer is being organized and communication skills. As a web designer, you need to arrange you time well, so that you can turn in your project on time. Sometimes, you might be working on more than one project, so you have to put priorities and work overtime. You also have to learn to work with some difficult clients, who do not understand how designing works.

3) If you are interested in being a web designer, the main thing is that you MUST be interested in art or designing. And then major in design at college and start on your journey being an awesome web designer! :]

Vicky Yi- Social Worker

2008-06-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

1. The most interesting thing I've learned from this career is social work doesn’t really relate the college major but people have to get a license be a social worker. And there are different type of social work, just like Elissa and Jeffery .Elissa is working for criminals and Jeffery is working for seniors.
2. Skills that I learned were necessary for this job are patience and honesty. Because sometimes work is not so easy so that social worker must be patient and honest to clients is the most important thing.
3. My advice for people that also want to be a social worker is to have more communications with people and be patient to listening.

Annie Vuong exploring Web Designing & Baking

2008-06-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

Web Designing at Metadesigns
1. The most interesting thing i learned about being a web designer is that it takes a lot of group work and time to make a project successful. To be a web designer you need to be creative and think of new ways that will make the client happy and know what the client's idea is in order for the project to go the way that it's suppose to.

2. The skill that is necessary for this career is to keep an open mind to new ideas. To be able to have the ability to learn new things help benefit you for future use. The talent that is needed is to be creative and good problem-solving skills because you'll come across different difficulties that you'll have to solve.

3. My advice for other youth is that there is always a good and bad part of a job. To be a web designer it takes a lot of time to complete a project and you'll need to be dedicated and hard working. But being a web designer is very fun and you get to express your artistic view to other people.

Baking at Tartine
1. There was a lot of interesting thing that I learned and observed about this career. The most interesting thing was getting involve with the process of making bread. It gives us a chance to see how working is like and we got to experience being a baker. Also you have to work your schedule around the ingredients because each ingredient for example, yeast needs to develop on their own so you can't do what you want.

2. Skills and talent that is need to help make your baking career work is memorizing techniques needed to make pastry and knowing how to make the recipe better to improve the food. The talent that you'll need is having a good sense of taste so you'll know how your food will taste like so you'll know if it's good or bad.

3. My advice for other youth that are interested in the baking career is to basically be passionate about what your doing because if you don't have the heart for what your making then it won't turn out good. Also you need to learn chemistry, biology, and math because it'll help benefit you if you know those things even if it seems like you won't need those subject for cooking because there will come a time when it's needed.

Shirley Cheng Socializing with Social Workers

2008-06-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

1] The most interesting thing I've learned from this career is that you can study any major you want, then get a graduate degree. After, you need a license and that takes at least 2 years, and at most, 6-8 years. Once you're very experienced at what you're doing, you can have your own practice. I also learned there are lots of report writings to be done. You can also basically set your own schedule, really depending on which field you are working in as a social worker. Another interesting thing I learned was that both social workers, Elissa & Jeffery, said that this career changed their diets. Cool.

2] Skills that I learned were necessary for this job are empathy, patience and honesty. To be a social worker, you must be able to be honest with yourself so you can become more comfortable in being honest towards your clients. You must be able to make decisions that are for your clients' wellbeing. Social workers must take care of themselves physically so they can function better emotionally too.

3] Advice for other youths: You should be comfortable in talking to other people about their problems, being compassionate, and knowing how to become a good team member.

Cierra Preer - Nursing

2008-06-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

1. The most interesting thing that I learned from Heather, is that when you are trying to be a nurse you have to know, biology, how the body works, all the things that can go wrong, how to deal with different personalities, all medicines, and also how to care and communicate with people.

2. The talents and skills that you need for this job is communication skills, and patience. That is all the skills you need to know besides the medical techniques you need to know.

3. My advice for people that also want to be a nurse is to focus on the science subjects in school, and to just go for it because it seems meaningful. Heather said that age doesn’t matter, you pick your own hours, and you get a chance to make a difference in more then one person’s life.

David Mei- Massage Therapy

2008-06-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

David Mei visited Diane Vuong, a massage therapist and acupuncturist, in her office on Montgomery Street.

1. The most interesting things i learned are that massage therapist doesn't have to work alot, the different methods use for healing and it's easy to become friends with clients.

2.The types of skills that are necessary are hard work and good communication skills.

