Football receives $45,000 grant to partner with City & County of San Francisco, the Bayview Hunters Point Conference on Crime Pr
San Jose, Calif.-----A collaboration between the San Jose State University football program; the City and County of San Francisco's Department of Children, Youth & Family; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; the Bayview Hunters Point Conference on Crim
| Fitz Hill and the Spartans will host 300 disadvantaged youths from San Francisco thanks to a $45,000 grant. |
The city of San Francisco’s Department of Children, Youth & Family is providing a $45,000 grant to the San Jose State University football team for a youth camp, "Operation: No Limit," at the school scheduled for July 31 through August 2.
Spartan football coach Dr. Fitz Hill, Lonnie Holmes of Alpha Phi Alpha and a member of the Bayview Hunters Point Conference on Crime Prevention, and Brenda Lopez of San Francisco’s Department of Children, Youth and Family are the driving forces to provide youngsters from selected low-income neighborhoods of San Francisco exposure to a new and positive environment. The Bayview Hunters Point, Vistacion Valley, Sunnydale, Ingleside and Western Addition neighborhoods are the target areas.
TROUBLED YOUNGSTERS
"We need to look at vehicles to give the youths in these neighborhoods exposure to a different and more productive lifestyle. Many of them are locked in their communities and are prisoners of their own homes," says Holmes.
"We’re seeing an influx of youngsters involved in criminal behavior and drugs at a younger age in these neighborhoods. These three days and two nights will give these youngsters a chance to see what college life is like and provide them with options they might not normally see.
"San Jose State University is one of the icons of the Bay Area and we want to utilize the school’s resources. For some of these kids, this will be like a trip to Europe."
"OPERATION: NO LIMIT"
These youngsters will receive lessons in violence prevention, health and personal hygiene and career issues. They will participate in a football clinic conducted by the San Jose State coaching staff and current team members and be invited to the Spartans’ "Summer Jam" on August 1 for a night of musical entertainment and fun. All of the youngsters will be housed and fed at the campus dormitories.
HILL SEES A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP
"We want to develop a long-term association with these youngsters," says Hill, whose Ed.D., in higher education makes him one of only three NCAA Division I-A head football coaches with a doctoral degree. "We want to expose these kids to another side of the world, open their eyes, reach out and offer the resources of San Jose State University to make a difference in their lives."
"Operation: No Limit" is the third community outreach program of the summer by the San Jose State University football team. Earlier, Hill and the Spartans organized youth camps for youngsters in San Jose and traveled to McClymonds High School in Oakland.
The Spartan football coach has plans for a follow-up mentoring program involving current student-athletes and the San Francisco youngsters. Hill hopes to add companies in Silicon Valley’s high tech industry to support a pen pal exchange between the youngsters and players on the 2002 Spartan football team.
"We want the high tech community to build a bridge eliminating the digital divide with the at-risk community," the Spartan coach adds.
COLLABORATORS
"Operaton: No Limit" collaborators
San Jose State University football team
Bayview Hunters Point Conference on Crime Prevention
New Directions 21st Century Academy
Department of Children, Youth & Family
City of San Francisco Housing Authority
City of San Francisco Sheriff’s Department
City of San Francisco Department of Public Health
Housing and Urban Development
City of San Francisco mayor’s office of Small Business Affairs
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Gamma Chi Lambda chapter of San Francisco
TURF (Together, United, Recommitted Forever)
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