• Sports Equipment: Soccer balls, Basket balls, Footballs, Archery Equipment, Chain nets – 2 basketball hoops (standard size), billiard cues, Foose ball game table, Folding Pin Pog table, gloves and hand wraps for punching bags,
• Flat-screen TV with wall mounts
• New digital camera, digital video camera
• Patio furniture – table, chairs, umbrella and stand
• Printer – HP Lazar Jet Pro p1102W  with networking capability – Teen Center computer lab
• Silk Screening Equipment – photo light table
• Bikes – new and used, bike tires, tubes, bike lights, reflectors, helmets, bike locks, bike tire and ball pump
• Mirrors for gym, Mats for gym
• Bona Commercial Mopping System and cleaning pads, canister vacuum, power washer
• Speed bag – boxing, heavy punching bag 80-100 lbs.
• Rolling stainless steel racks for kitchen, pantry area, No Name Café food storage
• Commercial fridges, freezers, deep freezer
• 7 qt. Kitchen Aid mixer and components
• Car stereo with CD and USB input – van
• 100 Sonoma Valley Teen Services shirts in various sizes – catering and service activities
• Batteries; AA, AAA
• Services: Repair van headliner, set up composting system, repair Teen Center roof leaks, routine van maintenance; oil, tires, alignment, engine service, bury drainage pipe in parking lot

Thank you for your support,
Cristin Lawrence

Sonoma Valley Teen Center Females 4-9-13 (2)

Sonoma Valley Teen Center Males 4-16-13 (1) (2)

In these active, upbeat sessions, teens practice using “People Safety” skills to prevent, manage, or leave potentially unsafe situations with people. “People Safety” skills help prevent violence and improve communication at home, at school, out in the world, online…. everywhere, with everyone.

This session will have a special focus on using the skills to have safer, more positive experiences with peers in order to deal with bullying and also strengthen communication.

Using examples relevant to the lives of teenagers, we’ll practice skills to:

• Notice possible problems & respond quickly
• Deal with peer pressure
• Stay safe from verbal attack
• Stop unwanted attention
• Set clear, appropriate boundaries
• Act aware, calm, and confident
• Manage emotional triggers
• Get help from adults – and persist!
• Say ‘no’ in ways that are effective & practical
• Make safe choices around shunning and exclusion
• Deal confidently with mocking, teasing or taunting
• Use their own power safely to avoid hurting others

To learn more about Kid Power, click this link to view their website (a new page will open) www.kidpower.org

Thank you to the teen center for the usage of the facilities!

The Sonoma Valley Teen Services hosts events throughout the year featuring the offered programs and services as well as fundraising events.

This time we had 11 teens participate in learning how to create clean, healthy, lean turkey burgers! They were bbq’d to perfection and served on whole wheat buns with all the healthy fixin’s. Of course, as always, a fresh salad from Paul’s Produce was on the table. This week was a salad of romaine and baby gem lettuce, sweet candi onions and early girl tomatoes tossed in a lemon vinaigrette. Yum yum!
With Carlos rockin’ the grill and Chris cheering teens on, how could it not have been perfect!

Brisk business at the No Name Cafe. All photos: Jeff Kan Lee/PD

By SUZIE RODRIGUEZ / Sonoma Valley Correspondent

Worried about the youth of today? If so, a look at Sonoma Valley Teen Services in Boyes Hot Springs might ease your mind.

Teen Services, the result of a 2010 merger between Valley of the Moon Teen Center and Operation Youth, helps children 13-18 develop business and other skills through real-world experience. Under the organization’s broad umbrella of programs, teens manage and run a variety of small businesses. In the process they earn money, take on responsibility, learn how to work with others, and much more.

There are currently around 700 teens registered with Teen Services, although not all are actively involved on a regular basis.

The positive track record of Teen Services has garnered solid support from community organizations, including Speedway Children’s Charities, the Stewardship Council, and Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers. In 2011, Teen Services’ “Skills for Life” program was awarded a $100,000 grant by Impact100 Sonoma.

“The secret of our success,” says Cristen Lawrence, one of the organizations two program managers, “is in really listening to the kids, in seeing them as the experts. We step back and give them the space to run the program, to run with their ideas. By giving them support and resources, but not running it for them, they end up with an immense sense of accomplishment.”

And sometimes the experience changes their lives in major ways.

Jason Davis, a sophomore at UC Santa Cruz, began coming to Teen Services in 2007 and credits his time there with making him become “a much more confident person. They’re with you 100% in doing what you want to do, finding out about the things you want to do. I definitely wouldn’t be at UC Santa Cruz without their help.”

Seventeen-year-old Dora Barerra says that she “used to be really, really shy. But because of what I’ve learned here I know how good I am talking with people and selling products. I also learned that it’s important to try new things to figure out what I like and don’t like. And I made wonderful friendships here, the kind that will last my life.”

