R.O.C.K. Newsletter - September 2016

Email not displaying correctly? Click here

R.O.C.K. Turns 22

Congratulations to R.O.C.K. on 22 years of keeping children in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley healthy and safe. Here's to 22 more years!

Read on to learn about our recent alumni barbecue, the story of Taz and some really great ways to connect with us. If you are inspired by our work, consider making a donation!

Donate Today !

Reconnecting with R.O.C.K. Alumni

By Curt Yagi, Executive Director

As I was setting up for our first-ever R.O.C.K. Alumni barbecue, I felt a bit of nervous energy in anticipation of seeing our past participants, some of whom I hadn’t seen in well over a decade. Over the prior few months, my team had been utilizing old phone numbers, email addresses and social media to get in contact with many of our former R.O.C.K.ers who had drifted away from us over the years. It was a challenging and time-consuming effort, but we ended up with a healthy list of alumni and were excited to bring them together to reunite. As these young adults arrived, I instantly had a vision in my head of each one of them running around dribbling a basketball at Skill Drills or shooting down the water slide at Lil’ Kid Camp. There was Dunya, now a mother....

Click to read the full article.

By Sarah Meike, Special Projects Coordinator

You could say R.O.C.K. goes so far back with Taz, it’s where he got his name. Taz’s full name is Mumtaz Yusuf. He renamed himself when Heidi, a former longtime staff and volunteer at R.O.C.K., asked him what his name was while seeing if he wanted to play soccer. He responded, “Taz” and the nickname has stuck ever since.

Much more than just his name transformed through R.O.C.K. As Taz put it, “If there’s anything good in me, it’s probably because of R.O.C.K.” As a kid growing up in Visitacion Valley, he was not given...

Click to read the full article

Join us for happy hour!

Join us for drinks on the rooftop patio of LinkedIn new offices downtown. This is a 21+ only event. Beer will be provided by donation.

Friday, September 30, 2016 from 5:30-8:30pm
LinkedIn Headquarters (222 2nd St, San Francisco)

Be sure to RSVP on our Facebook event page

Volunteer Opportunities

Please contact Sarah at Sarah@rocksf.org if you are interested in volunteering at any of the following opportunities.

Volleyball Skill Drills: Established in 1994, this thriving program is a fun, introductory sports program that focuses on one sport for six weeks. Each three-hour session leads boys and girls in first through fifth grade through non-competitive skill development exercises and team-building activities.
When: Saturdays starting October 1st (10/1-11/5) from 9:30am-12pm.
Where: Visitacion Valley Middle School, 450 Raymond Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134

Play Day: Kick off our fall Skill Drills session at Play Day! We will have awesome carnival style games, face painting, food, a blow up obstacle course, and climbing wall, bike, and skateboards provided by SF Parks & Rec. Help us set up the event, play games and activities with kids, and clean up afterward.
When: Saturday October 1st, 11am-3:30pm
Where: Visitacion Valley Middle School, 450 Raymond Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134

Middle School Haunted Hallway: Help spook out middle schoolers at R.O.C.K.'s Halloween event. This event will have TWO VOLUNTEER SHIFTS.
First shift: 12-3 Help set up the Haunted Hallway. Hang a maze, spookify, and prepare the scary scene
Second Shift: 3-6:30 Lights, Camera, Scare! Take photos of kids exiting the haunted hallway, assist with carnival games (corn hole, pie toss, basketball, and big jenga), distribute food, and get silly with the photobooth.
When: Fridy October 28th, 12-6:30pm
Where: Visitacion Valley Middle School, 450 Raymond Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134

See what's new at R.O.C.K.

R.O.C.K. Mission in Action

When I talked to Derrick Connors, now 28 years old, about his experience in R.O.C.K.’s programs, it was...

GS Warriors Unveil Court

A flashback to 2010 when the GS Warriors came to Vis Valley to refurbish our basketball court...

R.O.C.K. The Today Show

Al Roker of NBC's The Today Show makes his way to Real Options for City Kids as part of his "Lend a Hand" campaign...

Executive Director Curt Yagi of Real Options for City Kids (R.O.C.K.) was recently honored by the San Francisco...

Our mission is to nurture the healthy development of children by listening attentively to their needs and by providing opportunities to those who might not otherwise have access.

Real Options for City Kids Mission, Purpose and History

High-Quality Active and Academic Programming

R.O.C.K. is Fundamental in Our Community

Want to see a better tomorrow for Visitaction Valley?

Let’s start with our kids. Be a Volunteer rocksf.org/volunteer

Your donation can help R.O.C.K. in many ways.

HELP US GIVE KIDS A CHANCE TO BE KIDS.

Celebrating 22 Years of service for children and youth in San Francisco.
73 Leland Ave, San Francisco, CA 94134
www.rocksf.org

Let us know if you have any comments or suggestions. info@rocksf.org