Alumni

by Nga Trihn-Halperin, Development Manager

It has been a long road traveled together, with many memories and friends made along the way.  We now pause to reflect on all that we have accomplished and honor 20 Years of Transformation.  We hope you can join us on Saturday, June 5th, 4 p.m. til late, in San Francisco to celebrate this milestone, reunite alumni, deepen this community, share food and dance!

We will be doing this community/potluck style, providing some delicious food and invite you to bring additional vegetarian-friendly salads or desserts, as well as wine or beer or other beverage, if you like. The party will be open house style, but if you are interested, the dinner and toast will be at 7 p.m. Bring your dancin' shoes, by night this will be an all-out dance party with DJs!

The festivities will be hosted at Co-Director Tiffany Brown’s new home at 1300 Mariposa Street (@ Missouri) in the Potrero Hill neighborhood with plenty of free parking and public transit options.  Please RSVP online here.
 

I attended my first week-long YES! event in the Summer of 2002.  It was a facilitation training held in a Jam-like setting.  What a gift that experience was in my life at that time, as the young co-founder of Changemakers, a national foundation working to change the culture and practice of philanthropy.  It was there that Ocean Robbins, YES!’s Founder/Director, and I began a conversation about collaborating to host a “philanthropy jam” for young people involved in the field. This idea later evolved into the first Leveraging Privilege for Social Change Jam (LPSC) in the spring of 2003. I had the great privilege of co-facilitating or being on the leadership team for the first four of the LPSC Jams. After my Jam involvement, I served on YES!’s board and also worked closely with the staff on developing and growing the organization. 

NBC News and theGrio.com have chosen YES! Jam Alumnus Omo Moses, Founder and National Director of The Young People's Project, as one of the "History Makers In The Making," celebrating 100 African-American history makers and industry leaders.

theGrio's.com honors Omo's leadership and innovation in the fields of Education and Activism, trumpeting The Young People's Project's national math literacy work and Quality Education as a Constitutional Right initiative. "theGrio's 100:History Makers in the Making" selected 100 individuals, each with their own path to success, from 10 fields including business, education, sports, science and the environment, media, service and activism, politics, health, pop culture, and the arts.

The Black Mesa Water Coalition has been fiscally sponsored by YES!, and led by two YES! Jam Alumni, Wahleah Johns and Enei Begaye.  Here is an update on their organization’s work below:

Peabody Western Coal Company’s Black Mesa Coal Complex has suffered a major setback as an Administrative Law Judge for the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) vacated a permit for the massive coal mining complex. The judge vacated the permit in response to one of several appeals filed by Navajo and Hopi residents as well as a diverse coalition of tribal and environmental groups. The permit, issued by the DOI’s Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), allowed Peabody to operate and expand the Black Mesa mine and the Kayenta mine under a single permit.

Oxfam International Youth Partnerships (OIYP) is now launching recruitment for the 2010 – 2013 Program. Through the next 3 years, Oxfam Australia will provide opportunities and support for 300 young people to become Action Partners in order to demonstrate leadership and expand the influence of youth for positive changes locally, nationally and globally.  To be eligible to apply to become an Action Partner, applicants must be aged 18-25, able to speak English or Spanish conversationally and available to attend an 8 day event in November 2010, in New Delhi, India.

Oxfam Australia is requesting you to distribute this opportunity far and wide among your partner organisations and relevant youth networks. To be a part of OIYP is a wonderful opportunity to join a global network of young leaders.

We're working on a redesign plan for our website, and we're on the lookout for an amazing, values-aligned someone to partner with us on this project. If you'd like to peep the project details, or if you have someone to recommend, let me know at julie@yesworld.org.

In this fast-paced world, activists and changemakers often seek to be out of reaction mode, and to move from a deeper, more grounded place.  YES! helps to make that happen for thousands of young leaders and now we have the opportunity for a community-wide experience.  We invite you to join in creating a brighter future through internal, interpersonal and systemic transformation, by being part of our Do-It-Yourself "Sit For Change".  It's a day for you to practice self-awareness (designed around 108 minutes) while supporting the work of YES! and our program partner, Center for Transformative Change, CXC.

All proceeds raised by YES! will be divided with CXC which shares our commitment to personal growth, meaningful collaboration, and making a difference.  The DIY "Sit for Change" is a beautiful manifestation of these commitments we hold.  We hope you will register today; whether it be a party of one or in concert with more folks, you get to choose.  Whatever shape or form, sitting, yoga or walking meditation or other contemplative activity, get your friends and family to (participate and/or) sponsor your experience!

Want a more simple way to be engaged in YES!

Folk Told Me is an international folk tradition meets hip hop project that comes together as a music album, a series of animations, a graphic novel, and a performance/ gallery tour project. Episode 1 is out, and you can experience it here.

The artist behind Folk Told Me is YES! alumna Jazz Lee Johnson. This one's unstoppable, yall, so keep an ear out!

Find out more and listen to some addictive tunes at the Folk Told Me website.

Cents Ability is Hiring for an Executive Director

Cents Ability is a nonprofit organization that delivers financial literacy workshops to high school students throughout New York City. Cents Ability's mission is to empower New York City high school students to achieve their goals through the prudent and informed management of their financial resources.

We seek a motivated person with strong organizational skills and "self starter" instincts to become our first fulltime employee. Responsibilities include managing the organization' s day-to-day operations and exploring several key growth initiatives (outlined below). Salary based on candidate profile and experience. Enthusiasm and a desire to grow a local non-profit into a national organization are a must!

Organization description:
Cents Ability partners with schools and community centers around New York City to conduct financial literacy workshops for high school students. Cents Ability's curriculum is taught in seven 45-minute modules over three to seven weeks depending on the time allotted to each class.

Sukhmani, a 24-year old future World Jam facilitator, sent this NPR interview on her work with the Café Kaffee Kuchh in India. The fine art of hanging out is like a peaceful rebellion. Listen to the interview here.