Grantee Spotlight
Supporting Our Youth
At PACF, we and our donors recognize that the future strength and vibrancy of our community depend on our future leaders, our youth. As teens approach adulthood, they face a world filled with significant challenges—a divided nation, the decline of democracy both at home and abroad, and a rapidly warming climate. It’s crucial that we equip young people with the skills to navigate the challenges ahead by providing them with the tools to withstand the challenges and pressures currently in front of them. Pressures like the need to excel academically and gain admission to a prestigious college, or to fit in and measure up to unrealistic expectations set by social media. The pressure is compounded for youth of color, those who identify as LGBTQIA+, and those who are navigating gender.
Supporting youth-serving organizations has been at the forefront of PACF’s grantmaking since its inception. We are privileged to be in a community surrounded by many community-based organizations that are meeting the unique needs of our kids today, ensuring that all are supported, feel included, and have the power to shape their future while lifting up others around them. Below is a sampling of some of the youth-serving organizations PACF is proud to support. For a complete list of all youth-serving grantees, we invite you to read our 2024 Impact Report.
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Youth Community Service (YCS) is dedicated to empowering youth through service and community engagement while elevating youth voices to help create a more connected, equitable community. YCS provides a variety of programs that encourage young people to take active roles in their communities, fostering leadership and social responsibility. Their approach focuses on three domains: 1) peer leadership, 2) social-emotional learning and wellness, and 3) service-based learning. Youth select from six programs depending on their needs. They offer opportunities to work in groups to foster team building or one-on-one pairings where the older service members mentor younger members. Programs are offered during and after school and on campus or at pop-up locations where all are invited including families. Understanding that some might have a financial barrier to participate, YCS offers scholarships that can be used to pay for a wide range of expenses like for transportation or school supplies. Their diversity of programming ensures all can participate.
CASSY (Counseling and Support Services for Youth) focuses on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of students in the Bay Area. By partnering with schools, CASSY provides on-site counseling services for students of all ages, from kindergarten through high school. Their goal is to normalize mental health care in educational settings to create and foster a supportive environment for students. They offer tailored services for students, school staff, and parents at no charge, ensuring everyone, regardless of income, can have access to top-notch professional therapists who love working with youth. Depending on the circumstances, students can get individual or group counseling sessions. After a traumatic event, such as the death of a student, CASSY works with the impacted school to offer grief counseling to those who need it.
Peninsula Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower (Kidpower) empowers under-served individuals—especially youth and families affected by racial, gender, and economic inequities, health disparities, and disabilities—by teaching and practicing effective prevention and restorative intervention skills. These skills help individuals stay safe, manage stress, cope with mental and behavioral health issues, and build resilience and self-advocacy. Kidpower deploys a three-pronged approach to accomplish its mission: 1) small group sessions with children and youth where kids apply emotional health and safety skills through role-playing, 2) parent education and joint trainings to help reinforce those skills into daily lives, and 3) training educators to incorporate those skills into their practices to create healthy and safe environments at school. Kidpower, which has a strong partnership with the Ravenswood City School District, offers in-person sessions and online workshops on a wide range of topics, such as bullying, online safety, building healthy relationships, and sexual assault safety. In addition, they offer resources in nine different languages.
Kara provides grief support for children, teens, families, and adults who have experienced the loss of someone significant in their lives. Specifically for children and teens who may be experiencing loss for the first time, Kara offers a multitude of services to meet the individual’s unique grieving process. Their bi-monthly peer groups are led by trained volunteers under Kara’s staff supervision and consist of talking circles and open-ended activities. Camp Kara is an overnight bereavement camp with traditional camp activities combined with grief education and emotional support. In addition, they offer school-based peer groups led by highly trained staff and volunteers. Consultations are also available to family members, including referrals to professionals experienced in grief support.