Gift Wishlist: Bay Area Youth Center (BAYC)

Operation: Foster Youth Holiday Wishlist

The holidays are an especially tough time of year for foster youth. JLOEB is helping to make this holiday season more festive for foster youth ages 16-21 in transitional housing at Bay Area Youth Center (BAYC). While toy drives serve the needs of younger children, teens and young adults are often underrepresented. Help make the holiday bright by purchasing an item from their Amazon Wishlist by Dec. 15 to make sure it gets to them by Christmas! Feel free to share the wishlist with coworkers, friends and family to help ensure their wishes are fulfilled!

 

Instructions:

  1. Select a gift from the BAYC Wishlist on Amazon.
  2. Before you purchase, make sure you’re using Amazon Smile so your purchase benefits JLOEB, as well as BAYC!
  3. For the shipping address, select “BAYC” from the options that pop up.
  4. Encourage your friends and family to share in the holiday cheer!

 

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More background detail on BAYC: BAYC’s mission is to prepare youth for a successful, healthy adult life using a youth development approach. Our programs are designed to support successful transitions to adulthood by helping young people identify and develop skills that will enable them to grow into effective citizens equipped to make meaningful contributions to the world.

 

 

More background detail on RAFA Program (the youth who will benefit from the list): Real Alternatives for Adolescents (RAFA) offers transitional hosuing and support services, including mental health services, for foster youth and youth on probation, ages 16 to 21 in Alameda County. The program provides youth with a structured environment where they can practice living independently in safe surroundings while receiving extensive supports designed to prepare them for long-term emotional and economic stability. Most of the youth living in the RAFA program have extensive trauma histories, are youth who have survived commercial sexual exploitation, and/or whose substance abuse and/or mental health impede their daily functioning. Youth often move into RAFA housing with very few personal belongings packed in garbage bags.