October’s Board meeting started off with a moving and inspirational video highlighting Yee Her and Chee Her’s personal and educational accomplishments which, in part, were made possible with assistance from our Refugee After School Program. The program, which recently ended, helped Hmong refugees, like Yee and Chee, with their language skills, mentoring, and job training.

Born in Thailand and raised in refugee camps, the young ladies – both seniors at Roosevelt High School – migrated to the United States in the early 2000s. They attended the Academy for New Americans, “a program designed to meet the unique language, academic, social and cultural needs of students who are new arrivals to the United States” and simultaneously enrolled in our Refugee After School Program.

The young ladies credit the program with helping them excel in school, encouraging them to pursue a profession, and assisting them in assimilating to the American culture.

Our Board of Commissioners also took action on the following items:

• Ratification of submission of a grant application to The Corps Network for its Enhanced Civic Justice Corps (CJC) Program in the amount of $1.5 million to fund seven full-time staff and 100 incarcerated youth to become Corpsmembers and receive services including case management, mentoring, and academic support; the two-year grant period begins November 2010

• Ratification of a participating agreement with US Forest Service in the amount of $12,000 to provide the EOC Generation Green program – a month long program focusing on environmental education – exposure to natural resources, careers and job training for 21 students/Corpsmembers enrolled in YouthBuild Charter School of California.