EEYP Spring 2024 Newsletter

FORT BEND COUNTY EXPOSE EXCELLENCE YOUTH PROGRAM

SPRING 2024 NEWSLETTER

BIKE RIDE GRANT RECIPIENT LUNCHEON

YOUTH SPOTLIGHT JADE C.

We met Jade on our 2023 Summer Freedom Tour with YMCA. This talented young poet blew everyone away at our Black History Month event, earning the top spot in the poetry contest!

These past few months have been nothing short of amazing for the Expose Excellence Youth Program! EEYP hosted events for Fort Bend County students, did a ton of outreach, and provided grants and scholarships. We’re so excited for what is to come.

The future looks bright! Dive in to discover all the awesome stuff we've been up to in 2024.

IN THIS ISSUE

Spring Programs and Events FBCDA Candy Grams 3rd Annual Exposing Black Artistry: Young, Gifted, and Black Restorative Justice Mural Unveiling Bike Ride Grant Luncheon 2024 White Scholarship Recipients EEYP May-cations Summer 2024 Sneak Peek

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MURAL AT THE FORT BEND COUNTY JUSTICE CENTER

2024 Expose Excellence Progress Report Students Impacted- Goal: 500 Current: 269 Schools Reached- Goal: 50 Current: 70 Volunteer Opportunities- Goal: 6 Current: 3 Community Outreach Events- Goal: 24 Current: 16 Family Engagement Events: Goal: 4 Current: 1

JANUARY

After School Leadership Program This semester, EEYP facilitated our Leadership after-school programs at Willowridge High School AND BF Terry High School!

We have been at Willowridge since 2022 but this is our first year at BF Terry High School. Super excited to meet the new students.

FEBRUARY Exposing Black Artistry Expose Excellence Youth Program hosted the 3rd annual Black History Month event! The theme for this year was “Youth”. Featured students displayed their artwork and guests participated in a self-portrait activity to paint their best selves. The poetry and art contest winners were announced by the judges and awarded prizes! See more on page 12.

Candygrams The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office along with EEYP created over 100 candygrams for students all over Fort Bend County! It was great seeing all the student’s faces light up with excitement. See more on page 11.

Coffee With Leadership EEYP attended the Missouri City Coffee with Leadership meeting at the Public Safety Annex.

Participants met with local officials and community leaders to discuss what is happening in the community and share upcoming events.

MARCH SAT Bootcamp Did you know that the SAT test is now 100% digital?

EEYP hosted another SAT Bootcamp to offer free tutoring for high school students. This session had our largest turnout!

Keep up with us on social media for our next bootcamp.

FBC Women’s Month High Tea The ladies of Expose Excellence and the District Attorney’s Office attended the International Women’s Day High Tea, hosted by Fort County Judge KP George. We enjoyed meeting other women in the county and bonding over tea!

35th Annual Exchange Club Spaghetti Dinner With the help of EEYP teen volunteers, the District Attorney’s Office won Best Presentation AND Best Sauce for the 4th time in a row! The FBCDA theme this year was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

MARCH CASE for Kids Spring Symposium The EEYP staff attended a symposium hosted by the Harris County Dept. of Education. We learned about new strategies to engage with youth outside of school, got some after school programming tips, and met other youth organizations!

FBC “Restorative Justice” Mural Unveiling Six Fort Bend County students participated in the creation of a mural that is now available on the 2nd floor of The Justice Center! We invited guests from all over the county to witness history in the making! Read more on page 14.

FBCDA Bike Ride Grant Luncheon Expose Excellence Youth Foundation awarded grants to ten organizations that provide services to youth and/or crime victims in Fort Bend County. The grants were raised during the 3rd annual DA Bike Ride in 2023. See the ten organizations on page 14.

APRIL STAAR Tutoring For the third year, EEYP has sponsored free virtual tutoring sessions for students taking the English 1 and Algebra 1 STAAR tests. We received great feedback from the students and parents. Keep in touch for our next tutoring session.

