POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE RECREATION TEAMBUILDING IMPACTING PROGRAM

Our goal is to create a seamless network of services that address the academic needs, positive social connection to peers and caring adults, concern for personal and physical health, removal of barriers to employment, character development, service to community, and involvement and inclusion with higher education/vocation institutions.

In 1999, when African American students in San Jose approached Winston Ashby, to help them to address violence and inclusion, their urgency sparked the need for an action plan that would address these concerns raised by students in their community and community. That request, twenty years ago, called for the formation of the Positive Alternative Recreation Teambuilding Impact (PARTI) Program, which has been serving as an advocate and support for disenfranchised youth. We are assisting schools and civic leaders in developing action plans to help to partner schools, and community-based organizations to carry out deliverables that create positive connections that include: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for safer school climates. We are providing youth with leadership, financial literacy, and volunteer opportunities during COVID-19 shelter in place. In California, during the 2020-2021 school year, we will continue to provide socio-emotional support to disenfranchised youth that focuses on addressing core youth issues that affect them being successful in school during the 2020-2021 school year.

Call to Action
Supporting youth equity, safety, violence, and promoting bully-free communities:
The PARTI Program is hosting three events that will invite Executives, Companies, and Philanthropists to support disenfranchised youth.

Youth Centric Focus
The biggest strength of the organization is its laser focus on youth voice and empowerment. All PARTI Programs are co-created with youth providing them leadership, business savvy and real world learning opportunities. The authentic youth development approach attracts partners and creates opportunities for the organization. Putting young people at the center of not just the events, but designing, managing
and promoting the program is the secret sauce of this organization. In 2020, we supported youth in our Organization to create a Equity Survey that we will respond by aligning our strategies in 2021 to support them with.

What we found with the work we done, is that youth respond better when they feel connect and feel like their voice will be heard. When we communicate with youth, we are making sure to help them identify their support structure at home, at school and in the community. Our strategies are:

Provide interactive programs to youth that is supported by evidence based researched.

Allow for youth to have a voice in every delivery method of our program activities.

Assemble a board of directors who can provide resources to support our organization's mission and need of the youth and families that we serve.

Create strategic partnerships so that participants will have access to support that will help them develop into resilient adults.

Provide opportunities for youth to give back and serve as leaders within our organization.

We have a small staff of 3, who possess over 50 years of collected experience and capacity to meet goals of our target population. Our Executive Director/ Founder has over 20 years of supporting youth who feel disconnected to their school or community. Our organization has been providing services in California for 20 years. Our culture of continuous quality improvement and competency drives our extensive staff training process, plus it willingness to seek out and implement “best practice” programs to fulfill its mission. The dedication to quality personnel is underscored by the extensive evaluation/program review, specifically to assess the strengths and opportunities for improvement. Their experience, whether educational or lived, is a tremendous value to the credibility and ability of the PARTI to provide services to youth and their families. We have created partnerships with funders, school districts, and cities to keep us sustainable.

The most important key to getting youth actively involved with our services and activities lies within our staff, volunteers, and enrolled youth. Their personal commitment and years of service to our program enables them to utilize the engagement techniques that worked successfully in the past.

We work with our team to be non-intimidating, give youth the freedom to move at their own pace, and not pressure youth to become immediately enrolled. This non-aggressive approach eliminates youth resistance to adults and further reinforces our strategy of connecting youth to caring adults.

Participants create, organize and lead activities, as part of efforts to build their capacity. They are placed in leadership roles within our organization having an active voice and learning business development skills as well. They have the ability to become peer mentors, as volunteer staff, which they assist with mentoring freshman, middle school students, and elementary school kids.

The Positive Alternative Recreation Teambuilding Impact (PARTI) Program is one of the few organizations in California that is known for possessing unique and special skills in conflict resolution among youth, because of our dedication to empower youth and to make them feel safe. We have special skills, experience and cultural sensitivity. We have received recognition from City Governments, State of California Assembly Members, and the community.

It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those
differences.”
Audre Lorde

Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)

"We use the term BIPOC to highlight the unique relationship to whiteness that Indigenous and Black
(African Americans) people have, which shapes the experiences of and relationship to white supremacy for
all people of color within a U.S. context. We unapologetically focus on and center relationships among
BIPOC folks." BIPOC.org

PARTI will work smart to engage all youth of color with the opportunity to have voice in every community in
California and build cross generation and cultural relationships. Since 2000, we have:

• Hosted 20 Stop The Violence youth led events and service projects, in San Jose and Los Angeles, Ca.
• Communicated with the Office of The White House, receiving communication from President Obama, on supporting the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.
• Trained 670 California college students: San Jose State University, Cal State East Bay (Hayward), Santa Clara University, and Cal State Northridge (Los Angeles) on providing conflict resolution support to youth.

2021 Call To Action:

To support the creation of a Youth Civic Action Council with a focus on Lived Civics, which centers race and
ethnicity as the driving force behind youth action that promotes opportunity for racial and gender equity,
diversity inclusion, and supporting communities that have economic disparities.

Advantage | PARTI Program differentiates itself from other youth development organizations because of
its proven use of a youth led fundraising model, and the dynamic nature of its events. The organization
was founded in community, and grew organically until it became an official non-profit in 2007. PARTI
Program retains its community organizing roots, and now has a track record of youth led events to
demonstrate its impact.

Impact | PARTI Program has served over 20,000 youth across Santa Clara, Alameda and Los Angeles
Counties since it was first launched in 2000. PARTI currently hosts 4 signature events a year, 3 of which
are youth-led, and provides 4 core programs: High Impact, Leadership/Mentorship, Fusion (ARTS), and
Health.

Partnerships | PARTI Program has received support over the years from the Santa Clara County Board of
Supervisors, the City of San Jose, Kaiser Permanente, and Applied Materials. We have a strong
relationship with ESUHSD, Cal State East Bay, The City of San Jose Arts and Cultural, and Youth Service
America. We are members of the SIlicon Valley, Hayward, and Burbank Chambers of Commerce.