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Orange County Youth Commission <br />Santa Ana, California <br />approach to character development (see element # 6) provides the necessary <br />tools to achieve and do well in both academic and career pursuits. And the <br />teaching/mentoring from staff and business/community professionals give them <br />insight and connecti©ns needed #o help them along their chosen path, <br />We have nine years of experience with the boxing program and we are <br />completing our second year as a WIA youth-serving agency meeting most of the <br />performance goals. Students have raised their grades. <br />Element Number 4: As appropriate paid and unpaid work experience, including <br />intemships and job shadowing. <br />With an emphasis on older age youth, the Orange County Youth Commission is <br />adding a new employment mentoring component to move the young people into <br />career exploration, job shadowing and on-site youth internships, along with <br />successful life skills education and employment goal-setting with goal attainment <br />activities. Individual mentors will come to the boxing club gym and share their <br />professions, describing what they do at work, and how they prepared themselves <br />for their positions. We will be seeking out mentors from a variety of employment <br />situations. Monthly we will have the Student clients and other interested <br />students, listen to different presentation given by the different mentors. An <br />inventory of employment interests will also be given to WIA students. Students <br />will then be assigned by the boxing club staff to one of the adult mentors with the <br />goal of linking them to mentors who share the same interests and desired <br />employment pathways. It is valuable for the client -Students to listen to a variety <br />of different life stories, employment opportunities and challenges. <br />Students will be asked to discuss life lessons with their mentors making the <br />lessons interactive. The Clients will be asked to attend classes for 12 <br />consecutive weeks. The lessons will be designed to be interactive as students <br />will be asked to meet in small groups and discuss the lessons with their mentors. <br />Topics of discussion will include anger management, financial responsibility, with <br />such topics as saving, budgeting, banking, credit cards, planning for <br />emergencies and retirement, family relationships, avoiding negative influences <br />from drug abuse, alcoholism, gang involvement and premarital sex. Addi#ionally <br />clients will learn how to seek help, engage in proper recreation, learn decision <br />making skills and engage in goal setting activities. Students will set individual <br />personal goals with their mentors, looking at immediate, intermediate and long <br />term goals. Together the clients and the mentors will chart a plan to achieve their <br />individual goals. Our adult mentors will hold these young people accountable to <br />specific activities that will help them reach their immediate goals and move them <br />towards their intermediate and long term vision. One follow up call will be made <br />by the mentor a month after the goal setting and goal achieving activities are <br />over. After that staff at the boxing club will continue with follow up monthly phone <br />calls to check if they are on track with working toward their life goal, and <br />achieving meaningful employment. <br />4 <br />