MAY DAY OPEN HOUSE!!

Please join us….. You are invited to a Wine and cheese social. Nibble on some cheese, have a glass of wine. Find out what we are about and have a good time!!

Community for Youth
999 Third Avenue South
Suite 1570
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206-325-8480
Fax: 206-957-2255
E-mail: info@communitforyouth.org

Please join us as we introduce our programs to the Downtown Community!!

Contact person: Tujuana Horton
Date: 05/01/2009
3:00PM - 5:00PM
www.communityforyouth.org

Cleveland Steps Ahead vs. Steps Beyond Basketball Game

They came ready to rumble.

After helping themselves to turkey dogs, small talk, trash talk, high fives and jump shots, they were even more rumbly.

And when the ref launched the game starting jump ball, it was on.

Coach James holding it down for the Steps Beyond team.

Steps Beyond, decked out in yellow pennies and plenty of attitude, made the first points. Steps Ahead responded with a few of their own, but the gap was steadily widening with Steps Beyond in the lead. While Steps Ahead had the heart, Steps Beyond had the height, and they served up plenty of packed lunches and rim skimming lay ups. It looked like the under dogs were done for.

But wait--what was this? A half time obstacle course? Worth twenty points!? This was unheard of. Unprecedented. Unnerving.

"We didn't do this last year!"

"You get points for this? That's greazy."

"This is a BASKETBALL game, not a picnic."

Mercedez tries her best to blow a bubble.

Amid cheers from Steps Ahead and protests from Steps Beyond, the Program Manager set up a three part course including a balloon relay, a piggy back relay, and a pie eating contest. The two teams were neck and neck during the balloon relay, but when it came to running with a person on their back and passing them to the next relay participant, the under dog showed the true meaning of scrappy. Mercedez, the Steps Ahead piggy-backee, hung on for dear life while her teammates ran, stumbled, and fell into each other in an effort to pass her along. Steps beyond, meanwhile, struggled during the piggy back relay and fell far behind.

Steps Beyond warms up for the big game.

The obstacle course culminated with both piggy-backee's nuzzling their faces through a pie of whipped cream in search of three pieces of bubble yum. The objective: blow three individual bubbles with the three pieces of gum, or blow one big bubble with all three. Everyone swarmed to center court to rally the girls on as they hunched over their pie tins. Finally, a medium sized pink bubble rose amid the whipped cream that covered Mersadies' face. Steps Ahead had won twenty extra points!

Whitney and Tiana keeping themselves entertained on the side lines.

Although the two teams were now tied at 68, the game was far from over. Steps Beyond continued to dominate inside the key and scrept back into a solid lead. At the end of the evening, Steps beyond won the game by 15 points. But everyone went home feeling like a winner.

Mariners Rule!

The Seattle Mariners donated a cagillion tickets for our kids and their mentors. Right on! Talk to your program manager for details.

CfY Career Fair

Hello Community Leaders!

We are reaching out with a friendly hand to invite you to attend our three annual Community for Youth Career Fairs and share a part of your world with our students from Rainier Beach, Cleveland and Chief Sealth High Schools.

This event serves a central part of our mission which is for students to identify and achieve goals through coaching / mentoring, learning experiences and participation in a powerful community. The Career Fair will help reveal the larger web of available educational, cultural and professional opportunities in the Seattle area.

Please let us know by Monday April 6 which of the following you can attend (We’d love to have you participate in any or all of the events)

EVENT INFO

Tuesday April 14 6-8pm 2100 Building (Rm A & B)

2100 24th Ave S 98144

Wednesday April 22 6-8pm Cleveland HS Cafeteria

5511 15th Ave S 98108

Thursday April 23 6-8pm Chief Sealth HS Cafeteria

5950 Delridge Way SW 98106

Please note that the first 30 minutes of the event is just for snacking and mingling as everyone arrives, and we start with our community rituals at 6:30pm. At that time, we will have you briefly introduce yourself and your career, and then post you at a station and set the students loose to come around and ask you about your job.

Please send us your …

Full Name / Job title / Company / Email / Telephone / Mailing Address by Wednesday April 8.

