Telling Our Stories, Sharing Responsibility: Youth-Adult Collaboration for Immigrant Integration Redwood City 2020 – Redwood City Together Initiative and Immigrant Youth Action Team Silicon Valley Community Foundation – Immigrant Integration Action Forum February 1, 2012

Welcome! Presenters:  Lilly Campos, Adult Ally and Community Volunteer  Itzel Díaz, Sequoia High School Student & DREAM Club Co- president  Javier Guzmán, Sequoia High School Student  Sheryl Muñoz-Bergman, International Institute of the Bay Area  Jane Slater, Sequoia High School Teacher & DREAM Club Faculty Advisor

About Us Two Redwood City 2020 community collaboration efforts coming together:  Redwood City Together – Redwood City Together is a collaboration of caring community members and organizations working to build a stronger, inclusive, and welcoming community.  Immigrant Youth Action Team – helps increase the visibility, actions of and resources for immigrant youth in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks (involve youth and adult partners in the community)

About You  Stand up if you:  Are a parent  Live in Santa Clara County  Live in San Mateo County  Are an educator  Are a business person  Have a relationship with a young person who is an immigrant  Believe that all young people deserve a chance to reach their fullest potential  Want to live in a diverse, respectful, welcoming community

Objectives for This Session  Put a human face on the complex challenges immigrant youth face  Increase support for immigrant youth in our community  Discuss the impact of these challenges on the broader community and the region  Obtain your input on the project RWC 2020 is proposing as well as inspire action by you!

Javier’s Story…

In dyads…  What challenges (in the video or your direct experience) do you see immigrant youth facing?  What impact do they have on the broader community and our Silicon Valley region?

Youth-Adult Alliance: Why Do It? For Youth  Access immigration-related information they may need  Obtain ideas for infusing this work in their school culture  Develop translatable leadership skills and experiences  Acquire access to other caring adults  Develop relationships and build community  Build confidence and gain new skills  Feel empowered and heard  Better their school and greater community  Understand adult perspectives For the Community  Find new sources of energy in the community building effort  Obtain access to more partners (teachers, peers, families)  Heighten the sense of immediacy and establish the concrete drive for action  Ensure creativity, new ideas and approaches  Create a pipeline of engaged community members  Shift perceptions about the role of youth

Redwood City 2020 Community Partners  Sequoia High School DREAM Club  John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, Stanford University  International Institute of the Bay Area  Sequoia Teen Resource Center  Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center  Cañada Community College  Redwood City Library  Fair Oaks Community Center  Boys & Girls Club  CARON Program  Faith Community Leaders  Civic & business leaders  And many more!

Where we want to go next – It takes the whole community!  Raise awareness about the challenges and opportunities for immigrant integration, making sure to include less visible members of the community.  Engage a greater diversity of community members in the implementation and actions of our work (youth, seniors, known and unknown)  Demonstrate the value of and provide support and opportunities to immigrant and undocumented youth in our community – they are our now and our future

Action Plan Idea  Community event in May  Highlight the digital stories youth have created and share additional youth stories and narratives (essays, photos etc.)  Create and launch a “Faces of the Community” photo gallery that reflects the diversity of our community  Provide opportunities for attendees to share their own stories and inspire them to action

Other Activities We’d Like to Launch Raise awareness Provide Direct Support to Immigrant Youth Promote positive messages Hold another successful “Making Dreams Come True Event” in November 2012 Set and meet a $10,000 scholarship fundraising goal for Recruit community ambassadors and launch public messaging campaign

What do you think?  How can we make these events more attractive to the general public?  How might we enlist additional supporters and sponsors?  How else might we inspire people to action?  Other feedback?

For more information, please visit:  Redwood City 2020 – (650) www.rwc2020.org  Sequoia Dream Club –  International Institute of the Bay Area – (650) , Vote for us! Thank you!