Breathe in……. Breathe out…….
Greetings YDEKC Members and Friends:
Last Thursday, we gathered virtually to celebrate the accomplishments of YDEKC’s Whole Child, Whole Day mini-grantees. These youth-serving organizations are dedicated to supporting the whole child in partnership with families, youth, schools, and community, with an intentional focus on increasing racial equity and supporting youth of color in the region. To see these programs in action, check out our new Youth Development in Action video, and our virtual gallery walk. To learn more about our mini-grantees, check out the rest of Mona’s blog post.
We are also so excited to announce that we’ll be going virtual with our annual Social Emotional Learning Symposium this summer. You can learn more on our Symposium landing page!
One of our previous Symposium keynote presenters, Erin Jones, will be running 2.23 miles for Ahmaud Arbery every Friday for the next few months and listening to podcasts on racial justice to continue the #runformaud. Watch her facebook page for a podcast suggestion every Thursday evening. For white folks, this article I’m White and I’m Outraged by Ahmaud Arbery’s Murder. Now What? is another resource for us in continuing to work towards becoming anti-racist, and we have so much work to do. As the disparate impacts of COVID-19 continue to become clearer — in health outcomes, educational access, overt racism, and ongoing trauma — we must work towards healing-centered engagement, as another of our previous keynoters, Shawn Ginwright, shared a few years ago. His words ring just as true today.
In service and gratitude,
Jessica, and the rest of the YDEKC team
Executive Director
Youth Development Executives of King County
ydekc.org | jwerner@ydekc.org | 206.336.6912 |