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Youth Summit 2013

Cindy Alsol

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Youth Summit 2013

Building our Legacy: Fulfilling our Purpose

Somali Family Service (SFS), in collaboration with Muslim American Society of San Diego (MAS), will host the Second Annual Youth Summit on Saturday, May 11th, 2013. The summit will take place at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation from 11 AM to 6 PM. Community members ages 12 and up are welcome.

REGISTER HERE

The Annual Youth Summit is founded on the principle of bringing together Somali youth and their parents to formulate a healthy dialogue and discuss their differences. The mission of the Youth Summit is to provide safe space for the community to get educated and empowered on the realities of today’s world and shed light on the importance of faith, education and family-life.

This year SFS is collaborating with the MAS to engage larger Muslim community in the dialogue. The theme for this year’s Youth Summit is “Building our Legacy: Fulfilling our Purpose.” The summit will aim to bring awareness of establishing a legacy, setting goals they hope to pursue, and determining the best ways to achieve the goals to the youth. The Youth Summit will focus on a significant topic to the Muslim youth of today—living a balanced and meaningful life while maintaining their faith and identity as Muslims and Americans. The Youth Summit will also provide workshops for students and parents on accessing and attaining higher education; and workshops for parents that will focus on developing better communication strategies, resolving conflicts with their children, and staying involved in their educational path.

Summit Highlights

- Education and career panel discussions
- Motivational keynote speakers
- Entertainment (spoken-word poetry)
- Opportunity to learn about resources available for youth and their families
-Giveaways for parents and youth

Join Us!
May 11, 2013
11 AM – 6 PM
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
404 Euclid Avenue
San Diego, CA 92114

For more information, Click here

The 2012 OceanLeaf Awards Celebration Focuses on Peace and Unity

logo_with_tagline The 2nd Annual Somali Family Service’s OceanLeaf Awards Celebration recognizes individuals who have helped to bridge the gap between the East African refugee community and greater San Diego

We are hosting our 2nd Annual OceanLeaf Awards. Celebration to recognize the accomplishments of San Diego leaders who have contributed to the advancement of the Somali and East African refugee community in the city. The event celebrates the refugee journey to a new homeland (Ocean) and unity among cultures (Leaf).
There are an estimated 30,000 Somali and other East African refugees living in San Diego County. “San Diego has the second largest population of Somali and East African refugees in the entire nation,” said Ahmed Sahid, President and CEO of Somali Family Service (SFS). “So it’s very important that we are able to help the refugee community integrate into the larger San Diego community well.”
SFS works with a variety of community organizations, non-profit organizations and public offices to help address the unique needs of Somali and other East African refugees and immigrants. “It is very important to us that we work with other like-minded organizations to accomplish our goals,” Sahid added. “It takes combined efforts to see real progress and change happen.”
SFS will be honoring seven community champions at the OceanLeaf Awards on Wednesday,
October 17, 2012. Awards are being given in areas such as health and well-being, leadership, innovation and opportunity. Award honorees include:

Health and Well-Being Award: Bonnie Copland and Shukri Adam, County of San DiegoCentral Region Public Health Center
Leadership Award: Agin Shaheed, San Diego Unified School District, The Race/Human
Relations and Advocacy Program
Opportunity Award: Murugi Kenyatta, Foundation for Women
Innovation Award: Marjorie Blanchard, Ph.D.
Spirit Award: Abdulkadir Mohamed
Emerging Leader Award: Abdulmalik Buul and Ramla Sahid

The OceanLeaf Awards Celebration will take place from 6:00-9:00p.m. on October 17, 2012 at the Jacobs Center Market Creek Plaza. Nancy Sasaki, Executive Director of the Alliance Healthcare Foundation, will be the keynote speaker. The event will include a reception, live entertainment and an awards dinner. The event is open to the public, and tickets can be purchased online at http://oceanleaf.brownpapertickets.com/. For further event information, contact Hana Mandikova, Event Manager, here or (619) 265-5821.

