Youth for Community Engagement: Year in Review
Youth for Community Engagement (YCE) found creative ways to continue their commitment to community service during the pandemic. More than 400 students from 10 San Francisco public schools used technology to facilitate many of their activities this past year. Here are some highlights of their work from the past academic year.
Disaster Preparedness
YCE prepared communities and businesses for many types of emergencies. Highly trained youth leaders taught workshops on CPR, fire safety, and heatwave and earthquake preparedness. Youth made slideshows and videos to educate the community and ensure they would be ready for an emergency. YCE even made a special appearance on Sing Tao radio to educate the Bay Area about the importance of being prepared.
Senior Tablet Class
YCE youth taught seniors how to connect with their families and friends using technology. YCE youth led workshops and one-on-one lessons educating seniors how to use their smart devices. Seniors logged onto Zoom for weekly training classes. Every tablet class had about 25 to 30 participants and 6 youth volunteers as instructors and aides. Many seniors even wanted to learn about popular apps such as TikTok.
Connecting with Seniors
Seniors loved spending time with YCE youth virtually during the pandemic. YCE leaders planned monthly activities with the seniors at multiple senior buildings across San Francisco. Over Zoom, they would play games and create art. As restrictions eased, in-person visits resumed over the past few months. This year also brought an exciting partnership with the Richmond Senior Center. Every week, YCE hosted a virtual hangout session with seniors from the center with activities such as singing and stretching.
Brightline Air Quality Project
This year, YCE partnered again with Brightline Defense in advocating for air quality. Our youth leaders created surveys, conducted outreach, and canvassed neighborhoods to educate the community about the importance of air quality. Brightline Defense and YCE setup air quality monitors around the city to measure the Air Quality Index. During last year’s fire season, the public was able to ping the monitors for data in real-time to check air pollution levels.