3.My advice for other youth are to have warm hands because no one likes a cold touch. Other than that, to check out the massage school on www.actcm.org.

IT WAS REALLY FUN!!!!

Farewell to Eric

2008-05-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

You will leave, Mr. Eric. So do I. But I just retreat from this program. No matter what kind of distance will be between us in the future, I'll cherish the one month time forever. - Jiadai L.

Eric: You are a very good teacher, and you can speak four languages, I very admire you. You are my goals, and I learned a lot from you. Good luck, in future! - Weiyi Z.

Eric:
I'm very happy in this program, because I learned a lot of knowledge. I'm so happy many tutors be my friends. I want to say thanks for you. 谢谢你給的美好時光!!
Thank you! - Hongmei Y.

Eric, I thank you for teaching us, I really appreciate it. I know that you're leaving for Harvard. Congratulation! I liked you a lot. - Zuola G.

Eric, I can't believe that you will go, you let me know a lot of things, I will miss you. Good luck. - Geerdan G.

Eric:
You are a good person all the world. You are our best friend. We are so happy. I'm so happy my new name. Thanks!! 謝謝你的教_. 加油! I'll be a really Eowyn! 哈哈. - Qian W. (Eowyn)

Good Bye... 这段时光是很快乐的。。。希望每当你会想起来...都会笑喔！！！ Yongxin D.

I made lots of friends and learned more English form this program. 尽管太阳很大，但是大家还是很兴奋很努力去照顾那些花。- Yun Tong H.

Even I didn't work with you that much, but I got a lot help and advice from you! Thank you and good luck in the future! I don't know what are you doing, but keep doing it!! 加油! - Alice L.

Don't give up!! 有緣再見! - Katie H.

Eric, I have never forgotten the great times I had at YouthCares and am very happy for you. - Nymaya O.

Thanks a lot for everything, you are a great person and a great coordinator. Good luck in all that you do because I will always wish you the best! :) - Sana B.

Hey Eric,
It is nice to hear that you are moving on to another stage of education in your life. You are always the talented one. Remembering all those languages you have spoken to me, it was just amazing. Keep it up and good luck in graduate school! Hope to see you again in the future. Take care. - Ryan Y.

Hey Eric, it's been great working with you. I love your enterprising energy, your curiosity, and your drive to acquire languages. - Sue V.

Eric,

To the man who has brought intelligence, thoughtfulness, spice, and humor to Partners in Learning: we wish you well in your exciting journeys to come. We are proud of you as you take on a new school, a new city, and a new career. You are a part of YouthCares always! Huzzah! - Lanya S.

When your plans for Boston became more concrete, I made a mental list of pros and cons to your leaving. In order to end on a positive note, I will start off with the cons and end with the pros:

Cons:

1. I will need to consult a dictionary when I need help with Chinese.

2. I will need to trek all the way to the kitchen to get salt.

3. I will have no one to insensitively make fun of for drinking decaf coffee.

4. The e-bus purple envelope will have one less recipient.

5. I now have the sole responsibility of buying Lanya grass-fed beef and tormenting her with the chocolate bunny.

6. The dinosaur walk might go extinct.
7. You will no longer be there to honestly remind me what my deal breakers should be.

Pros:

1. I get to pass on your legacy and add my flair to an awesome curriculum for PIL next year.

2. Your chair.

Eric, I thank you for your support since day one (when I showed up to my interview on the wrong day and you called to console me as I was buying a smoothie to make myself feel better at the Oakland Airport). I look forward to visiting you and Sonia in the near future! - Hana H.

Eric, you are a really coordinator, I hope that you visit us again in the near future. Wish you the best of luck! - Michelle N.

Eric you are a good guy I wasn't good teaching with English and you encourage me and I learned to do it and I owe you this and other things. Thanks for being so patient and being with us. You made the right thing giving us an opportunity and you are cool.
- Thanks from Erick B.

Hi Eric! Thank you for all you've done! You have been a great boss and I appreciate all your help and feedback you give me. I think you are a very great facilitator when it comes to conducting meetings because I do not get bored or fall asleep. I know that we all here at YouthCares will miss you so please come once in awhile and visit. - Judith V.

Eric I'd like to thank you for everything. I enjoyed working with you and I hope the future is nothing but happiness for you and your girlfriend. I hope you enjoy your time at grad school. Have fun! - David C.