Drug Symposium The EEYP staff attended the 2024 Fort Bend Community Prevention Coalition drug symposium to learn about ways to prevent teen drug and alcohol usage. We also learned about substance abuse related to human trafficking and ways to keep our youth safe.

National Victims Rights Week EEYP participated in the community resource fair at the George Memorial Library and community walk hosted by the Victim Witness Division of the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office.

If you see us at an outreach event, stop by and say hi!

APRIL

National Walking Day FBC Commissioner McCoy hosted the “Ready, Set, Walk” event for National Walking Day as an initiative to improve overall health for Fort Bend County employees. The event took place at the Mirabeau B. Lamar Homestead Park in front of the Fort Bend County Justice Center where EEYP walked along side Commissioner McCoy and other community leaders.

Out 2 Learn Partner Fair EEYP staff attended the Out 2 Learn United Way Partner Fair where we met with other agencies to share resources.

The theme was western and EEYP had a great time networking with organizations that provide services to youth in Fort Bend County.

APRIL Vera Institute Outreach Event EEYP staff attended the Vera Institute data walk “Pathways to Public Safety” event. This took place in the Family Life Community and Resource Center where several community leaders were in attendance to view the educational exhibit.

Reaching Richmond EEYP staff tabled at the Reaching Richmond wellness event. Several community organizations were a part of the event, so it was a great opportunity to share resources.

There was a walk, dance activity, and raffle prizes for the community of Richmond. Wendi even won an inflatable pool!

MAY United Way Fair We attended the United Way-Fort Bend Connect outreach event and shared information about our upcoming summer activities at May’s Fort Bend Connect meeting focused on summer and back-to-school resources.

Willowridge Senior Celebration We celebrated the 2024 graduating Willowridge HS seniors of Expose Excellence!

Did you know Willowridge High School has 3 (now 4!) Fort Bend County elected officials? Willowridge alumni Council Member Monica Riley, Judge Tyra Jones McCollum and Judge Roderick Garner sponsored the luncheon and spent time with the students giving them words of encouragement and advice as they enter the next stage in life.

MAY FBC Children’s Mental Health Summit We participated in the Fort Bend County Children’s Mental Health Summit for the second year in a row.

Topics included bullying, breathing and meditation techniques, and self care strategies. It was a great opportunity to learn about mental health resources for youth.

Resume Writing Workshop EEYP partnered with Wharton County Junior College to host a resume writing workshop for Fort Bend County high school students.

Students learned why resumes are important and what goes into a good resume. Let us know if we should run it back in the Fall!

FBCDA Valentine’s Day Candygrams

The awesome team at the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office went the extra mile by whipping up some sweet candygrams for our students, spreading joy and cheer! What a great way to make Valentine's Day special for our youth. We made so many that we were able to distribute them to our students at Willowridge HS, Terry HS, and other Fort Bend County schools.

Talk about being the best in Texas! A big round of applause to them for creating a magical day for the Expose Excellence Youth Program students!

3RD ANNUAL

EXPOSING BLACK ARTISTRY FEBRUARY 24, 2024 LANDMARK COMMUNITY CENTER

Guests immersed themselves in the captivating world of black artistry as we showcased the incredible talents of our local youth. This event aimed to shine a spotlight on the diverse range of artistic expressions within Fort Bend County!

From mesmerizing art pieces to soulstirring poetry, from breathtaking performances to powerful designs, participants witnessed the raw talent and passion of our young artists. This event served as a platform for them to share their stories, experiences, and perspectives through their art.

Whether you were an art enthusiast, a budding artist yourself, or simply looking for a day of inspiration and entertainment, this event had something for everyone.

If you ever have a chance to visit the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, be sure to come down our hallway and take a look at some of the beautiful portraits painted that day!

