EVENTS
- LINK- Up Youth
Conference in Lake Waccamaw on February 3, 2007.
Click here to see the fun at
a previous LINK-UP.- SaySo Saturday: For
current or previous foster youths ages 14 - 24. Annual
conference for all members. Click here
to download the registration form or call 800-820-0001 for
more information or email
sayso@ilrinc.com. Vote for your new representatives!
(March 3, 2007 in Greensboro, NC)
More details and
registration information coming next month!!
SaySo Page Week(s)
Two Page weeks are currently being scheduled for 2007.
Contact us for applications for the
programs listed below.
Are you …
… a SaySo member?
… interested in meeting people who create policy/laws?
… willing to spend a week in Raleigh, NC with a host family?
… open to an experience that will change your life?
… doing well in school?
… willing to be recommended?
If you said
yes to all these questions… think about the Page
Program!!!
SaySo
members may apply to participate in one of the following page
programs during the weeks listed above (each program will begin
with a SaySo Dinner on Sunday evening). The Page programs begin
on Monday. Programs are for high school students only:
-
Governor’s
Page Program: Operates Monday – Friday. Pages work in a variety
of different departments run by NC State Government. Pages also
go on field trips to many programs in Raleigh run by the state.
-
Senate Page
Program: Operates Monday – Thursday. Pages run errands for state
senators and provide the clerical operations on the Senate
floor. They will meet and address senators daily.
-
House Page
Program: Operates Monday – Thursday. Pages run errands for the
NC House of Representatives and provide the clerical operations
on the House of Representatives floor. The will meet and address
their representatives daily.
All Pages
will meet directly with their local politicians and have
pictures made with the Governor. Pages will also be asked to
facilitate a workshop to other SaySo members about their
experience.
*All pages
will receive a stipend for participating. The LINKS program will
pay for the host family and professional clothes (a budget will
be provided to your social worker). Men will need ties and
jackets. Women will need skirts with stockings or pant suits.
House and Senate pages wear dress shoes. Governor pages are
encouraged to wear comfortable shoes.
To Apply: Contact the SaySo office 800-820-0001
(sayso@ilrinc.com) or ask
your LINKS worker to recommend you to us.
Limited
Space!! Call NOW!! You won’t regret it!!!
SaySo members attended the National
Independent Living Conference in Atlanta.
Congratulations to Makeisha W. who received
National Youth of the Year!! She is our third SaySo youth in
four years to win the award.
More in our next newsletter Volume 6 Number 5
coming in October.
Advocacy in Action! What a Sight!
Can You Feel the Power?
By Melinda Medina and Nancy Carter, SaySo, Inc.
North Carolina hosted the
second national foster youth leadership conference coordinated
by Independent Living Resources, Inc and sponsored by SaySo,
Inc. (both of Durham). Advocacy In Action: Becoming A Powerful
Voice for Youth attracted 120 foster youths representing North
Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and South Dakota.
The conference was held July 20-22, 2004 at the Sheraton
Imperial located in the Research Triangle Park. Being true to
the theme, Becoming a Powerful Voice for Youth, workshops were
facilitated by youth. As a result, youth in attendance seemed to
feel more comfortable. Youth facilitators were SaySo members and
showed by example that learning how to advocate means being
around others who wanted to make a “positive” difference in the
lives of foster youths.
One workshop focused on
the importance of voting, You GOTTA Vote! There’s a lot at
stake. Youths learned that politicians actually create policies,
which help govern the foster care system. Therefore it is
important to vote for politicians who will help support foster
care initiatives. The outcome: 19 North Carolina youths
registered to vote on site with the help of Democracy North
Carolina. Another group of SaySo youths presented their
experiences as part of the Governmental Page Program. They
commented on how one voice made the difference in helping pass
the $25 increase for monthly foster family rates. By the end of
the workshop, many participants were touched by how being part
of the page program helped SaySo members feel like their voice
mattered and their life was significant.
Another workshop that
inspired both the youth and adults was Do It Like Act 5! Speak
Through Acting. This workshop facilitated by five SaySo youth,
placed adults in the roles of foster youth. Youth learned how to
create similar skits and adults left with an appreciation of
what it was like to live in foster care. Throughout the
conference, youth facilitators offered twenty workshops on a
range of topics related to speaking out responsibly. Other
events included an alumni panel of adults who are continuing to
make a difference in the area of foster care despite aging out,
a trip to UNC Chapel Hill, a dance/pool party, and a stunning
keynote presentation by George Duvall, alumni and national
speaker from Kentucky.
By the last night of the
conference the youth were ready for anything. It was time for
the conference headliner, the Advo-Variety Show. Youth were
confident, comfortable, and ready to showcase their talents. The
audience offered their support as youth shared their stories,
songs, poetry, and dance. It was a night of tears, laughter,
support, and encouragement. It was a conference to remember; a
time to cherish and friendships that will last forever.
SaySo members participated as
Governor, House, and Senate Pages in North Carolina during the
week June 28 - July 2.
Read
newsletter Volume 5 Issue 5 for complete details.
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