Thank you so much for helping me lots. - Cindy W.

How are you doing Dr. Eric? Thank you for being a great leader and I have learned in this program many new things that are and would be helpful for me, and we will miss you a lot when you leave this program because you are extremely important for all of us. Take care and good luck, wish you the best when you go to grad school. - Jose G.

Hey Eric! We are very sad that you're leaving. We are all going to miss you, and we hope to see you in the future back here in SF. - Norie May N.

Hi Eric! Time goes by so fast. You leaving!!! :( We'll miss you a lot a lot. We might not see you ever again. :( But who knows, you might be a millionaire and I might be working for you. :) But anyways...good luck at school and earn lots of money. - Thao N.

Dear Eric,
I don't really want to say "good bye" to you, but I guess that I have to. Well...I want to say thanks so much to you for being a great boss ever and a teacher (when I was at Newcomer High School). I really appreciate for everything that you have done for me. Thanks to you for teaching me a lot of things when I was studying at Newcomer High School, thanks to you for teaching me English, thanks to you for hiring me to work in YouthCares, thanks to you for everything that you taught me there. I want to say that I will never forget you and everything that you did for me. Thanks to you so much again.

Sincerely,
Erna A.

P.S. I hope that I am going to see you again!

Eric, even though I got to know you for only one cycle, but I'll still miss you. We'll never forget you. You get to walk down memory lane and remember what's it like to be a student. You have to be the best out of the whole class...just kidding. No matter what you do, we will be happy for you. Have a great time in school. Don't forget us!! :) - Yue Ming H.

Hey Eric, now that you are leaving, we're all going to miss you. I wish you the best luck on everything that you are going to do. We're all going to miss your funny jokes too. You are really nice and funny. I wish you the best on everything. Keep in touch. :) Take Care. - Ornella L.

We are all going to miss you Eric, hope you have a great time. - Carina P.

Eric,
It has been a great pleasure working at YouthCares. Through your teaching, I have learned more communication and leadership skills, skills that would be definitely an asset for my future. I hope you will be able to succeed in achieving your dreams! - Jason W.

Eric, Eric, Eric...man I don't even know where to start. You've always been there for me when I needed help. I want to thank you greatly for the recommendations you wrote for me. I'm 100% sure you had a great influence on my admission to Cal. I'd also like to thank you for all your hard work and determination. You were so committed to your job and you made sure all of us participated throughout the cycles. I have learned a lot from the job and from you especially. Finally, I want to congratulate you again and hope you and your girlfriend have a great time at grad school. We all appreciate what you've done for us and I know you will find a great job that suits you perfectly. - Shamsan H.

Eric taking a bite into his future...

What is your favorite moment from YouthCares?

2008-05-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is meeting everyone on the first day of orientation. I like meeting people because now I have more friends." - Jimmy L.

"My favorite moment is when the seniors get excited when we teach them new vocab. They're so cute!" - Shirley C.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares are the Youthcares talent shows, helping Newcomer students with homework and meeting new people." - Cindy W.

"My favorite moment in Youthcares was the Food Bank. I enjoyed signing seniors in and passing food out to the seniors." - Angela L.

"When we were playing that we were vendors, and we were buying and selling fruits, vegetables, clothing, etc." - Jose G.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares was each moment that I became closer to each of my co-workers." - Judith V.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares so far is making the salsa at Newcomer. It was very fun, everybody got involved. We also got to eat, yay!" -Yue Ming H.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is when we have workshops and also when I am helping students with their homework." - Ornella L.

"My favorite moment is when we all went to Santa Cruz that's my favorite moment." - Carina P.

"Favorite moment was buying and selling lesson in Newcomer." - Jason W.

"Working at the food bank. It's fun and I have learned a lot of leadership skills." - Alice Y.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is when the seniors smile because they understand the lessons." - Cierra P.

"My favorite moment was from talking to the police officers and learning about their experience at the Career Panel." - David M.

"My favorite moment of YouthCares is at the end of each day when I get the feeling of accomplishment and feeling of helping out someone and making them happy." - Heidi V.

"When we played the game Big Booty with Hana!" - Raymond M.

"Got no favorites or dislikes." - Andy Q.

"My favorite moment was when I taught an ESL lesson on my own and Hana gave me a lot of support on my lesson." - Jing Jing Z.

