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2013 Long Beach Y Strong Kids Campaign and the Youth Institute

As many will recall, when my wife Karen Dinning Gibbs passed away in November 2011, I requested donations be made to four organizations in her memory.  One of them was the Greater Long Beach Y Community Development Branch for their Youth Institute. Over the last several months, I have served as the annual campaign chair for the Long Beach Y Community Development branch to help raise $80,000 as part of the greater Long Beach Y $800,000 annual campaign.  We are getting close to our goal to benefit this nationally and locally recognized "At Risk Youth" after school and summer programs managed by the LB Y CD Branch.  Tomorrow night at the Victory Dinner, I would like to announce that we have reached our goal.

Pictured above is Bonnie Lowenthal then Long Beach City Council member (now Assembly member) providing recognition from the City of Long Beach to the Youth Institute for engaging Long Beach youth and getting them to stay in school.  The award is being accepted by Long Beach Y Vice President Bob Cabeza.  Google even recognized this program several years ago and made a grant to the program to help teach teens how to be safe online.

The LB Y Youth Institute technology program was replicated last summer at a dozen Ys in California and other USA locations with help in California from their Emerging Technology Fund.  Purpose of the summer program is to engage teens in digital movie making technology and build bridges across different cultures and lifelong learning skills.  Teens learn how to develop a  story, then work in teams to storyboard, write scripts, act, film and edit, compose original music and title animation, and celebrate the completion of the 5 minute live action short or documentary at their own film festival or shown below as a slide show (use prior link for those with an Ipad).



My pictures above and on Flickr demonstrate the diversity of this program.

With a desire to keep this short, please take a look at the Youth Institute site, and consider making a donation of any size by going to this Long Beach Y Strong Kids donation site.  In the drop down menu's indicate that the donation is for the Community Development branch, and you will also find my name as a campaigner. Thanks for looking at these links and cosidering a donation to the Long Beach Y Strong Kids Campaign on behalf of the Community Development Brach and their Youth Institute.  And as Bob Cabeza would say. PEACE.

Labels: bob cabeza, bonnie lowenthal, cetf, google, Long Beach, strong kids campaign, Y, ymca, youth institute

posted by Curt Gibbs @ 12:29 PM