The Sunnyvale neighborhood of Salt Lake County is home to many refugees and immigrants and low-income households. It's also a "No-Man's Land," an unincorporated (and under-resourced) area falling into a gap between Murray and South Salt Lake and Taylorsville and Millcreek. In 2012, the Refugee and Immigrant Center at the Asian Association of Utah (RIC-AAU), which has been serving families new to the US since 1977, recognized the need for a program based right in Sunnyvale.
Today, the Sunnyvale Neighborhood Center offers after-school programs, sports, field trips for young people, ESL classes for adults as well as a range of programs including classes on citizenship and financial literacy. The welcome mat is out for new arrivals to this country, refugees and immigrants with more time in the US but still challenged by the transition to American life, and any other neighborhood kids who would like to have help with homework and somewhere to go after school.
In September 2014, it was my privilege to offer a series of writing workshops to the elementary school students and the teens. Our two groups included young people who were already enthusiastic and proficient writers, others who lacked confidence, and some who were just learning English. We combined writing with drawing, drumming, oral storytelling, games and improvisations so that everyone had a form of expression. As far as I’m concerned, a workshop writer is successful as long as he or she writes something. A sentence or a caption to a drawing can be an accomplishment. Some kids copied a friend’s work and added a word or two. I don't consider that cheating. Copying is good practice in writing and recognizing English words and developing motor skills.
As for editing, I corrected spelling but left grammar and phrasing as written to preserve the individual voices.
Though some participants chose to use a nickname or pen name and some preferred not to share their work, this book still offers a representative sample of the words and thoughts of the Sunnyvale kids. It's not about the trauma and disruption that drove many of them from their homelands. Instead you'll see they write about family . . . and friendship . . . and soccer . . . and pizza. The book celebrates their vitality and their accomplishments. It’s a chance for readers to get to know the young people who enriched my life with their vibrant personalities, their talents, and their dreams.
Sunnyvale may indeed fall into a gap between cities, but the Neighborhood Center is there to be sure the young people who live there don't fall between the cracks.
Now, please do download the PDF version of If You Really Knew Me, the book these young people wrote. Read on as they introduce themselves in their own words.
––Diane Lefer
Today, the Sunnyvale Neighborhood Center offers after-school programs, sports, field trips for young people, ESL classes for adults as well as a range of programs including classes on citizenship and financial literacy. The welcome mat is out for new arrivals to this country, refugees and immigrants with more time in the US but still challenged by the transition to American life, and any other neighborhood kids who would like to have help with homework and somewhere to go after school.
In September 2014, it was my privilege to offer a series of writing workshops to the elementary school students and the teens. Our two groups included young people who were already enthusiastic and proficient writers, others who lacked confidence, and some who were just learning English. We combined writing with drawing, drumming, oral storytelling, games and improvisations so that everyone had a form of expression. As far as I’m concerned, a workshop writer is successful as long as he or she writes something. A sentence or a caption to a drawing can be an accomplishment. Some kids copied a friend’s work and added a word or two. I don't consider that cheating. Copying is good practice in writing and recognizing English words and developing motor skills.
As for editing, I corrected spelling but left grammar and phrasing as written to preserve the individual voices.
Though some participants chose to use a nickname or pen name and some preferred not to share their work, this book still offers a representative sample of the words and thoughts of the Sunnyvale kids. It's not about the trauma and disruption that drove many of them from their homelands. Instead you'll see they write about family . . . and friendship . . . and soccer . . . and pizza. The book celebrates their vitality and their accomplishments. It’s a chance for readers to get to know the young people who enriched my life with their vibrant personalities, their talents, and their dreams.
Sunnyvale may indeed fall into a gap between cities, but the Neighborhood Center is there to be sure the young people who live there don't fall between the cracks.
Now, please do download the PDF version of If You Really Knew Me, the book these young people wrote. Read on as they introduce themselves in their own words.
––Diane Lefer