JULY NEWSLETTER

BIG B.A.N.G. 2018 WEEKEND RE-CAP

On July 14, we partnered with many local businesses to host the sixth annual Big B.A.N.G. Weekend. This event was designed to support underserved youth in the Central Valley. Over 350 youth spent the day training with NFL and College players alike.

The event brought together former Fresno State football players, NFL players and other community leaders, who spent time with the children to teach them about life and football. Below are the MVP partners for the event, these were the businesses/organizations that contributed the most financially to support our local youth!

This Month’s Rockstar Award Winner is Sienna Curtin

Every month, we take the time to highlight a “Rockstar” award winner. The thought process when selecting an individual for this award this award is focused on the little things that many don’t see. A Rockstar puts in the “extra” effort when they aren’t forced to things, doing things that help others improve around, sacrifice, they are upholding the values & beliefs to the best of their ability, getting out of their comfort zone, thinking outside the box, making things happen while still working on leadership/professional development. We’re not looking for perfection…we’re looking for GROWTH!

Sienna was awarded with the “Rock” Star Award because she always found a way to get the job done no matter what obstacles she faced. This month she had to attend grad school fulltime, overseeing and managing the Foster Family agency fulltime, still made time after 5pm to visit foster families, participated on the Big B.A.N.G. Weekend committee and even made the time to help introduce and helped roll out our new tracking software system for the entire organization, extendedReach. She has truly lived up to the KYJO belief “We come up with solutions, not excuses!” Many can’t do a quarter what she does, so it’s a beautiful thing for others to see what “Striving for Excellence” looks like to achieve the next level of success…

Butler Branding helps brands communicate the right message, to the right people, on the right channels, through strategy, design and marketing.

Butler Branding – A Local Branding & Marketing Agency

From the New Generation to the Next level, neither would be possible without Team Butler Branding as our Marketing partners. It’s a blessing when you can get the tutelage and extra inspiration to know how to get to the next level and then understand how to perform once you get there.

These guys had a learning curb coming into their first Big B.A.N.G. Weekend, but took the time to understand the purpose of it and had the patience to learn. Just from that… overall, We had “The Best” New Generation Weekend to date! Since February they were diligently putting in many hours behind the scenes to assure they captured the vision. From their they even became only the 2nd partner to pledge their partnership for the weekend because they believed in the in vision…. They were not disappointed! This is what building relationships is about…understanding each other first before jumping into something that you don’t completely understand. That understanding created this next level evolution for KYJO and Big B.A.N.G. Weekend itself. Now with one under their belts, we guarentee we will out do what we’ve already done.

This partnership doesn’t stop here! This is long term and we have yet to scratch the surface and that’s why Butler Branding is the spotlight for this month’s newsletter. We appreciate our top notch marketing department and wanted all to know whose behind it all…

We Salute and Thank You Team Butler Branding!

KYJO Direct Care Highlights

 HOUSE OF THE MONTH: Muncie Home

Two of our KYJO youth graduated from high school!

What a journey it has been for this young man. KYJO has walked this journey with him every step of the way for the past three years. From our group home to our foster family agency, many hands have played a part of his journey. Today he walked across the stage and into a new chapter of his life. We are so proud of the young man that he has become. Congratulations on your graduation today Cornell. You deserve all the success of this moment! Keep dreaming and accomplishing your goals. We can’t wait to see you on the football field in college for your next adventure!”

“KYJO is so proud of our high school graduate! What an incredible journey this young woman has been on that has led her up to this point. With her resilience and grit (mixed with a little bit of sass) she has overcome many obstacles to get to this stage of her life. It was an absolute honor to see her walk the stage tonight. Congrats Mercedes, you did it!”

BELIEVE TO SUCCEED

One of the hardest parts about achieving our goals is actually believing that we’re going to accomplish them. Self-doubt and the fear of failure limits so many people and prevents us from reaching our full potential. That is why it’s important to always hold a positive expectation that what you want is going to happen. Choosing to believe you can succeed will drive you and inspire you (the way an athlete trains for years because they believe they can win in the competition). No matter what reasons you have for not believing in yourself and your success, you should know that no good will come from it. Try letting go of any negative thoughts you may have and focus more on positive feelings of self-confidence and self-worth.

Here’s a Tip: Write down each argument that makes you think that you will not be able to achieve your goals. Think about them carefully and try finding solutions for even the smallest things that make you question your success.

Kevin Jordan
Executive Director