January - Division of Youth Services

Page 2…………………...…..……….MENTORPALOOZA
Page 3…………………………… MLK DAY OF SERVICE
Page 5……………….…………...2013 YEAR IN REVIEW
JANUARY / 2014
Page 7………………………...AROUND BIRMINGHAM
1608 7TH AVENUE N | BIRMINGHAM, AL 35203 | PH: (205) 320-0879 | FAX: (205) 297-8129 | www.bhamyouthfirst.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 17, 2014
January 18 - 19, 2014
January 19, 2014
January 21, 2014
January 26, 2014
NATIONAL THANK
YOUR MENTOR DAY
ANNUAL TEEN SUMMIT
DANCE ACROSS
BIRMINGHAM
YOUTHSERVE
MLK DAY OF SERVICE
HE’S FIRST / SHE’S FIRST
SUMMIT SERIES
9:00am - 1:00pm
9:00am - 12:00pm
Registration: 8:30am
G.W. Carver High School
*Do something special for
your mentor
Friday: 7:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am - 2:00pm
YMCA Youth Center
*For Middle & High School
Students
For more info:
nationalmentoringmonth.
org
For more info:
(205) 324-1643
2013 Youth First CBS42
Holiday Campaign
9:00am - 4:15pm
BJCC
For more info:
(205) 602-3599
*Must be at least 13 years old
to participate
For more info:
(205) 521-6651
youthservebham.org
For more info:
(205) 320-0879
First Credit Union, Urban
Ministries, Birmingham Public
Library and Christian Service
Mission.
Over 800 Birmingham Families
Assisted
This year our Youth First CBS 42
Holiday Toy Drive brought in more
than 1000 toys which helped DYS
service over 800 families in
Birmingham.
We'd like to thank everyone who
donated or volunteered their time to
make the toy drive a huge success!
Special thanks to all 2013 Holiday
Campaign partners CBS42, America's
DYS Staff, CBS42 & America’s First Volunteers at 2013 Youth First CBS42 Holiday Toy Drive Distribution
Calling All Writers
& Illustrators in
Alabama
Open to Alabama students
grades K - 3
Alabama Public Television (APT)
encourages children in kindergarten
through third grade to get creative
and take part in the 2014 PBS KIDS
GO! Writers Contest. Children can
write about any subject they choose
– fiction or non-fiction – in poetry or
prose, and then create pictures to go
along with their story.
State winners in each grade level will
receive special prizes and the chance
to move on to the national
competition. National winners will
be recognized with a variety of prizes
including tablet computers for first
place winners.
Download contest rules and entry
form and submit them with your
child’s book to APT. Deadline for
entries is March 21, 2014. State
winners will be notified in April and
their books will then advance to the
national level. National winners will
be announced on or before August
31, 2014.
Tre’ Roberson Wins 1st Place
in Writing
Competition
Tre’ Roberson, son of Council
President Pro-tem, Jay Roberson
was awarded a $5000.00
scholarship last week after winning
1st place in the HOAR Program
Management/ GoDaddy Bowl
Reading and Writing Contest.
Tre’, who is in the 5th grade, took
the top honor at an awards ceremony in Mobile. Over
10,000 students from across the country participated. He
was a finalist with nine other students.
“My wife and I are very proud parents,” said
DYS Celebrates National
Mentoring Month with
MentorPalooza
Youth First Mentoring Week Activities
The City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office Division of
Youth Services has declared January 19th - 26th, 2014
as YOUTH FIRST MENTORING WEEK showing you that
Birmingham CARES. This week is full of great
opportunities for Birmingham area mentors to share
and interact with their mentees.
JANUARY 19th
TAKE YOUR MENTEE TO CHURCH DAY
Mentors are encouraged to spend time with their
mentee at a house of faith.
