Burien’s Para Los Niños was named a 2009 Community Matters Campaign winner by the Seattle CityClub, and will receive their award at the 2nd Annual People’s Choice Awards on Monday, Nov. 16th.

The ceremony will take place at the Bertha Knight Landes Room at Seattle City Hall, located at 600 Fifth Avenue, downtown Seattle.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Seattle CityClub’s 2nd Annual People’s Choice Awards, featuring Burien’s Para Los Niños

WHEN: Monday, Nov. 16th. Registration: 5:30 p.m. / Program: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Bertha Knight Landes Room at Seattle City Hall, located at 600 Fifth Avenue, downtown Seattle.

INFO: Hosted by Eric Liu of The Guiding Lights Network, featuring Norman B. Rice, President and CEO, The Seattle Foundation; Special Welcome by the Honorable Sally Clark.

More info on this event, including how to register, available at the CityClub website.

According to their website, “CityClub informs, connects and engages citizens to evaluate complex issues, make sound judgments and contribute to solutions that address issues vital to our region.”

From their press release:

Eric Liu will host the close of CityClub’s Community Matters Campaign as we unveil the winners of our People’s Choice Awards! Hear from Eric about his work and from Norman B. Rice, President and CEO of The Seattle Foundation and their great work to further educational and economic opportunities for everyone in our community.

CityClub’s 2009 Community Matters Campaign (CMC) focused on education and economic opportunity – two issues of particular urgency in our community today. In partnership with The Seattle Foundation, we hosted public dialogues grounded in the findings of the Foundation’s newly released Healthy Community Report (www.seattlefoundation.org). 

Over the course of CMC, we convened hundreds of participants – both online and face-to-face – to discuss what we can and need to do individually and communally to overcome barriers and achieve positive results. We invited participants to vote for their top-priority community investment to make educational and economic opportunities available for everyone in King County. They responded 2-1 in favor of the following two strategies outlined in the Healthy Community Report:

Involve families and communities in student achievement and aspirations

The CMC Steering Committee – made up of representatives from CityClub, Communities Count, Executive Service Corps, The Seattle Foundation, Seattle Works, The United Way of King County, and the YMCA of Greater Seattle – chose 6 winners based on these two strategies.

Our winner selection demonstrates the ecology of community engagement needed to make a difference. The 2010 People’s Choice Awardees represent a spectrum of organization format, scale and focus. One is a recently emerged organic and quickly changing organization formed by and for youth. Another unites youth and parents. Others bring diverse community sectors together to foster change and opportunity. Still others work on the systemic level through policy development and advocacy. It’s together – across these various modes of organization and action – that change can be created and sustained in our community.

We invite you to join us in celebrating the diverse and dynamic organizations that make up the 2009 People’s Choice Award winners on the evening of November 16 from 6-8pm at City Hall in Seattle. For more information visit www.seattlecityclub.org.

2009 People’s Choice Award Winners:

MAD (Making A Difference) – MAD is a newly emergent youth led non-violence group whose mission is to advocate for victims of violence.

Puget Sound Off (PSO) –Eighteen area teens came together in the Summer of 2007 to design the Puget Sound Off website after gathering input from 180 peers, including the Mayor’s Youth Council. PSO’s mission is to provide youth with a forum for discussion, artistic expression, and action as a way to empower and encourage youth to have a strong voice. The project aims be a catalyst for increasing youth involvement and engagement within the community while encouraging expression of one’s beliefs, respect for others, and commitment to public service.

Para Los Niños – Para Los Niños is a grassroots community organization founded by members of the community it serves—the growing immigrant, Spanish-speaking population in South King County. Para Los Niños builds a healthy community with a focus on Latino immigrants. It supports holistic, family-based educational opportunities and builds lasting community networks.

4C Coalition – 4C is an acronym for Clergy, Community, and Children/Youth Coalition. In partnership with King County Superior Court, 4C provides mentors to young persons involved in the juvenile justice system. The 4C Coalition is not a program to solve a problem, but a process to provide possibilities: mentors to youth, church and community resources to families, and a united voice to the community and government agencies to educate and effectively address youth issues.

SOAR – A community coalition dedicated to building partnerships that support the healthy development and success of children, youth and families in King County. SOAR connects, convenes and catalyzes communities around common goals and strategies and strives to create alignment between systems, sectors, organizations, providers and practice.

League of Education Voters – The League works to improve Washington’s public schools through a grassroots statewide network of advocates. Its mission is to make Washington’s preschools, public schools, and colleges the best in the nation. Its goals are:

• Every child reads by the third grade, with more attention to early learning and the role of parents.
• Every child is taught by an excellent teacher. Like all professionals, teachers deserve ongoing mentoring and training.
• Every child graduates from high school ready for college, work, and life. Standards for high school graduation must align with college entrance requirements.
• All students master the math and science they need to succeed in our technology-driven economy.

More investment in our children’s education, but also more accountability to ensure all children succeed.

More info on Para Los Niños is available at their website.

This meeting is meant to explore the ways people are engaged and the barriers that may keep them from engaging fully.

Discussion will center around:

• Volunteering and voting
• Cultural richness
• Public trust

It is hoped that participants from all walks of life will come together to have new conversations with old friends and/or meet people they’ve never met before. They will identify community assets and challenges, learn about new opportunities and take action to build stronger neighborhoods.

What strategies should organizations and government focus on to break down barriers to involvement and strengthen the ties that bind our community? What do you think? Join us.

Open to the general public, and it’s FREE.

Sign up for the event here.

More info on Seattle CityClub here.

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