New Birth Community Development

Journey Mentoring Program offers youth and teens an opportunity to find their voices while also teaching them how to advocate on their own behalf. In 2023, students were able to get information on college readiness, job preparation, goal setting and several other areas while also being provided with one to one mentoring and other activities to allow for them to grow socially as well. As part of this mentoring service, The Development was able to hire FIVE (5) youth/teens 14-18 years of age to work during our summer programming. One of the teens hired graduated from high school and has continued her employment with The Development to date. Youth were able to receive on the job training, CPR certifications, and first hand mentoring from mentor staff on a daily basis. They also assisted in event planning and tabling events throughout their time of employment. All youth are eligible for re-hire for the upcoming summer.

Fusion Fridays is an event that was adopted to ensure that youth ages 13-18 have a safe space to spend social time with their peers as a result of excessive violence within the neighborhood. Fusion Friday is held every Friday from the beginning of June to the end of July. During Fusion Fridays, youth receive a free meal and activities as well as specialized mentoring. As part of this program, we also hosted "Teen Talk" sessions where youth speak about specific topics. Last year's topics covered police brutality, grief, mental health, and more.

Community Activities New Birth Community Development hosted a number of community activities during the year. A list of events including, but not limited to the following: food distribution, thanksgiving dinner giveaway for more than 100 families, Christmas dinner and gifts for approximately 30 families, a supply of toiletries and other items to our homeless communities, and our annual community day, and the community Christmas parade. We also provided school supplies for approximately 150 students attending schools in Manteca Unified School District, Stockton Unified School District and Lodi Unified School District all in Stockton, Ca. School supplies were also donated directly to the schools for students that may not otherwise have received supplies.