The programs that teens participate in running are:

• A bakery called Lovin’ Oven, which sells its baked goods and prepared products at farmers markets, parties, and other events. Teens learn to bake, work closely together in the kitchen, sell to customers, and more.
• The No Name Cyber Café, located at Sonoma Valley High School, serves smoothies and snacks during lunch, breaks, sports games, and after school. Skills learned include customer service, running a cash register, inventory control, and marketing
• The Shop, located on 8th Street East in Sonoma, is an event center for music, movies, dances, video game competition, and open mic nights. Acquired skills include booking bands, planning/advertising events, and stocking/running the refreshment booth. “Kids come to us with an idea for an event where they can raise some money,” Lawrence said. ” They learn how to run an event with our help, and they make a little money.”
• The Gallery, an art studio/gallery featuring teens’ artwork, allows participants to not only sell the works they’ve created, but understand the basics of running an art gallery.

A recent program addition is the Ragazzi Popup Restaurant. “Loosely translated, ‘ragazzi’ means youth,” said Lawrence. “It takes over a location for a day–a museum, an empty warehouse, a restaurant that’s not in use. Then it disappears and pops up later somewhere else.”

Sixteen-year-old Julie Tirado signed on for the first Ragazzi, which required 20 hours of training before the event. “It was great,” she said. “I learned how to work a restaurant’s front of the house, from using proper verbiage to posture, how we should walk and address our guests, setting the table with everything aligned, and how to keep a peaceful environment.”

Teen Services also offers numerous services that enhance what teens learn in the business programs, or help them excel personally in other ways.

The Skills for Life program brings in experts from the community to give valuable instruction in important life areas. In March, for example, Fran Meininger, who owns fashion consignment shop My Girlfriend’s Closet, showed teens what to wear on job interviews and helped them pick out appropriate clothing.

Late last year local bankers held a multi-session financial literacy seminar that covered how to mange bank accounts, college savings plans, wise use of debit/credit cards, and other matters.

“It was very helpful,” said Dora Barerra, 17. “I never knew credit could get you in so much trouble.” She later took a tour of WestAmerica Bank, where she “became interested in working in a bank. I’m really good at math, and I know I want to do something in business.”

Other valuable services include Art Wednesday, a free art studio open to teens each Wednesday; free tutoring; Teen Safe Ride (vouchers for a free taxi ride if a teen is in an unsafe situation); monthly hikes, mountain bike trips and other outdoor adventures.

Another valuable component of Teen Services is its Valley of the Moon Teen Center in Boyes Hot Springs, which offers a gym, computer access, swimming pool, foosball tables, basketball courts, and various sports and art programs.

Not least is the daily “health meal,” served each evening at 5 p.m. in the Teen Center (it’s free).  “It gives the kids a sense of community,” Lawrence said. “They often cook together and then they sit down together, talk about what happened in their day. Many of these kids have never done that before.”

She adds: “In the end it’s about igniting some sense of passion in the kids’ lives. So often they have a sense of hopelessness about the future, especially in this economy. We give them an opportunity to try different things, get some skills, feel positive about the future.

“They walk away with a sense of empowerment and a self confidence that they can bank on. That’s priceless.”

Sonoma High senior Brianna Garcia gets help in choosing a suit from My Girlfriend’s Closet owner Fran Meininger.

Fran Meininger, owner of “My Girlfriend’s Closet,” a fashion consignment clothing store on First Street West, shared her expertise about job interview and work attire with teens on March 3.  Meininger’s workshop is part of Sonoma Valley Teen Services “Skills for Life” program that helps teens prepare for their future.

“Clothes should showcase your personality, style and intelligence in a job or sales interview situation,” said Meininger. “Your appearance makes an impression, and clothes should not distract from your smile and conversation.”
Meininger showed the teens several mannequins that were dressed to reflect appropriate job interview outfits for various businesses.  “The employer looks at you as a prospective company representative, so find out before the interview how people dress in the businesses where you seek to work,” Meininger said.

The teens browsed through the store and tried on blouses, skirts, suits and shoes that reflected their personalities and styles, as well as being appropriate for their chosen fields of work.  Jewelry added to the finished look that gave them a feeling of confidence and professionalism.
The participating students said that they learned how to look for outfits that complement their skin tone and body type. “We had fun mixing and matching clothes and left the shop with purchases that made us feel comfortable and prepared for an interview,” said Sonoma Valley High senior Briana Garcia.

Meininger consults with teens who seek help in choosing affordable and attractive clothes to wear for many occasions. She can be contacted at  933-3050.
For questions and information about “Skills for Life” classes, email classes@Svteens.org or call 939-1452 or visit  www.svteens.org.

The youth will cook and serve a gourmet four-course tasting room, created in the commercial kitchen within the teen center. The meal begins with an amuse bouche of chile, cilantro and lime marinated prawn wrapped in crisp fingerling potatoes. The appetizer will be a butternut squash and chorizo soup with pan dulce. For the main course, green corn tamales, Puebla chicken and potatoes, rice, frijoles de fiesta and Jalisco slaw will be served. The meal ends on a sweet note with prickly pear sorbet with cinnamon and cajeta tuilles.

The cost is $50, with proceeds benefit the center’s work skills programs designed to engage Sonoma Valley youth in gaining experience for a sustainable future. For tickets and more information please contact Rebecca Hermosillo at 939-1452. The Valley of the Moon Teen Center is located at 17440 Sonoma Highway.