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Fall Quarterly        November 2014

Santa Clara County youth and staff at the Leadership Retreat

Dear FLY Family,

Last spring, we shared our plans to explore the possible viability of launching FLY in San Francisco or Alameda County. Six months later, we have learned a great deal about these communities and met some of the youth, and we are even more committed to making that possibility a reality.
 
That’s because we believe deeply that all children deserve the chance to become more than their past mistakes — no matter what zip code they live in.
 
We have just finished teaching an abbreviated version of our law program in San Francisco, and by the time you read this, we will be on our way to doing the same in Oakland. It’s already clear to us: expanding our service community — welcoming these teens into FLY and equipping them with the vision and tools they need to change their life trajectory — is absolutely the right next step in FLY’s evolution.
 
We were gratified to be well-received by San Francisco’s juvenile justice commission and probation department. They are hopeful about FLY’s involvement and excited about what it might mean for their youth and their system overall.
 
The kids, being kids, took a little longer to trust us. In the beginning, they showed a bit of trepidation and resentment, saying, “who are you and what could you possibly know about me or my situation?” But then they began to hear us and open up to what we had to offer, and they really connected with the content of our lessons — learning about their rights and responsibilities under the law so they are equipped to make better, more informed decisions — as well as our way of being: strength-based, empathetic, intentional, and empowering. By the end of the week, they wanted to have one-on-one conversations and tell us their stories, and they asked us to come back. It was great to see that our curriculum resonates with youth across jurisdictions.
 
Our time with the San Francisco youth was a great reminder that while kids in different counties have different experiences and concerns, they are still kids. And they are all our kids — kids who are part of our community and full of untapped promise and potential.
 
We’ve had a deep impact here in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties; we’ve made waves, in a good way, and we want to start the FLY ripples elsewhere. It’s so exciting that we’re one year away from FLY’s 15th anniversary, and — with the help of our FLY family — in one year we will be launching FLY in San Francisco or Alameda county!
 
We hope that you will continue to share this exciting journey of growth and evolution with us!
 
Warmly,

Christa Gannon, CEO and Founder, and Vamsey Palagummi, Director of Strategy and Growth
 
Note:  With the support of FLY’s Board, FLY’s internal expansion team: Christa and Vamsey,  Chief Strategic Officer Aila Malik, Chief Development Officer Lisa Clark, Director of Community Partnerships David Cattivera, and line staff Jamela Joseph, Priscilla Lee and Joshua Orcine, have been working this past year, doing their best thinking and research to determine the most efficient and effective way for FLY to expand its reach and impact. FLY plans to commit to one of the jurisdictions and then raise the funds to launch in that community by next fall. Stay tuned!
 

FLY GOLD program focuses on early intervention

Kris Scott, GOLD Case Manager
 
FLY’s core belief is that all children deserve a chance to become more than their past mistakes. FLY’s Goal Oriented Leadership Development (GOLD) program works on the premise that the earlier youth get that chance, the smoother their path to a bright future can be.
 
Sarita Perez and Kris Scott, FLY’s GOLD case managers, work with 12-to-14-year olds in four middle schools in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, teaching a week-long version of FLY’s Law Program in social studies classes and providing intensive case management for 30 eighth-graders. FLY’s GOLD program serves more than 1,000 middle school students annually.
 
In addition to educating youth about their rights and responsibilities and helping them build life-skills like empathy and anger management, the legal education portion of the GOLD program gives Perez and Scott the opportunity to meet students, introduce them to FLY, and start building relationships with them.
 
Throughout the year, teachers and school counselors identify students — often those who are having academic struggles or behavioral issues — to refer for the case management component. Of those students, FLY selects 30 youth who need extra support and who want to participate in the program.
 
Perez and Scott spend at least an hour a week with each youth in case management, a minimum of 30 minutes per week one-on-one. They also talk with students’ teachers, meet with their parents, and advocate for them.
 
“Because we are on campus, we can go into the classroom and see the dynamics with their teachers. We also build relationships with the teachers, so they can contact us directly to follow up if the student needs additional support with homework or is having discipline issues in class,” Perez said. “We have a different relationship with the students — we’re not the disciplinarian; we’re their partner. The teachers and administrators want them to succeed too, so they work with us as a team to support our youth.”
 
The group also does activities such as laser tag, bowling and ice skating, where youth get the chance to do something positive with their peers and case manager outside of school.
 
The youth and their GOLD program case managers work hard to reach the youths’ goal of graduating from middle school. Mark, one of Scott’s students, was a bright kid with a lot of energy who had a hard time focusing in class and on his schoolwork. After working with Scott, Mark was able to focus his energy, make the honor roll, and graduate. “His GPA improved, and he was excited to share that success with me,” said Scott. “I just talked to him; he said he is enjoying high school now, is able to communicate with his teachers, and is looking forward to joining the basketball team.”

