West Fresno Family Resource Center Sweet Potato
Annual Report
Jump to annual report details (2023-2025)14,065
318
4
Description
Conduct the Sweet Potato Project for residents at and near the West Fresno Community Resource Center in the City of Fresno. This program will include approximately 384 activity days in the community for approximately 9,600 participants and approximately 12 trips to natural areas for approximately 600 participants during four years of programming.
Activities in the community will include the Sweet Potato Project. Trips to natural areas outside of the community will include Ano Nuevo Family Beach Trip, Sierra National Calvin Crest Camp Trip and the San Joaquin River Hatchery and Kayaking Trip.
Image Gallery
Community Home Base Location
1802 E California Ave Fresno, CA 93706
Project Map
Program Goals
Service Learning/Career Pathway/Leadership Opportunities
216 opportunities will be available including internships supporting conservation activities with the Sierra Resource Conservation District; interning with University of California Cooperative Extension for agriculture research and harvesting; being a part of the Tree Fresno Green Team Youth Ambassador Program which is supported by the California Air Resource Board and the Black Chamber of Commerce; and Leadership Certification with the Sweet Potato Project graduation.
Partnerships
West Fresno Family Resource Center – The partnership will aid in all aspects of the Activities in the Community and Nature Area Trips as well as being the Community Home Base.
African American Farmers of California – The supporting organization for the Sweet Potato Project providing assistance with Activities in the Community.
University of California Cooperative Extension – Providing teacher training, research assistance, and internship opportunities.
CalFresh – Supporter of family nutritional workshop for the Activities in the Community.
Mentoring
Mentoring will be sustained by Sierra Resource Conservation District’s (SRCD) mission to take available technical, financial, and educational resources, whatever their source, and focus or coordinate them at the local level, to meet the present and future natural resource needs of the local land user. Mentoring youth for careers and participation into any conservation and environmental justice leadership within SRCD aligns directly with its purpose.
Annual Report Details
Programs may span from one year to multi-year, not to exceed four years. The specific length of the program is contained in the description above.
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Served | 11,520 | 2,545 | 14,065 |
| Days for Activities in the Community | 219 | 99 | 318 |
| Nature Area Trips | 1 | 3 | 4 |
List of Educational Goals Achieved
2023
The educational objective that was met was a successful learning trip to Ano Nuevo and the Seymour Discovery Center. The leaders and the kids were exposed to the elephant seals for the first time and learned about ocean life. The learning was evident in a debrief follow-up session with Sweet Potato leaders and the feedback given by the youth who participated.
2024
Since the last update, we’ve met several project goals and educational objectives. We organized outdoor trips that gave kids enriching experiences and exposure to nature. These trips helped foster their appreciation for the environment. We also taught conservation and environmental awareness through the Kids Club and trip-based materials. The methods used to measure those objectives were feedback from staff and participants and attendance tracking, which showed strong engagement. Overall, we successfully reached our goals and audience.
List of Formed Partnerships
2023
The West Fresno Family Resource Team and Sierra RCD are building trust and learning to understand and work with one another as a team. The trip to Ano Nuevo was successful and the Sweet Potato Project youth and staff are looking forward to the next trip.
2024
Since our last update, the Sierra RCD, West Fresno Family Resource Center, and the Sweet Potato Project partners have gained a better understanding of the OEP mission, which helped meet all the program requirements. We've also improved at planning trips during the best times for everyone involved. Plus, we started the Kids Club and created internship opportunities, making the program more impactful. These steps show how much we've grown and achieved through teamwork.
Lessons
2023
The primary hurdle we faced involved establishing a partnership with the West Fresno Family Resource Center (WFFRC). The process of building this collaboration not only consumed considerable time but was also complicated by turnover in our project manager for the program. This additional factor significantly prolonged the timeline for the full launch of our program.
2024
One way we plan to improve the OEP program next year is to further our curriculum implementation with the students in the Sweet Potato Afterschool program. We hope to relate these classes and activities to the nature trips we plan for the students.
