School Volunteers Discover Fountain of Youth Experience Corps Bay Area Seniors Gain Improved Quality of Life

From Grantee Magazine, a California Wellness Foundation publication
By Cathy Curtis

San Francisco-based Aspiranet (formerly Moss Beach Homes, Inc.)—which established the Bay Area site of the national Experience Corps program in 1998—received a three-year, $150,000 grant from TCWF in June 2006 for core operating support for an intergenerational, volunteer-based tutoring program that concurrently improves senior health.

“The goal behind creating a team of volunteers is that they see each other on a daily basis,” said Kaleda Walling, ECBA director. “This is a way for them to connect and share similar interests.”

Studies of Experience Corps volunteers show that the program provides multiple health and social benefits. The Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health surveyed volunteers who had participated in the program for four to eight months. These seniors said they were more active (63 percent) and felt stronger (44 percent). They had also made new friends and spent fewer hours watching TV.

• Read full article in Grantee Magazine
• Visit Experience Corps Website

20 Things a Permanent Connection Means to Me...

1) A person that you will be able to talk to for the rest of your life.

2) Having someone or someplace to go to when I need to, at any
time, forever.

3) Someone or something that is there for you through all the good and all the bad.

4) Someone who is able and willing to help us learn the things that we should know, at that time in our lives.

5) A type of connection that will be with you or have permanently.

6) Someone who is there to help with things in my life.

7) Someone that you can trust.

8) A person you can trust that will help you in a time of need. Someone who is there to help me with the things in my life.

9) Someone who helps you reach your full potential.

10) Kicking back with someone that is cool.

11) Someone that is there when I am sad, angry, or just need something.

12) A person that is always there for you.

13) A person that can be there for you when you need a shoulder to lean on, support fi nancially, a home and advice.

14) Having a lasting bond to another individual.

15) Something that is permanent.

16) Being close, trusting someone.

17) Someone that will stay with you through thick and thin.

18) It is a connection that you make with a person, like a soul mate.

19) Someone that you spend that rest of your life knowing.

20) Someone that you stay in touch with.

~ As polled by current and former foster and probation youth ~ Fresno County Dept. of Children & Family Services - California Permanency For Youth Project Initiative

Excell Center Residents Learn Valuable Lessons During Horse Weekend Trip

Slideshow to see photos of the Excell Center residents' experience:

7.09 Excell Center Horse Trip

View more presentations from aspiranet.

On the weekend of July 10, six Excell Center residents participated in a much anticipated two-day horseback camping trip to the Santa Cruz Mountains. The trip was planned for the purpose of providing the boys with an opportunity to enjoy an outdoor summer trip while learning responsibility and teamwork.

The boys and staff kicked off the weekend with a six-mile horseback ride to their camping location at Henry W. Coe State Park. After arriving at the campsite, DreamPower staff member Cowboy Garry spoke to the boys about the importance of caring for their horses. He asked the boys to apply all of the knowledge they had gained during their prior training sessions, and join him in doing some chores. Together, the boys and staff fed, brushed, and watered the horses. After the horses had been tended to, the group went about setting up camp by constructing tents and collecting litter in the area. These chores instilled in the boys the value of responsibility and the power of teamwork.

Over the course of the weekend, Cowboy Garry cooked up delicious Dutch Oven-style meals using huge cast iron pots set between layers of smoldering coals. After each meal, the group worked together to clean up the campsite and conduct other various chores. In the evenings they gathered in a large circle to talk about the events of the day. The boys also took night hikes and did some star gazing. After returning from the hikes, the boys played cards together for an hour before settling down for the night, tired but content.

During the day, the group went fishing at a nearby pond where they caught large mouth bass that were immediately released with care back into the water. A park ranger also came to the campsite to talk to the group about outdoor survival, after which he kindly presented the group with a basic outdoor survival kit.

At the end of the weekend, the group packed up camp and road the horses back to the edge of the park. At the end of the journey the boys and Excell staff said goodbye and expressed their thanks to Cowboy Garry and the DreamPower staff. The Excell residents all enjoyed the trip very much, and hope to enjoy more outdoor activities in the future.

DreamPower Horsemanship, founded in 2002, provides therapeutic horsemanship programs and services.

Fundraiser at Smokey's House of Barbecue to benefit programs for foster children, families in Ventura County

With a deep commitment to communities, Mike Christian, founder of Smokey's House of Barbecue restaurant in Oxnard, is helping to make a difference in the lives of children and families throughout Southern California.

View the full article in the Ventura County Star.