"My favorite moment is watching the seniors enjoy the activities we have and seeing that they like the work they have completed, such as the ribbon fish for Chinese New Year." - Hans W.

"My favorite moment is when we talk to each other and share about our day and food :)" - Yuki H.

"My favorite moment is when we are playing games at YouthCares." - Annie V.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is the food bank. It makes me feel proud of myself when I see seniors smiling after they get their food." - Shirley L.

"Working as a team at the food bank." - Joanna W.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is passing out food to the seniors. When i see them smile and say 'thank you,' I feel very happy." - Michelle C.

"The day we started work and introduced ourselves to everyone." - Vicky Y.

"The Career Panel, because I got to hear the information I want, which is about college and job experience from others." - Heng W.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is working seniors. Because when I work with them, I feel like I'm with my grandparents, even when they don' t speak Cantonese." - Vicky W.

"My favorite moment in YouthCares was when I began to converse easily with others, because that was when I began to meet more people." - William Z.

"I enjoyed the activity with the vendors and buyers." - David C.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is when we had workshops and we played games and we all died from laughing." - Thao N.

" My favorite moment was during the summer at Newcomer High School. I helped one of the students get with the tutor...haha! Also all the fun games that we did during the workshops, and working as a group. We all laughed...all the time :) " - Norie May N.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is when we all went ice-skating. It was a really funny day. I fell down about 6 times, and on the next day, I couldn't feel my body. But anyways, we had a lot of fun and I will never forget this day." - Erna A.

"The moment that I stood up in the conference in Washington, D.C to represent YouthCares." - Alice L.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is the time Eric caught me and Stephanie talking about relationships." - Shamsan H.

"My favorite moment in YouthCares was meeting up every week with all my co-workers in the weekly meeting and share about our previous week's working experience to each other." - Ryan Y.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares is Returning from a field trip to the golden gate bridge and discovering Eric and his tutors outside building garden beds. I had been so anxious about the garden grant and Eric and his students just did it." - Sue. V

"We were going to field trip and planting."- Yong Xin D.

"Plant." - Yun Tong H.

"That's the day I talked with my best friend." - Jiadai L.

"When I saw Eric's smile. (He's sweet & nice)" - Zuola G.

"My favorite moment is when I was a student and then I became part of it. My first day as a volunteer was so fun I loved that day." - Erick B.

"Play games with friends." - Weiyi Z.

"We can play together. We can learn English together." - Katie H.

"Study with friends and tutors." Hongmei Y.

"When we work-harding with tutors. When we play game. When we together plant." - Qian W. (Eowyn)

"When we learn how to plant at school." - Geerdan G.

"Returning from a field trip to the Golden Gate Bridge and discovering Eric and his tutors outside building garden beds. I had been so anxious about the garden grant - and Eric and his students just did it." - Sue V.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares was when the elderly were joyful when they received FREE food. It made me smile because they all had different expressions, which was fun." - Cecelia Z.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares was giving out food at the food bank because I know I'm helping them and it makes me feel good knowing that." - Nina H.

"My favorite moment from YouthCares was when an elderly lady started yelling at me because I didn't give her a loaf of bread of her choice. I then said "sorry," and she smiled and said, "It's okay." - Kenny L.

"Seeing seniors get food and talking to them. Also, my grandmother gets food at the food bank. Knowing that if I set a good example for other youth by being nice to seniors, I hope that they will be nice to seniors too (including my grandmother)." - Devin L.

"My favorite YouthCares moment is when we went to Golden Gate park to play capture the flag with the Newcomer students. We ran a lot and got captured a lot. It is always fun to play with the Newcomer students. I can say that is the most fun I ever had." - Michelle N.

"My favorite YouthCares moment was the Field Trip to the Japanese Tea Gardens, just looking at all the different plants and being with all of us." - Nymaya O.

"I would say my favorite YouthCares moment would be when it was Jasmine's birthday and the boys from Newcomer and the boys from Newcomer went and bought her a cake, a candle and sang Happy Birthday to her! I thought it was really sweet and I really felt a deep connection with the students." - Sana B.

In five years...

2008-05-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

"In five years I want to get my bachelors degree in civil engineering. Hopefully, I would have a good job by then." Shamsan H.

"All of my next five years, I will be studying. After my graduation from high school, I will go to study in City College for two years, and then hopefully to UC Berkeley or to UCSF for two years too. And I want to be a nurse in the future, so I hope that all my dreams will come true." - Erna A.