Somali Family Service of San Diego was launched in 2000 to help meet the needs of Somali and other
East African refugees as they transition to a new life in the United States. Somali Family Service,
along with its community partners, helps Somali and other African families in becoming responsible,
independent and contributing members of San Diego. The organization focuses on developing economic,
health, youth and family strengthening programs.

Somali Family Service of San Diego OceanLeaf Awards Celebration 2012
Call For Nominations!

The nominating process begins with an initial screening followed by the final selection. To submit a nominee for the initial screening, simply complete the form here.

If your nominee advances to the final phase, you will be contacted to provide additional information.

The Honorary Committee, comprised of volunteers from the community, will make a final selection for each award among the final phase nominees. Awards will be given in all categories providing the nominee has met the highest standards of achievement.

OCEANLEAF NOMINATION FORM

Nomination Categories and Descriptions

Somali Family Service Sets Date to Celebrate a Decade of Progress, Triumph and Community Leaders

Transitioning into a new community and culture can be daunting for refugees as they leave their homeland to pursue new opportunities in another country. Between language barriers, cultural barriers and little insight into a foreign country’s economic structure, challenges can present themselves around every corner.

It is precisely because of these reasons the Somali Family Service (SFS) of San Diego was founded in the year 2000. San Diego’s emerging population of Somali refugees, now nearly 30,000 people, is the second largest in the nation. As the number of Somali refugees in the city continues to grow, SFS has seen significant expansion in programs offered to the East African community. A decade after its inception, the organization is eager to celebrate its community’s triumphs with the First Annual OceanLeaf Awards Celebration that will take place on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at the Joe and Vi Jacobs Center.

Contribute to SFS

To volunteer or become a corporate sponsor, please call 619-265-5821.

Support our work through online donations - all donations are tax-deductible.

Fourth Annual SFS Health Fair

The Fourth Annual Health Fair in Honor of World Refugee Day is coming up on June 23th 2012. This year Somali Family Service is partnering with the East African Collaborative - a collaborative of 8 organizations working with East African communities in San Diego. The Fourth Annual Health Fair’s theme is Healthcare Reform and as usual, the fair will be held in the City Heights Community Park. The purpose of the Health Fair is primarily to promote health and healthy communities in San Diego, particularly with East African communities. Over the past 20 years, more than 30,000 East Africans have settled in San Diego, mostly concentrated in City Heights. To overcome the unique cultural and linguistic challenges they face, new immigrants need special assistance with access to healthcare, enrollment in education, and business development. Come and join us for an afternoon full of health related information, presentation of local health care providers and fun activities for whole families.

Youth Summit 2012

Youth of Today: Where are we? And where we are headed?

The Summit

This Summit is founded on the principle of bringing together Somali Youth and their parents to formulate and begin a healthy dialogue within the Somali community. The goal is to help Somali Youth successfully balance and manage their faith, education and culture as American-Somalis. This Summit is unprecedented; as the Somali Youth in San Diego has, by no means, received the opportunity to discuss such important topics in an organized and focused manner. Through this summit we hope to find and understand where we are today and where we are headed as a community.

REGISTER HERE!

Ahmed Sahid Wins Local Hero Award for Black History Month

Ahmed Sahid accepts Local Hero Award from KPBS and Union Bank of California

Ahmed Sahid, President/CEO of Somali Family Service (SFS), was recognized at the 12th Annual Local Heroes Awards sponsored by KPBS and Union Bank. Ahmed Sahid and Randy Jones from the Office of the US Attorney received awards for Black History month at an event on Nov. 16 at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. Ten other leaders were also honored for Women’s History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Jewish Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and American Indian Heritage Month. The event featured an awards ceremony with live music by Orchestra Nova, and a reception followed.

“I am incredibly honored to be among the heroes nominated for such important work in the San Diego community. I am proud to be part of the solution of helping the underserved community become productive members of our society,” said Ahmed Sahid.