All the volunteers should apply to YNOT (we need to create a short volunteer application, if we don’t have one yet), and they need to sign up online to report their hours (and YNOT will be able to track all the volunteers and their hours served).

In May 2011, the Young Nak Outreach and Transformation (YNOT) Foundation hosted its first Annual Fundraising Dinner. Under the theme of “Faith In Action,” 280 faith and community leaders, friends, and supporters gathered to celebrate YNOT’s accomplishments and share its vision of serving, empowering, and building communities in Los Angeles. Thanks to the support and generosity of people like you, YNOT was able to raise over $25,000 at this inaugural event.

As we continue to forge ahead with our mission to transform and improve the lives of individuals and families in the Greater Los Angeles community, we would like to cordially invite you to our second Annual Fundraising Dinner. Our theme of “Faith in Action: Building Hope” highlights how YNOT has put our faith in motion this past year to advance our mission. The event will be held on May 17th, 2012, once again at the Castaway Restaurant in Burbank.

The past year has been a time of significant growth for the YNOT Foundation. In the fall of 2011, YNOT assumed the operations of the Pacific Bridge Adult Residential Facility for people with disabilities. Based on the success of this pilot program, in January, YNOT began a renovation project in Koreatown to prepare our second residential facility that will provide much needed culturally and linguistically sensitive housing, support, and care for developmentally challenged adults. Meanwhile, YNOT is continuing with its successful L.O.V.E. Library project to establish libraries at Los Angeles County juvenile detention facilities. With two L.O.V.E. libraries in full operation, we will begin construction on two new libraries this summer.

We are also excited about our new Mercy Counseling Services. Launched in January with private seed funding, it offers professional counseling and life skills training for distressed immigrant adults and children, including people and families of faith. The counseling staff is working collaboratively with community agencies and the County Department of Mental Health to expand care and support for those with mental health needs. YNOT continues to provide essential support services for low-income families, while partnering with local efforts to strengthen neighborhoods and improve the lives of its residents. YNOT’s Serving the Community grant program and the Sharing Festival provided funding support for over 80 community organizations this past year to empower individuals and build up neighborhoods.

With your support, YNOT can continue serving and advancing our vision of building strong and thriving communities and providing opportunities for individuals to live with dignity. Please review the enclosed information on sponsorship opportunities and consider becoming a sponsor. We respectfully ask that you submit your sponsorship pledge card by April 15, 2012.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to partner with YNOT Foundation’s efforts to make a concrete and lasting impact on the Los Angeles community. For further information, please contact Stella Kim of YNOT, at (323) 342-2808 or stella@ynotfoundation.org . We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely yours,

Paul Koh
Chairson, Board of Directors

]]> http://ynotfoundation.org/2012/04/2012-faith-in-action/feed/ 0 http://ynotfoundation.org/2012/01/ynot-promo/ http://ynotfoundation.org/2012/01/ynot-promo/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:58:32 +0000 ynot http://ynotfoundation.org/?p=3420

Serving the Community Grants

On Dec 8, 2011, there was the banquet for Serving the Community Grants at Young Nak Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles. The names of 62 agencies and organizations are as follows:

1) Continuation of a behavior despite adverse social, occupational, recreational, emotional, and physical consequences.

2) Obsession or preoccupation

3) A feeling of being out of control

It’s not just the drug; it’s the whole experience involved in using. How I feel when I use. What I think about the drug. My expectations of the experience. Where I am where I use. Who I’m with. (Donovan, 1988)

Video 1: Alcohol Abuse

Video 2: Addiction and the Brain

o Adolescent drug and alcohol use were predictive of early onset sexual behavior (Mott & Haurin, 1988).

o Adolescents who used drugs or alcohol frequently were more likely than abstainers or moderate users to experience psychological distress and mental health problems as adults (Johnston et al., 2000).

o Alcohol abuse was related to decreased hippocampal volume in adolescents (De Bellis et al., 2000), which may have ab adverse effect on learning and academic achievement. (Hippocampus is the part of the brain that converts short-term memory to long-term memory so it’s essential to learning.)

Video1: What is depression?

Video2: Treating depression