"I see myself in college." - Cindy W.

"I will be at San Francisco State University." - David C.

"I plan to be attending the school of my dreams, UC Berkeley, and keeping in touch with old friends and family." - Judith V.

"I will be in college studying very had, and doing a lot of internships at hospitals with nurses." - Norie May N.

"I would be producing music." Jose G.

"Go to the college and be a doctor." - Geerdan G.

"1. Be a collegian. 2. Have a good work. 3. Have my favorite speciality." - Qian W. (Eowyn)

"1. I will be a collegian. 2. I will be a doctor." - Hongmei Y.

"I want to go to UC!!! Learn more English!!!" - Katie H.

"I want to go to Lowell High School." - Weiyi Z.

"I have just one goal and this is be a gunnery sergeant for Marine Corps and for that I need to show leadership skills and here I am learning this." - Erick B.

"Graduate from high school and go to a good university." - Zuola G.

"I'll combine all my efforts to graduate from high school."- Jiadai L.

"I will still remember YC, and still proud to tell anyone about YC which I had been working and learning there." - Alice L.

"In five years, I will be in college and going for a masters in biotechnology." - Jason W.

"I see myself in college studying for a good career and hopefully graduating." - Carina P.

"In 5 years, I see myself graduating from high school and plan to be attending UC Berkeley." - Ornella L.

"Hopefully I'll be in college, but I'll still remember the time I had with YouthCares." - Yue Ming H.

"I want to go to a good college like Eric."- Yun Tong H.

"I want to get into college, but before that I want to pass CAHSEE." - Yong Xin D.

"I hope to become a veterinarian or to receive my degree to become one at a UC." - Cecelia Z.

"I see myself in UC Irvine or UC Davis, where I want to major in business or chemistry. I also want to meet Kaba Modern at UCI." - Kenny L.

"I would be finishing up my college years at UC Berkeley majoring in business, getting a job in a successful company and spending time with my dear, Devin L." - Nina H.

"I will be finishing up school at UC Berkeley/LA/Davis/San Diego majoring in business econ. Also having my 6-year anniversary with my lovely girlfriend Nina :) " - Devin L.

"I will graduate from college, find a job and a girlfriend, and I can travel to different countries with her. And I can do something I want, get some guys to talk with and play basketball together." - Heng W.

"I will be in college and on my way to becoming a successful pediatrician! :) " - Shirley L.

"I will be traveling the world." - Hans W.

"I will be graduating from college and getting ready for grad school. Having a good part time job with some money." - Raymond M.

"I will still be single. I will also be traveling the world as a travel nurse." - Cierra P.

"I will be graduated from college and will travel the world." - Alice Y.

"I will be 22 years old and just finished with training to become a police officer. I'll stay in San Francisco and have my own place :) " - David M.

"I will be graduated from college and will become a professional worker in San Francisco, or go travel around the world visiting Japan, Hong Kong, Korea..." - Jing Jing Z.

"I will be in a UC university that specializes in dentistry. I will have a pretty girlfriend, a job, and a car. I will be living in a dorm with a good roommate and doing good in school." - Jimmy L.

"I would have traveled around the world and learned to speak 20 languages and own a farm." - Joanna W.

"I will be done with college, pursuing my dream as a pilot or the field of hospitality and tourism as a hotel manager. Hopefully continuing school to get a graduate degree. Living in a different city and traveling all over the world." - Yuki H.

"I will buy a Harley-Davidson and have a road trip across the U.S." - Andy Q.

"I will be a nurse or work in an office, living in another city." - Vicky Y.

"I will be in a university, 19 years old, waking up to the smell of food from my personal cook at 10 in the morning after a relaxing sleep in my own room. I will have a good job/internship and will be comfortable with my life." - William Z.

"I still see myself in college. I will be planning on my future. I see myself finding and competing for a job. I would dream to become a famous singer while seeing everyone scream for me. Shirley C. will be my number 1 fan." - Michelle C.

"I will open a company and travel to the places I want and try something I haven't tried before. The important things is when I travel, I will be with someone I love." - Vicky W.

