YES!Atlanta has been a volunteer-intensive organization since its birth in 1988. We provide numerous opportunities to make a difference - volunteers gain no matter how they participate!

Mentors (we call them Committed Partners) and Tutors work directly with the teenage participants on Tuesday afternoons from 5 to 7 pm, at the Juvenile Justice Center (see below). Mentors and Tutors come from throughout our community - as long as you are over 18 and willing to make - and keep - your commitments, you can participate. Male mentors are particularly needed. Email or phone Dottie Wimberly, Program Manager (see below), for more information.

Capable and committed volunteers are needed in a wide variety of other activities. Some of these include:

• Board of Directors Our Board consists of people from throughout the Atlanta area who believe in the value of the work that we do and want to share in it. Some have joined us recently and one has been active since YES!Atlanta's founding in 1988. Depending on their interests and expertise, Board members work individually, with each other on various committees, and with the staff. Upon joining, Board members commit to help ensure adequate financing through personal donations and by opening the doors to possible funding sources throughout the community and elsewhere.

• Advisory Board Advisors are people who want to support our work in different ways but not at the Board level. They are available for consultation, and may serve on various committees such as Program Design, Volunteer Recruitment, Fund Raising, Public Relations, and Finance. Other Committees and teams may be established from time to time.

• Production Occasionally YES!Atlanta needs volunteers who are willing to devote a relatively limited amount of time to assist the staff and the Board. This might be helping to produce a special event, like our recent Night of Light Fundraiser. Once-per-month Saturday program sessions (2 hours in the morning) require volunteers to set up the room and for other functions. When you are interested in this kind of service, send an email to Dottie Wimberly or phone to ask her what our needs are at that time

• Special Skills Do you have a special skill that you think might be useful to us - such as web design, funding research, or connections with potential donors or volunteers? Do you have an idea about cooperating ventures with other youth-service organizations? Send an email to Dottie Wimberly, Program Director, and tell her what you're thinking about. She will put you in touch with an appropriate member of our Board of Directors.

I never was a bad person, I got caught making some bad choices. I've had to deal with so much being separated from my mom and dad, going from one school to the next. I became depressed. Then I was put on medication. and sent away to a treatment facility.

YES!Atlanta taught me to open up, to deal with my upsets and disappointments in life instead of taking it out on others. In 2003, I was named Rising Star of The Year and was ack- nowledged for being on the Honor Roll and making the ROTC. I now tutor and support other kids in my school and offer them support in the way YES!Atlanta helped me!

Rising Star Portia Neal and her YES!Atlanta mentor celebrate Portia's graduation from high school. Portia made Tech High School's honor roll and is now in college.

MENTORS

These volunteers work one-on-one with youth, supporting them as they work toward achieving the goals set upon enrolling in Rising Star.

Mentors are trained in preparation for their responsibilities. Typically they meet with their assigned youth once a week during the school year, plus one Saturday morning each month for group discussions.

Mentors often report how enriched they were by this experience.

TUTORS

Depending on their academic skills, Coaching for Success volunteer tutors work two hours per week (currently on Tuesdays) at the Learning Center in the Fulton County Juvenile Justice Building, 395 Pryor Street SW.

They will help youth achieve the academic goals set upon enrolling in Rising Star.

Frequently Tutors will advance to become Mentors as they see how much difference they are making.

COMMITMENT PLUS

As a YES!Atlanta volunteer, it's vital that you keep commit- ments that you make to the organization, the youth with whom you will work, and to yourself. Only by doing this will you develop the kind of personal integrity that can make a difference in a young life- and beyond.

• Maintain open and honest communication with those around you
• Don't overcommit yourself.
• Ask for support when needed.
• Contribute suggestions and offer constructive criticism.

DIRECTIONS TO THE JUVENILE JUSTICE BUILDING

395 Pryor Street SW is easy to reach. From I-75/85 take Exit 246 (southbound, just past the turnoff to I-20) onto Fulton Street. Turn right (west), drive past one traffic light. The brick and glass Juvenile Justice Building will be on your right behind a big, free parking lot.

Email to Dottie Wimberly