Juma Field Day & BBQ
On Friday, July 14, Juma’s San Francisco Program Team hosted an All-Youth Field Day & BBQ at Balboa Park. It was a day devoted to outdoor sports, team-building activities, and picnicking. Over 40 youth participated in games like flag football, tug of war, the egg toss, and much more. But these activities weren’t the only highlights for our youth. We also procured delectable servings of burgers, hot dogs, fruits, and fresh drinks for everyone to enjoy on large picnic blankets to just decompress and hang out on a cool summer day.
Kim, a junior currently attending Abraham Lincoln High School, said that events like these are great for Juma youth because they often forget to have fun when school and their futures are always on their minds.
To cap everything off, we had a piñata that involved lots of flying candy and fun—it was the veritable pièce de résistance on such a great afternoon for our youth! The Program Team looks forward to making Field Day an ongoing event for summers to come!
Career Tour: Airbnb
On Tuesday, July 18, our Bay Area youth went to Airbnb for another great career tour. Sahil Shah, one of our very own tutors, and an engineer at Airbnb, gave us an amazing walkthrough of their modern office space. He organized a panel discussion with a few of his colleagues, which gave youth an opportunity to ask questions and get an idea of the different roles at the company. Our youth enjoyed the open space and friendly culture, even mentioning that it reminded them of another very familiar community space. (Hint, hint.)
One moment that really stood out during this tour was watching a couple of the youth personally reach out to the panelists asking them for their business cards and seeing if they could connect with them on social media. It is always a great sight to witness youth having agency to build their network with the skills gained from their communities and our workshops.
Career Tour: VF Outdoor
Last, but not least, on Tuesday, July 11, our Bay Area youth were invited for an exclusive tour of the retail giant, VF Outdoor, on the quaint island of Alameda. Youth were given a sneak peek of how an article of clothing begins as a simple idea on the drawing board and ends up on the shelves of their favorite retailers like The North Face, Vans, and JanSport.
In what was perhaps a shining example of efficiency and care, the staff at the company were all on deck to showcase their workspaces and create a welcoming and informative environment. Youth were also able to meet rock climber, Alex Honnold, who some of you might know for being the first person to rope-free climb El Capitan in Yosemite. It was truly an inspiring meeting from a humble world-class athlete!
And to end the day right, we took the San Francisco Bay Ferry back to the city. This was the first time that many of the youth had ever been on a boat of any kind so it was definitely an endearing experience that we hope they will always remember.