"I imagine finishing college and having a degree in Biotechnology and be able to intern or work in a biotech firm or lab like Genentech or UCSF. I hope to be able to get lots of interviews and get a job through them. While looking for a job in the biotech field, I hope to have a house to live in with a friend or family. And in 5 years, I hope to know what I want to do and where I am heading in life and be able to be happy everyday! :) " - Heidi V.

"I see myself in college and having an internship of my dreams. I will also own a car of my own and maybe my own place. Also I will have a pet to accompany me and maybe it'll be a dog or a cat. But in 5 years, I will still see myself in San Francisco and still enjoy doing the things I do now like watching dramas and eating chocolate. In 5 years, I hope I will grow a little taller too." - Annie V.

"In 5 years, I will be in college, chugging down coffee at a cafe, studying. Just kidding. I would like to be somewhere studying abroad, possibly London. Enjoying walks at the park or waiting for the bus, staring at the Big Ben...thinking about this question I answered for the YouthCares blog, then! I will attempt a YC reunion party for the Spring 2008 cycle :) " - Shirley C.

Ice Breakers

2008-04-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ah-Ko-So!

This is an ancient Japanese game for Samurais to train their concentration skills! Have the group make a circle, then pick a person to start.

Ah= Right or left arm in a diagonal position in front of the chest. The right arm would point to the person on your left; the left arm would point to the person on your right.
Ko= Right or left arm over the head. The right arm would point to the person on your left; the left arm would point to the person on your right.
So= Arms together pointing at a person in the circle who is not standing next to you. Must make eye contact with the person you point to!

The group will repeat Ah Ko So Ah Ko So Ah Ko So. The rhythm cannot be broken! Whoever messes up by saying the wrong word or doing the wrong motion leave the circle. This is the fun part - when you leave the circle, you get to run around the outside of the circle and try to mess up other people's concentrations. You can call out random words, make random noises, jump around, or whatever you can do to distract the group! The last two remaining people are the winners!

Evolution

Everyone knows the theory of evolution, right? We all started out as eggs, which turn into chickens, which become dinosaurs, and end up as enlightened Buddhas!

4 phases of the game:

Eggs - Place your arms above your head in the shape of an oval and say "wobble wobble."
Chickens - Close your hands into fists, pump your arms to the side, and say "bok bok bok."
Dinosaurs - Use your arms as jaws, open and close them and "Rarrrrrrrrrr."
Enlightened Buddhas - You no longer have to Ro Sham Bo, you are done! Touch your thumb and middle fingers together and hold them out the side. Be zen and "Ommmmm."

We all start out as eggs and wobble around the room. When we find a partner, we Ro Sham Bo. The winner becomes a chicken and the eggs stay as eggs. Then chicken will find another chicken partner, Ro Sham Bo, and the winner will upgrade into a dinosaur while the loser downgrades back to an egg. Once the dinosaur finds another dinosaur partner, the winner becomes an enlightened Buddha and just "ommmms" as the rest of the group steps up and down, finding their place in the ladder of evolution.

Move your butt if...

This is one of the most popular ice breakers we've played. You will need one less chair than the number of people playing. If you have 16 people, you will need 15 chairs. Arrange the group in a circle. Everyone should be sitting in a chair in the circle, except the person in the middle, who starts the game. The middle person will say:

"Move your butt if ___(something true for herself/himself)__."

For example, "Move your butt if you were not born in San Francisco" or "Move your butt if you don't have 20/20 vision." If you are sitting in the circle and the statement is also true for you, you have to move your butt to a different seat. You cannot move to the seat to your immediate left or right.

The last person standing who didn't get a seat gets to make the next "Move your butt if..." statement. It's more fun when the person in the middle gets everybody to move!

Hand shake/High-5/Hip-bump Partners

This is a great game for big groups who don't know each other too well. Tell everyone to walk around, then yell "Stop!" Once they are stopped, tell them to grab a partner close to them. That partner will be their hand shake partner. They need to make up their own hand shake and ask each other a question. Some examples are below:

- What is your favorite movie?
- What is your least favorite subject in school?
- What is your favorite pizza topping?
- What do you like to do the most over the weekend?

Once they are finished, have them walk around again. Say stop, and tell them to find a high-5 partner, do a high-5, and answer a different question. Repeat the process with a hip-bump partner. After everyone has three different partners, tell them to walk around again, and make them find their hip-bump partners, then hand shake partner, etc. They don't always have to answer a different question. It's fun to see everyone scramble around the room to find their partners.