Restorative Justice Mural Unveiling “But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream." Amos 5:24

EEYP students met with Artist Reginald C. Adams to visually interpret what “Restorative Justice” meant to them. They thought of words like tree, roots, water, scales, balance, and rights. They also expressed the importance of diverse people being represented in the artwork to reflect the same diversity of Fort Bend County. The mural, unveiled March 13th, represents collaboration, team work, and artistic expression,

Eviana Williams

Annalicia Padilla

Foster High School

Travis High School

Mill Torres

Cymberly Lima

Austin High School

Willowridge High School

Evelyn Cabrera

Hannah Fausset

Terry High School

Lamar Cons. High School

FBCDA Bike Ride Grant Recipient Luncheon The Expose Excellence Youth Foundation is proud to announce the 10 Fort Bend County agencies chosen to benefit from grants raised during the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office third annual DA Bike Ride!

In 2023, the FBCDAO annual bike ride raised over $40,000 to bolster local agencies dedicated to aiding crime victims and delivering youth services within Fort Bend County.

In recognition of this accomplishment, the Expose Excellence Foundation and FBCDAO organized a celebratory luncheon. Heartfelt congratulations are extended to all the participating organizations.

Be sure to stay updated for further details about the upcoming fall bike ride.

hite and Judge Le Chakilla W olarship Re wis White cipients 2024 Sch

Drum roll please...

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the 2024 Chakilla White and Judge Lewis White Scholarship Recipients! This year, the Whites have generously chosen two additional students due to the exceptional quality of submissions received. These twelve graduating seniors from Fort Bend County will each be awarded $2,000, to be disbursed equally between their Fall 2024 and Fall 2025 semesters. We are confident in their ability to achieve great things.

Thank you to Chakilla and Judge Lewis White and congratulations to all of these deserving students!

Top Row 4. Ainslie F. -Katy ISD 1. Rowan S. - FBISD Biomedical Engineering Business 5. Deborah H. - LCISD 2. Noor A. - FBISD Business Admin Nutrition 6. Abigail B. - FBISD 3. Jennifer O. - LCISD Communications and Pre-Law Aerospace Engineering and Pre-Law

Bottom Row 7. Kayla W. - LCISD 10. Kenzi P. - LCISD Psychology Biomed 8.Teresa J. - FBISD 11. Kaylon C. - LCISD Political Science Arts, Technology and Emerging Communication 9. Jeremiah L. - LCISD 12. Reagan-Ava - LCISD Finance Clinical Psychology

A M Y r c e a t m i o m n u S Expose Excellence summers are EXTREMELY busy with our exciting events, programs, and trips!

In order for us to give you the ultimate “Expose Excellence” summer experience, your girls needed a small break. We decided to take our vacations in May! Check out the EEYP team’s travel destinations!

Juno

I said “I do” to Dubai for my bestie’s trip. I’m already planning my trip BACK!

Raven

I visited the Caribbean island of Antigua!

At the end of July, I’ll be visiting Honduras. ¡Estoy practicando mi español!

i d n e W

I went to Banff, Canada.

It was beautiful! I went hiking and horseback riding. Hiking is tougher than it looks!

SUMMER 2024 SNEAK PEEK

JUNE

Youth Law Enforcement Academy Session 1 Juneteenth Spoken Word Competition

Chakilla & Judge Lewis White Scholarship Recipient Luncheon YMCA & EEYP Civil Rights Freedom Tour

JULY

Youth Law Enforcement Academy Session 2

AUGUST

Fort Bend County Festival of One EEYP Summer Surprise!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS, DONORS, AND PARTNERS!!

Ramona Franklin and Roderick Rodgers

Judge Tyra McCollum, Judge Roderick Garner, Councilwoman Monica Riley

www.EEYP.org

www.Facebook.com/fbcexposeexcellence @fbc_eeyp

@fbc_eeyp

Program Manager Juno Okoro

Email: Juno.Okoro@fbctx.gov Desk #: 346-481-6052 Cell #: 832-451-8751

Raven Forrester

Program Coordinators

Email: Raven.Forrester@fbctx.gov Desk #: 346-481-6051

Wendi Palomera

Email: Wendi.Palomera@fbctx.gov Desk #: 346-481-6053