PATHWAYS! July 2022
Starting the School Year Off on the Right Foot
It’s back to school time again! After a refreshing summer break to recharge, our youth are gearing up to go back to school in August. At NPFY, we’re making sure they have the tools they need to succeed.
Every youth in our program is receiving a backpack and other necessary school supplies to ensre they have what they need to start the school year off right. Having the proper supplies is vital to our students’ success, and we can’t thank our corporate partners enough for providing these invaluable resources in our annual backpack drive.
A huge thank you to these incredible supporters:
Get to Know Our Front Desk Assistant
Meet our incredible team member and Front Desk Assistant, Denise Gaona! An inspiring mentor and teacher, Denise is an amazing leader and role model for Phoenix youth. Read on to learn more about her!
What makes you most excited about working at New Pathways? What make me most excited to work with New Pathways for Youth is the big, fun family I just gained.
What is one accomplishment you’re proud of? One accomplishment I’m proud of is having had the opportunity to use my native language, Spanish, to help teach and enrich little minds at LittleBigMinds Preschool.
What is one thing you want to accomplish in the future? One thing I want to accomplish in the future is to continue to help close the gap, be it through mentoring, sharing resources, or just seeing people where they are and loving them anyway.
Can you tell us about a transformative moment or experience you had when you were younger? When I was 12, my parents split for a year, my mother moved away to her hometown in Mexico. I remember this was the first time my unconscious story came alive, because I felt I wasn’t enough for her to stay, it made me feel unloved and unworthy. My mother was out of my life completely and my behavior was reckless, I didn’t know how to process or understand all the weight that I felt. Since I became a mentor, 4 years ago, I always said I wish I would have known about the program when I was young, troubled, and needed somebody to see me and love me where I was.
Ending on a High Note
Last month, we had our last retreat of the fiscal year, and it was another one for the books! We had an inspiring three and a half days at the NPFY headquarters, with all of our new mentors and mentees getting to participate in transformative workshops with their cohorts. As always, our youth and mentors enjoyed being able to relax and get to know each other in a comfortable and laid-back setting.
If you want to join in on this one-of-a-kind experience, become a mentor! Our next retreat will be in September 15 through the 18th. Attend one of our mentor information sessions by Friday, August 19th to become a mentor and attend the retreat in September. Mentor Intro sessions are hosted on Zoom every Tuesday and Friday.
You can also always refer someone you think would make a great mentor. Share this link with your friends, family, colleagues – whoever you think would be interested in helping transform lives in their community!
This Newsletter is Brought to you by These Incredible Investors
Upcoming Events
Back to School Party! | Immediately after the 1st Saturday 8/6 and 3rd Saturday 8/20 workshops
Join us during our Saturday workshops to attend our Back to School Party. We’ll play games like Kahoot, have a snowball fight, build time capsules, and decorate water bottles and binders. Mentees will receive backpacks full of supplies like binders, lunchboxes, pencil bags and more.
Mentor Introduction Sessions | Multiple Dates
Learn all about the youth we serve, our program, and how we support mentors, along with the screening & commitment requirements and next steps.
Virtual: every Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. and every Friday at 12 p.m.
Fall Transformational Society Event | Coming Soon
Stay tuned for announcements about our Fall Transformational Society Event. We will have more details later in August!