Three-legged Race

Make sure you use sturdy strings! We tried it with yarn but it kept breaking. Tell people to parter up and then tie their ankles together with a string. If you have a large group and cannot have every pair race at the same time, race them in sets. Set an obstacle (a cone, chair, book, etc) a good distance away, and the have the winning partners from each set race at the final. Award a prize to the winning pair.

The Hand Stomp

This game works best with groups of less than 10. Arrange everyone in a circle around a table. Place your on the table and make sure that someone else’s fist is in between your fists. Choose a person to start by going clockwise.

1 fist stomp – the person to your left (clockwise) goes next

2 fist stomps – skip one person, so the second person to your left goes next

1 hand slap (palm facing down) – reverse direction (counterclockwise). The person to your right goes next

2 hand slaps – skip one person, so the second person to your right goes next

If you mess up, you lose one hand. When you lose both hands, you’re out of the game!

The game is over when there are two players remaining.

Charlie's Angels, Elephants, Jell-O

The formation of this game is a circle with one person in the middle. The middle person will point to one person in the circle and say one of three commands. That person and the two people to her left and right will form the shape of the command.

Charlie’s Angels – the person in the middle holds her hands up to her chest while the other two turn their back toward her and point outward

Elephant – the person in the middle is the nose, while the other two turn toward her with their arms open to make the ears

Jell-O – the person in the middle wiggles as the other two surround her to make the bowl

If one of the three people messes up, she goes into the circle and takes the place of the command giver. As people get better, this game will progressively get faster.

Sculptors and Clay

Separate the group into two. Pick one person to be the sculptor and give him the word to sculpt. The sculptor must use all of his teammates as clay and have the other team correctly guess the word.

Possible words to sculpt: support, leadership, community, friendship, teamwork, patience

Charades

Depending on the size of the group, try to have as least three to four people on the team. Each team will elect an actor. The actor will get a list of words and must try to get her team to correctly guess as many words as possible in one minute. The actor may give the category of the word but cannot speak during charades.

Possible words: Baking a cake, winning the lottery, Frankenstein, snowboarding, Sleeping Beauty, Spiderman, Global Warming

Answer My Question

Pass out small sheets of paper to the group, who should sit in a circle. Each person should write down a question, any question, then crumple it up and throw it in a bag. Each person will choose a random paper from the bag, then write the answer to that question above the question. The first person reads only the question, and then pick which direction to go around the circle. When it goes back to the first person, the person will say the answer.

Possible combination of answers/questions:

Why is the sky blue?
No, it looks better long.

Do you like Cindy’s new haircut?
Dancing Queen.

What is your favorite song to sing in the shower?
90 minutes.

How long does it take to cook a 20-lb turkey in the oven?
Bored but happy.

How are you today?
Because it is not purple.

***this game is funnier in real life than it appears***

The Human Knot

This is a classic teambuilding activity. Group at least 6 people together and have them stand in a circle. Each person will hold out a hand toward the middle and grab a teammate’s hand. Then place the other hand in the middle and grab a different teammate’s hand. The group must untangle their knot without letting go of each others’ hands. You can try this once without talking and another time allowing the team to talk and see which one works better.

2 Truths and a Lie

Each person will make two true statements and one false statement about himself. The group must guess which statement is a lie. The person who fools the most people wins!

Human Bingo

Plays a musical instrument	Is a good dancer	Hair shorter than yours	Wants to be	Lived in a city with snow
Speaks more than three languages	Does not know how to swim	Has dyed hair	Like to watch the news	Not born in California
Favorite color is purple	Will be the first in the family to go to college	Free space!	Knows how to make fried rice	GPA higher than 3.5
Has a dog	Does not like fish	Born in same month as you	Has a driver license	Same blood type as you
Has never seen Titanic	Has never broken a bone	Has never had chicken pox	Has more than three siblings	Likes to play video games

Who Am I?

Write down names of famous people or fictional characters. Tape it to the back of each youth without showing it to them. They must ask other you yes or no questions to figure out who they are.

Ideas:

Santa Clause
Shrek
Frankenstein
Lucy Liu
Barack Obama
George W. Bush
Madonna
Dalai Lama
Sponge Bob
Elmo
Michael Jackson
Name of another student in the program

Amazing youth at the YouthCares/RDNC food bank

2008-04-11T11:10:00.001-07:00