On the day of the event (s) please bring any information you want to pass out to the students. The mentors of the students will also be attending. The event is structured for you to have conversations with all participants.

We really look forward to meeting and getting to know you. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.

Gratefully,
Wade Colwell-Sandoval
Program Director
Community for Youth
206.679.7931

Just Cauz Happy Hour/Trivia Night

Just Cauz has been a wonderful supporter of Community for Youth for several years now. They have regular fun events that benefit our program and tonite is one of the best.

Just Cauz Happy Hour/Trivia Night
Thursday, March 5th, 5:30-9pm
Kell's Irish Pub - 1916 Post Alley
$10 suggested donation

Steps Beyond Tops Steps Ahead in a Double OT Thriller:

Three different buzzer beating shots highlighted a thrilling double overtime Rainier Beach Steps Ahead v. Steps Beyond Annual Basketball Game. Eventually Steps Beyond wore down Steps Ahead in the second overtime to claim victory.


In the First Quarter Steps Ahead roared out to an early lead. Dazzled by Lahraj’s point guard play and outside shooting, Steps Ahead looked unstoppable. But, the dynamic duo of Calvin and Jerome could not be held in check for long. Back stormed Steps Beyond, propelled by a series of steals and tough full court defense. The quarter ended in dramatic fashion as a wild outside shot
was tipped in by Jerome as time expired, putting Steps Beyond up by one point.

The Second Quarter was a back and forth battle. Akeem showed off some powerful moves and a nice outside shooting touch. Kendahl and Charise’s hustle was on display as they wowed onlookers with good ball handling and tough defense. Frankie showed great ability as a floor general with nice dribbling and passing. After a flurry of action the second quarter was capped off with Calvin driving to the hoop and hitting an off balance shot as the buzzer sounded.



The Third Quarter marked the beginning of specialized action. The “old men” portion saw mentor pitted against mentor in a face paced action. There was even a sighting of zone defense. The “ladies only” portion marked Steps Beyond taking a commanding lead. Tess swished two jump shots and showed off great hustle and ball handling. Kristina nailed a tough turn around jumper from the elbow and it seemed Steps Beyond could not be stopped. Steps Beyond pulled even further ahead when “boys only” hit the court. A double digit lead for Steps Beyond was seen and the quarter ended with Steps Beyond up by eight points.


In the fourth quarter back cane Steps Ahead. Tough press defense forced several turnovers and Percy and Lahraj stepped up their game. Three pointers a plenty were flying and Steps Ahead had Steps Beyond on their heels. Lahraj’s old fashioned three point play was a momentum builder as Steps Ahead pulled within three points. As time was running out a steal for Steps Ahead put the ball in Taylor’s hands who threw up a desperation shot from nearly half court. As the buzzer sounded the prayers of Steps Ahead were answered, Taylor’s miracle shot was good. We were heading to overtime.

The First Overtime was back and forth, neither
team could take control. After a frenzied final
few seconds the game was still tied. The second
overtime Calvin brought his A game. Scoring six unanswered points, Calvin and the Steps Beyond crew proved too much for Steps Ahead to handle. The final score was 74 – 68, a win for Steps Beyond. It was an outstandingly exciting game, that is sure to be one of the Steps Ahead v. Steps Beyond’s greatest games ever played.

On a side note, tragically, the “big game and nasty jump shot” Adam promised did not show up; disappointing thousands of screaming fans.

Rainier Beach CfY B-Ball Game

Tonite is the night. Our annual Basketball Game between our "Steps Ahead" and "Steps Beyond" from Rainier Beach High School is at 6:00 pm at The Bush School. The teams are pumped and ready. Steps Ahead students promise to take it to the hole and Steps Beyond students have promised to the up and coming freshman that tonite "school will be in session".

The referee tonite is our own Zach Maskin, known as the best blind ref from all of upstate New York.

The Bush School is located at 3400 E Harrison Street, Seattle WA 98112. This is in the Madrona/North CD area of town, check out this link for directions: http://www.bush.edu/directions/. There is street parking along Harrison or 1 block north on Republican where the entrance to the gym is located..