Donna Petkanics, JD, takes on leadership of FLY Board

New members round out agency’s Board

After Donna Petkanics met FLY CEO Christa Gannon and heard a FLY youth speak in 2001 “it was impossible not to stay involved,” she says. Now Petkanics, a partner at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR) and a former economist for the Carter White House, is the new chairperson of the FLY Board of Directors.
 
FLY’s mission resonates with Petkanics as well as with her company — WSGR has provided pro-bono legal counsel to FLY for years, and the WSGR Foundation has been a longtime grantor to the agency. “These are kids. There is so much potential to make an enormous difference in their lives —Petkanics said. “FLY’s work benefits the whole community in a huge way: less crime, less cost in terms of the negative impact of that crime and the cost of incarceration — compared to the cost of youth going through the FLY program and coming out and getting a job and supporting their family and paying taxes. The positive effects of FLY’s program are enormous, both for the individuals and the community.”
 
As chair of the FLY board, Petkanics sees her role as two-fold: ensuring the agency has the infrastructure to sustain and enhance FLY’s effective programming, and helping the agency expand to reach more youth in new jurisdictions. “Our work is so important. We need to build our capacity to replicate our programs, including the necessary staffing, infrastructure and funding to support our efforts,” she said. Petkanics is enthusiastic about helping FLY through this important and exciting growth stage, which shares some similarities with her “day job” working with Fortune 500 companies and start-ups that are in the midst of scaling up.
 
Petkanics is leading a strong and committed board that counts four new board members: Aparna Bawa, a general counsel and high-tech company officer with expertise in corporate IPOs; Toiya Black, a political campaign volunteer, fundraiser and photographer; George H. Brown, a lawyer, law professor and active volunteer for several community organizations; and Taher M. Savliwala, a strategic advisor for corporate intellectual property issues. The new board members, in tandem with existing members,  deeply believe that all our children deserve a chance to become more than their past mistakes and are committed to making FLY a reality for kids across the Bay Area.

To learn more about the FLY Board, click here to read their bios.

Four Stars for FLY!

For the third consecutive year, FLY has been awarded Charity Navigator’s four-star rating — the organization’s top rating — for sound fiscal management, commitment to accountability, and transparency! Only 12% of nonprofit organizations receive Charity Navigator’s four-star rating for three years in a row.
 
This is a great honor for FLY! The rating reflects our efforts to ensure that we use every dollar entrusted to us responsibly and in support of our mission, and recognizes our commitment to do right — not only by the youth we serve — but also by the supporters who give so generously to make our work possible. FLY’s four-star rating puts us in the company of other well-respected nonprofit organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula, Catholic Charities Santa Clara County, and Goodwill of Silicon Valley.
 
Charity Navigator is America’s premier charity evaluator. It highlights the work of efficient, ethical and open charities with the goal of providing donors with essential information they need to make informed choices about charitable giving.

To learn more about Charity Navigator, please visit www.charitynavigator.org.

For more information about FLY’s rating, please contact lisa@flyprogram.org.

Save the date
December 5 — FLY's Annual Showcase Breakfast. Register now at FLY2014.eventbrite.com
FLY’s impact
Get involved
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www.flyprogram.org
David, Michelle, Khali, and Yesenia got off probation!
Ozzie got his driver's license!
Jairo got a second job at Shiek and started school at SJSU!
Sayra and Joel got a job!
Jose is at Conservation Corps!
Erika got a job at Armadillo Willy's!
FLY in the news

FLY featured in Forbes
 
Forbes contributor Sarah McKinney featured FLY in the “Entrepreneurs” section of Forbes.com on October 16, writing: “One reason for FLY’s success is that it not only relies on data and best practices to inform program development, but also has at its core a deep belief in and commitment to the ideas of youth.”
 
To read the full Forbes article on FLY, click here

49ers connect with FLY youth
 
San Francisco 49ers teammates Craig Dahl, Dan Skuta and Michael Wilhoite visited San Mateo juvenile hall recently to encourage FLY youth, help them envision the future, and play some football. A longtime partner to FLY, the 49ers participated in the program as the first of the team’s 2014 Community Monday events. “People make mistakes, but you can see that these are good kids at heart,” said Dahl. “They are willing to listen to what we have to say about overcoming adversity and are ready to move on.”
 
To see a clip of the 49ers in Juvenille Hall with FLY youth, click here


A special thank you to Fenwick & West LLP
for being
our first ever Corporate Sponsor for the Annual Showcase Breakfast 

where we are
Corporate Office/Santa Clara County
Sobrato Center for Nonprofits
568 Valley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035
PHONE: 408.263.2630

San Mateo Office
Sobrato Center for Nonprofits
330 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 109
Redwood City, CA 94065
PHONE: 650.450.6265