Reach Potential Movement » Sunnyvale

Teaming Up for Youth & Horses Mentoring Program

Rob — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:50:10 +0000

Have you ever ridden a horse? Do you remember the mix of excitement, fear and awe? Starting January 29th, Reach Potential is teaming up with Sunnyvale Public Safety and Dreampower Horsemanship to launch our Mentoring program with at-risk Sunnyvale teens getting their first experience on a horse with their mentor by their side.

Why horses? Not only will they provide a common bond for each youth and mentor as they learn how to ride, train and manage their horse for nine weeks, but a horse will mirror the confidence and leadership of the youth… and there’s nothing like learning leadership development with a partner who outweighs you by 1400 pounds!

Teens and horses ask the same question– do you believe in me? (though they’ll rarely say it with words) Horses want to know if their caretaker or rider believes in them. Are you confident? Can you lead me? Can I trust you? The lessons for an at-risk youth are powerful.

Having a dedicated Mentor is powerful too. A teenage boy will do drugs, fight and steal for belonging and acceptance. A teenage boy will also work long hours, study hard and serve others when he has belonging and acceptance from someone who cares and believes in him!

This is why we’re excited to introduce at-risk teens to a horse for 9 weeks and a caring adult Mentor for a year (or more)! Can you help us scale our mentoring program to impact more youth? We hope you can offer your support (click here to give)– even if it’s only $10 a month for 2011.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to help us place a dream in every heart and a diploma in every hand!

Sunnyvale Leaders Launch Mentoring Initiative

Rob — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:11:32 +0000

There’s something stirring in Sunnyvale “in a very cool way,” as Captain Doug Moretto of Sunnyvale Public Safety will often remark at Challenge Team meetings. Community leaders are coming together to steer youth away from drugs and juvenile delinquency through the Sunnyvale Youth Mentoring Initiative.

Public Safety officers, business leaders and Reach Potential Movement’s Mentoring Coordinator, Angie Garcia-Stonehocker met with two focus groups of Sunnyvale youth this week to hear their thoughts on everything from what they would desire out of their mentoring program to the challenges they face navigating school, pressure from gangs, home life and the most common complaint of being “bored.” Though many students were unfamiliar with the concept of having a mentor, the idea of having an older person that they can build a friendship with over lunches and various activities energized both the students and adults.

In January 2010, Barack Obama proclaimed the month to be National Mentoring Month. “As tutors, coaches, teachers, volunteers, and friends, mentors commit their time and energy to kids who may otherwise lack a positive, mature influence in their lives. Their impact fulfills critical local needs that often elude public services. Our government can build better schools with more qualified teachers, but a strong role model can motivate students to do their homework. Mentors are building a brighter future for our Nation by helping our children grow into productive, engaged, and responsible adults.”

Community leaders launched the Sunnyvale Youth Mentoring Initiative on May 26th at the Sunnyvale Challenge Team which draws city, education, business, nonprofit and faith leaders at the Department of Public Safety from 7 to 8am the last Wednesday of the month. Dr. Ben Picard, Sunnyvale School District’s Superintendent encouraged everyone at the end of the Challenge Team meeting that the group of forty leaders were “really starting to gel as a team.” The Sunnyvale Youth Mentoring Initiative is being coordinated by the Challenge Team’s Mentoring Advisory Group and Reach Potential Movement. “Our team effort has been a model of collaboration,” said Rob Schulze, Reach Potential Movement’s Coordinator. “We have a motto that our team has no bench, everyone plays!”

If you would like to be a part of the Sunnyvale Youth Mentoring Initiative by helping plan group outings for youth and their mentors, gather business sponsors or be a mentor yourself, please contact Reach Potential Movement. Click here to learn more about being a mentor and to download an application.

Reading Volunteers Needed!

Rob — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:36:38 +0000

“30 hours of tutoring helps the typical student advance one grade level in their reading… what a difference you can make!” (readingpartners.org)

San Miguel Elementary in Sunnyvale is looking for members in our community who can devote ONE HOUR a week to assist teachers in improving the early literacy skills of 1st grade students who are a year behind in their ability to begin reading. Reading volunteers will work with a small group of children (5-6) and will receive step by step lesson plans, training and support from a teacher each week.

Help a child read!
·     No experience necessary
·     Tues, Weds & Thurs mornings – 8:15-9:15 or 9-10am
·     Weekly commitment through May preferable
·     Join a team environment that’s impacting kids

For specific questions and more information, please email
Rob Schulze at our CONTACT US PAGE. Thank you!

2009 Video Highlights

Rob — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:25:44 +0000

Hey RP Movers!

2009 has been a great year of empowering people to reach their highest potential! Many thanks to Barry for putting together our 2009 highlights and for all of you who have given an hour of your time or some of your resources to transform lives. Click here to watch and we look forward to greater impact in 2010!

A Lunch Hour a Week Impacts Lives

The Gift of Time

Rob — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:17:25 +0000

A few days ago I (Rob) was given a huge gift by three principals of three Title One (over 50% low income students) elementary schools in Northern California. Despite the challenges they each experience in educating more students with limited resources, each principal gave me the costly gift of their time which allowed me to better understand the strengths and needs of our California public schools.