JANUARY 20st
MLK NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE
Mentors are encouraged to show the importance of
giving back by performing community service with
their mentee. YouthServe has multiple opportunities
to serve. To participate, individuals must be at least 13
years old. To register, visit
www.youthservebham.org/events.
2013 Youth First Holiday Toy Campaign
Councilor Roberson. “Tre’ read a book in seven days,
wrote his essay in one hour and forty five minutes and
won the grand prize. We are truly grateful to HOAR
Program Management and President
Mike Lanier and to the GoDaddy Bowl
for honoring Tre’ with this scholarship.
We look forward to him utilizing it
towards his college education in the
future.”
This was the 13th year for the program,
which has awarded more than
$234,500 in scholarship money since it
was launched.
The focus of the contest was on
improving students’ reading and writing skills.
The GoDaddy Bowl was played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium
in Mobile on January 5th, between Ball State and
Arkansas State. Tre’ was featured in the parade and
during the game, which aired on ESPN.
JANUARY 23th
YOUTH FIRST NIGHT AT THE CIRCUS
DYS thanks those individuals who encourage and
guide Birmingham youth with a LEGENDS night at the
Ringling Bros & Barnum and Bailey Circus. Make sure
you are part of the Youth First Virtual Network
for more information about this outing.
JANUARY 25th
HE’S FIRST / SHE’S FIRST SUMMIT SERIES
This FREE event is for middle & high school youth and
their adult mentors. Held from 9 AM - 12 PM at A.H.
Parker High School, individuals must register by
contacting DYS at (205) 320-0879.
JANUARY 27th
MENTORPALOOZA
This special event designed especially for youth
and their adult mentors will allow them to
CONNECT, BUILD & GROW. Make sure you are
part of the Youth First Virtual Network to receive
more information about this outing.
For more information on DYS initiatives for
National Mentoring Month, contact DYS at (205)
320-0879.
JAY Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation Teams
Up with DYS to offer Holiday Treat to
Birmingham Youth
Over 200 Birmingham youth experienced the Magna Carter
World Tour; One Lucky Youth Called Onstage
In a surprise gift to Birmingham youth, JAY Z’s Shawn Carter
Foundation partnered with The City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office
Division of Youth Services (DYS) to provide youth service organizations
an opportunity to experience the Magna Carter World Tour.
The tour’s Birmingham stop took place on Saturday, December 28,
2013 at the BJCC Arena.
Twenty (20) Birmingham Youth Service Providers and hundreds of
their youth were able to benefit from the generosity of the Shawn
Carter Foundation. A lucky youth, 13-year-old Cortez Gully one of the
youth selected through our partnership, caught the rapper’s
People always say Birmingham don’t do
anything for the kids but as you see we got
a chance to go to a big concert with not
only Jay Z, but Timberland as well. Man
words can't express the way I feel and I
appreciate Mrs. Britney for picking us up
and taking us. I really appreciate you guys
for giving us the opportunity. Thanks
again.
- Ryan Williams
attention. He attended with
concert with the Oak Ridge
Neighborhood Association.
After making his way down
to the floor from the top
of the arena, he was called
onstage for a moment
with the hip-hop star.
Cortez said in a local
interview, “I was shocked. When he talked to me I just went blank, I didn't
know who he was talking to. My eyes just got watery and I started crying."
Thank you to The Shawn Carter Foundation for making special
memories for all the youth that attended the concert and helping to
“put youth first” in Birmingham!
View pictures and a few testimonials from the youth that attended
below.
I had the best experience of my life,
this was my first concert and I got the
chance to see Jay-Z thanks to Cedric
Sparks and the DYS Team. Without you
guys I wouldn’t have had this
experience. Thanks a lot!
- Jasmine Williams (16 yrs old)
Being able to attend Jay-Z's concert on
December 28th, was one of my best moments
of 2013. I had a wonderful experience and I
enjoyed every minute of the show. I'm so
thankful for the opportunity. Also, I'd like to
thank the Shawn Carter Foundation for
collaborating with DYS, and making this event
available for me to attend. Thank you.
