Purgatory Chasm!

The members of YouthBuild decided to take a trip to the Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton, Ma to test out just how strong they were in team work, determination, confidence, and rock climbing!



YBNB Trip to Providence

Last Friday, the YouthBuild New Bedford crew made their way out to Providence, Rhode Island to enjoy a day of unwinding. After 2 months of working hard to keep our funding going a day like this was very much needed.

The Line Item Has Been Restored!

Thanks to your continued support and push to be heard the 1.3 million dollar line item for YouthBuild programming in Massachusetts has been restored!

The fight continues but we're all one step closer!

The Individual has Always had to Struggle to Keep From Being Overwhelmed

ATTENTION ALL YOUNG PEOPLE, YOUTH WORKERS, FAMILIES, EDUCATORS, AND CONCERNED PATRONS!

YOUTH PROGRAMMING IS CURRENTLY IN CRISIS! AND A BIG PART OF THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE YOUNG PEOPLE AREN’T WORKING HARD ENOUGH AT BEING HEARD!

AN ESTIMATED 1.3 MILLION DOLLARS IS EXPECTED TO BE CUT OUT OF YOUTH PROGRAMMING AND THIS MEANS IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.

TODAY I CHALLENGE YOUR VOICE!
  

CONTACT THE FOLLOWING REPRESENTATIVES AND LET THEM KNOW YOU CARE

Representatives Antonio Cabral

(617)-722-2017

Representative Stephan Canessa

(617) 722-2460

Representative Robert Koczera

(617) 722-2582

Representative Christopher Markey

(617) 722-2450

AND ASK THAT THEY COSPONSOR THE YOUTHBUILD AMENDMENT AND/OR VOTE TO RESTORE THE LINE ITEM FOR 1.3 MILLION DOLLARS.

THE 30 SECONDS IT TAKES TO MAKE EACH CALL COULD RESULT IN A FUTURE OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION.

Due to the recent economic crisis in the United States, many programs such as Youthbuild (a program focused on providing young men and women the opportunity to obtain their GED, as well as, receive countless opportunities to give back to their community and themselves) face the threat of disappearing for good. With support from you, even only on Facebook, we can take steps towards ensuring that this program, which is so vital to the spirit of New Bedford, stays alive. Please show support, attend our events, contact us, make a donation, do anything you can to help us avoid losing this program! Every little bit counts.

  
FOR MORE INFO PLEASE CONTACT YOUTHBUILD NEW BEDFORD AT (508)984-3558 OR NEWBEDFORDYOUTHBUILD@YAHOO.COM

Youth Groups Implore New Bedford Legislators to Fight for Funding

By Dan McDonald

dmcdonald@s-t.com

March 26, 2011 12:00 AM

 

NEW BEDFORD — Sixteen-year-old McKaila Coulter chided a trio of lawmakers for their tardiness, then told them they needed to work "10 times harder" to ensure youth programs in the city were spared the state's budget ax.

She was among those in the cramped basement room of the NorthStar Learning Center Friday morning to implore state Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny and state Reps. Antonio F.D. Cabral and Stephen R. Canessa to advocate for youth service programs and work to spare such programs from cuts.

Coulter spoke of how PACE YouthBuild, which offers after-school tutoring and training for general educational development, or GED, helped her attain her GED after she stopped attending high school.

"Everyone's having a struggle. My program is very, very poor," she said.

The state, meanwhile, has its own fiscal problems, as legislators are staring down a budget deficit of about $2 billion.

YouthBuild is funded through a variety of sources, including $135,000 from the state, according to Gloria Williams, the YouthBuild program director.

She said the program's "commitment is about education, training and transformation."

She told the three New Bedford Democrats, "You need to re-think government and how services need to be provided."

Trevor Newton, 18, of New Bedford, said the same program helped him turn his life around in a month and a half. Newton said before becoming involved with YouthBuild, he was a high school dropout who was sleeping at the home of a friend during the day and "hustling" on the streets at night. Now, he said he is pursuing his high school diploma at night school, has obtained his driver's permit, and started working at a local iParty. He said he plans on receiving his diploma this June.

"Without YouthBuild, I'd still be on the block every night," he said. "Cutting that funding back, how is that helping us out? It's not."

Marquise Grace, 12, of New Bedford spoke of how another after-school program at Roosevelt Middle School, run by NorthStar, helped keep him off the streets and taught him the importance of education and a job.

"Kids ... they are our future," said Gerald Fernandes, who runs the after-school program. Cutting funding would be short-sighted, he said.

The state Department of Public Health funds the Roosevelt program at just under $40,000, said Maria Rosario, NorthStar's executive director. That number, she said, is the result of a 50 percent reduction in funding in fiscal 2010. Rosario was among those concerned that the funding would be cut even more.

"Most of us are working with peanuts. What are you going to cut?"

There were no guarantees, promises or pledges from the legislators. Inside the Linden Street center, all three gave frank assessments of the state's finances.

Canessa said, "It has gotten to the point where folks are begging for us to hold the line on their budget."

Canessa said the youth service programs "are certainly among our priorities."

Montigny said youth programs "save lives and a tremendous amount of money," but added that the budget cuts are "going to be painful."

Citing the state's fiscal straits, Montigny said, "even level funding at this point is completely unaffordable."

Upcoming YouthBuild Summit!!!

On Friday, April 1st YouthBuild New Bedford will be meeting up with several other YouthBuilds around the area at the Brockton Boys & Girls Club to join forces and tackle the current funding crisis affecting countless social & educational programs in Massachusetts.

The purpose of this event is to:

• Gather support for YouthBuild programs in Massachusetts by sharing student and alumni stories with community stakeholders.
• Put together and implement an action plan that will help save federal funding for YouthBuild and other services providers who are looking at drastic cuts.

We ask that each YouthBuild send atleast 10 students to this event and have designate one students/alumni to speak.

If anyone has questions regarding this event please contact McKaila Coulter @ (508)984-3558 or Maren Reisch @ (617)445-8887 ext27. You can also contact via email @ newbedfordyouthbuild@yahoo.com

WHEN

Friday, April 1, 2011 - 10am to 2pm

WHERE

Brockton Boys & Girls Club

891 Montello Street

Brockton, MA 02301