Two of the principals lead schools in Woodland (near Sacramento) where the school district has recently made the difficult choice to close two of their ten elementary schools due to state budget cuts. The impact on the remaining schools is larger classroom sizes— from 20 to 32 students per classroom at the 1^st through 3^rd grade levels. The challenge and pinch they feel is adding so many students and yet having to decrease their resource staff numbers this past year. No longer can they call upon an adequate number of specialists and aids that can provide additional support to their teachers and students.

One principal shared his concern is not only for his school but also for the youth in his community. He sees his students and older students hanging out after school with not a lot to do. He and others see a growing gang problem in Woodland, partly because there are not enough affordable and constructive activities for kids and youth to pursue when they are not in class. He highlighted a couple of churches have recently provided some free activities but they’re only once or twice a week. His dream? “Youth intramural leagues around town,” he said with enthusiasm.

When asked what their greatest “felt need” was, they each had a similar response. Without hesitation, one principal replied, “The gift of time. These kids need more adults, whether they are paid or volunteers, to give these kids the gift of their time.”

Our early literacy projects and classroom adoption programs are a direct result from listening to principals and teachers. They exist to provide children with needed resources and attention from caring youth and adults. RPM hosted our second Bookshelf in Every Home early literacy project in Mountain View yesterday. Abundant Life Christian Fellowship members turned out in force and brought with them nine students from Eastside Prep in East Palo Alto. Watching these youth laugh and pour into the 1^st graders from Castro Elementary along with adults of all ages was a beautiful picture of the “gift of time” at work.

To all our amazing friends who have volunteered or given to Reach Potential Movement this year— we want you to know how thankful we are for each of you this Thanksgiving! Thank you for giving kids and youth your most costly gift—your gift of time. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Kick, Lead, Dream Soccer Camp

Rob — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:01:53 +0000

What can we do to impact our community? Over three years ago, the Nigam family talked about serving our community, and when Akash, their oldest son said he would do anything related to soccer to help others, their family began an incredible adventure. What started simply as a discussion question led to a dream that later became a reality.

Founded and directed by Akash and a few of his fellow high school soccer teammates, a FREE soccer camp for under-resourced and at-risk youth, called Kick, Lead, Dream Soccer Camp was kicked off in 2007 in partnership with the Mountain View Police Activities League (MV PAL). That first camp had some 30-40 campers and five high school coaches. Fast forward to June 2009 … and by all measures, this summer’s camp was a HUGE success!

For 9 days, over 240 campers gathered on the field of Cherry Chase Elementary in Sunnyvale and were coached by 42 high school soccer players from Mountain View, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale. The campers broke out into two camps (junior and senior) and worked on skills, participated in drills, competed on teams, and even had a giant water balloon battle. On several days, all play stopped in order for the campers to hear inspiring words from professional athletes from the San Jose Earthquakes, the FC Gold Pride and the San Francisco 49ers. Each of the athletes gave a positive message and encouraged the campers to stay in school, be diligent with their studies, respect authority, dream BIG, set goals, and to find good role models. There were also special talks by police officers who revealed their vocations at the end of the camp after interacting and playing soccer alongside the campers for nine days.

The success of the camp was due in part to strong cooperation between leaders from Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Months before the camp, MV PAL and the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department decided to join hands and provide significant resources to open the junior and senior camps to students in Grades 3-8 from Mountain View and Sunnyvale. As momentum was generated in the preparation stage, corporate sponsors, such as Kaiser, Sonitrol, El Camino Hospital, MVLA Soccer Club, and All«Star Soccer Store, jumped on board.

Personally, I had the privilege of volunteering for all 9 days, and the experience reminded me of the times I attended soccer camps in my youth. As a volunteer, I provided behind the scenes logistical support like set-up and breakdown, administering basic first-aid, preparing and distributing snacks and fruits, and mixing gallons and gallons of Gatorade! I am now an expert in the proportions needed to fill a 10-gallon jug of water, Gatorade powder, and ice!! It was a ton of fun interacting with the campers, encouraging the coaches, and connecting with parents, law enforcement, community leaders, social workers, and other non-profit workers in the community. At the camp, we saw kids playing, laughing, competing with sportsmanship, and just being kids and having a blast! Carlos, a camper who attended the camp for the third year, encouraged me when I discovered that the lessons he learned from the camps have helped him to stay out of gangs and in school. He is a good student, an excellent soccer player, and a role model for other students in his school. I heard that even the gang members respect him. That’s pretty awesome!

What can we do to impact our community? Some will dream BIG and move forward to define reality. But all of us can roll up our sleeves, reach out, serve a cup of Gatorade, smile, and touch another life.

By Steve Lo

A Lunch Hour a Week Impacts Lives

Rob — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:58:02 +0000

Another RP Mover showed up at Great Exchange Covenant Church one Sunday to find his pastor wearing an “Ask me why” nametag. Taking the bait, he asked “why” and heard some sobering facts about youth drop-out rates in the heart of Silicon Valley (approx. 40% for Hispanic and African-American youth) and decided to volunteer with others from his congregation.

After a few months of corporate sales by day and empowering youth to reach their highest potential at Columbia Middle School by night, he began to mentor a student expelled from the school. A few weeks later he began using his lunch hour to invest in several students at the school district’s continuation school. What he found were tough gang impacted youth on the outside and hungry kids wanting acceptance on the inside.

From helping a twelve year old girl seek dental work to replace missing front teeth to taking the kids to SF 49er games and Go Karting, he now has the trust of these kids as they meet with him weekly for a peer support group… all over a lunch hour per week.