- Terriya King
I am a quite person but when I saw Jay Z
come out on that stage I was like he's really
here in Birmingham, AL. I can’t believe it!
Thanks for giving us the chance to see him.
This has brought my reputation to a 10!
Thanks Mr. Cedric Sparks and the DYS
Team.
- Ty Littlepage
MLK Day of Service
Opportunities around Birmingham on January 21st
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and
urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"
Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by
coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and
communities. Below is a non-exhaustive list of Birmingham
opportunities to serve on MLK Day of Service.
MLK Unity Walk
Railroad Park - January 12th
www.ymcabham.org
Sprucing Up with the Ronald McDonald
House
www.handsonbirmingham.org
Cleaning & Organizing at Birmingham
AIDS Outreach
www.handsonbirmingham.org
Habitat for Humanity 2014 Unity Build
www.handsonbirmingham.org
YouthServe Work Day
www.youthservebham.org
Several MLK Day Events Set for the Bham Public Library in Jan. 2014
The Birmingham Public Library has planned several events to remember slain civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in January
2014.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Scavenger Hunt will be held January 2 -17 at all Birmingham library locations. Ten clues related to
important and interesting facts about King are hidden within each branch. Correctly answer all
10 questions on King and be entered into a drawing for a book on King.
On Friday, Jan. 17, the Birmingham Public Library will host the 11th Annual Martin Luther King
Jr. Memorial Lecture at 12 p.m. in the Arrington Auditorium, 2100 Park Place. This year's topic
will focus on human rights. Patricia A. McCay, chairwoman of the Huntsville-Madison County
Human Trafficking Task Force, will be the guest speaker. She will discuss the victims of modernday slavery, explore ways traffickers entrap and control their victims and examine certain cases
in Alabama. Trafficking happens all over the world, including in Birmingham. Millions of people
are victims every year.
From January 15 - 21, children may express their dreams for the future in an art project called
"Live the Dream'' in the Youth Department of the downtown Birmingham library. During this
time, children can decorate a Freedom Friend and complete the sentence: "I have a dream that
all people in the world..." All Freedom Friends and the answers will be displayed at the
downtown library.
Students can celebrate King’s actual birthday on Wednesday, January 15 from 3:30 to 4:30
p.m. in the Youth Department of the downtown Birmingham library by playing dress up and
reciting theater lines about his life during the "I Have a Dream: A Martin Luther King, Jr.
Birthday Celebration." There will be a birthday cake, art projects, decorating of Freedom
Friends and materials on King, too.
For more information, contact the Birmingham Public Library Youth Department at (205) 226-3655.
100 Black Men of
America Announces Future Leaders
Scholarship
Available to High School Seniors & Current College
Students
The 100 Black Men of America’s Future Leader Scholarship Program
is available to undergraduate students who maintain full time status
at an accredited, post-secondary institution beginning in the fall of
the year. Applicants must meet all of the eligibility requirements and
deadlines to qualify. Scholarship awards range from $1,000 to $2,000
and should be applied towards tuition, room, board, and books.
Checks will be mailed from the World Headquarters office and
made payable to the institution. Individuals applying for a
scholarship must forward one complete application packet to the
address below. Current scholarship recipients must re-apply each
year. Application packets must be postmarked no later than
February 28, 2014. Facsimiles and incomplete packets will not be
accepted. Notification of scholarships will be sent to all applicants
by June 30, 2014. Mail complete application packets to:
100 Black Men of America, Inc.
141 Auburn Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
ATTN: National Scholarship Administrator
For more info, visit www.100blackmen.org
William A. Bell, Sr., Mayor
Cedric D. Sparks, Sr., Executive Director
City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office-Division of Youth Services
1608 7th Avenue North | Birmingham, AL 35203
(P) 205-320-0879 | (F) 205-297-8139
www.bhamyouthfirst.org

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