Hollister
– Hollister Youth Services has been awarded $10,000 by the
Citigroup Foundation to expand the services they offer to the
community’s at-risk youth and families.
Hollister – Hollister Youth Services has been awarded $10,000 by the Citigroup Foundation to expand the services they offer to the community’s at-risk youth and families.
“We’re so excited about this,” Executive Director Diane Ortiz said. “It’s going to allow us to do a lot of new things.”
Hollister Youth Alliance was selected from among many other organizations throughout the region, said Mary Breen, a local Citigroup employee who nominated the Alliance, for their dedication to working with young people from low-income families and the partnerships they were able to form with other local entities.
“Citigroup is always looking to give away money to organizations that help kids in particular,” she said. “And the Hollister Youth Alliance works with at-risk kids and shows them a different way of life and keeps them off the streets.”
The Alliance will use the funds to stage workshops specifically for teens and their parents designed to impart life skills and leadership training.
“This is the first time we’ve ever received money specifically for the teenagers,” Ortiz said. “We get quite a bit of funding for after-school programs with the little ones, but this is very exciting.”
Citigroup will team up with the Alliance to hold workshops for teens on basic personal finance information and smart consumer habits.
“They just don’t teach you that stuff in school anymore, and it’s really sad,” Breen said. “As soon as they get into college, these kids are going to be bombarded with credit card offers, so we want to show them how to be responsible with their money in the future.”
Ortiz said she hopes the workshops will allow the Alliance to reach more than 50 teens and their parents in addition to those she already works with on a regular basis in the youth group.
The Hollister Youth Alliance has been working with young at-risk people in Hollister since 1994.
“We’re completely homegrown. We’re all about Hollister and we’re all about San Benito County,” Ortiz said.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
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