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Schools take over Youth Initiative

Sonoma Valley Fund’s successful Summer Youth Initiative, launched two years ago in the wake of the tragic killing of a teenage boy at Maxwell Park, has found a new home within the Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

Beginning this coming summer, the school district will take over and further develop the Youth Initiative’s summer enrichment curriculum and activities aimed at helping at-risk kids transition smoothly from grade school to middle school and from middle school to high school.

“This is a critical time in the lives of these youngsters, and anything we can do to help them focus on what’s truly important and develop healthy, inquisitive frames of mind for the coming school year will greatly influence their future academic achievement,” said school Superintendent Louann Carlomagno. “The district will continue to use state allocations to fund the summer school program and will seek private foundation monies to continue this valuable program. We are very impressed with results we’ve seen from Sonoma Valley Fund’s Summer Youth Initiative, and we are determined to build on this success for the sake of our students.”

According to Sonoma Valley Fund President Barbara Young, some 300 at-risk kids attended Youth Initiative summer school enrichment programs over the past two years, and another 250 youngsters took part in special sessions aimed at avoiding dangerous and unhealthy after-school influences and behaviors.

“It’s clear that these programs have positively impacted a significant portion of Sonoma’s at-risk student population,” said Young. “We look forward to working with the school district to bring about a smooth transition.”

An affiliate of Community Foundation Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley Fund was created and is managed by respected community leaders to help sustain and improve the Valley’s unique socioeconomic, environmental and cultural qualities for generations to come. Sonoma Valley Fund promotes and facilitates local philanthropy and legacy giving by serving as a bridge to the future, helping nonprofits build successful legacy and endowment programs, encouraging estate-planning professionals to discuss Sonoma Valley bequests with their clients, offering a set of prudent investment options for donors and nonprofits, and providing trustworthy, responsible and thoughtful stewardship of donor gifts.

For more information, visit www.sonomavalleyfund.org.