The post Dave Trout Charity Golf Tournament on March 23, 2013 Benefits ICAN Youth appeared first on ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth.

ICAN is one of the participating nonprofits and there are a few ways you can get involved!

• Designate ICAN as your nonprofit of choice
• Visit the ICAN Arizona Gives Day page and become a “fan”
• Share ICAN to family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Encourage your networks to learn about and give at least $10 or more through the ICAN Arizona Gives Day page on March 20
• Let everyone know all donations received by ICAN through Arizona Gives Day are tax deductible!
• You can even pre-schedule your donation for March 20 on the ICAN Arizona Gives Day website, just choose the option “On Giving Day” on the drop down menu
• Visit Coach and Willie’s in Chandler (1 E. Boston St.) between 11am – 11pm on March 20 and make a donation during your visit and if you show the staff you’ve made your donation in the restaurant, they will give you a 20% off coupon for your next visit.

All donations made on Arizona Gives Day will be matched dollar for dollar by First Credit Union, up to $1,000. ICAN is serving 67.1% more youth since June 2012 and every donation, no matter how big or small, makes a difference!

Just sharing the word about ICAN makes a difference to local youth. Jose F., age 16 is an example of a typical ICAN youth. He lives in a 3-bedroom home with 6 other family members and works part time to bring in the majority of the household income, making the prospect of dropping out of high school a very real possibility in order to be a central provider for his family. Jose has positive support at ICAN to help with his homework and life skills so he is able to focus on successfully graduating from high school and having the skills and resources he needs to guide him through his future.

Thank you to AlphaGraphics of Gilbert for promoting ICAN as their nonprofit of choice for Arizona Gives Day. They are offering a gift certificate that equals 100% of donations made to ICAN on Arizona Gives Day, and if you are interested in participating please contact Brandon Bagley at bbagley@alphagraphics.com.

Be sure to share this ICAN Arizona Gives Day page link as the place to give a donation on March 20:

http://azgives.razoo.com/story/Ican-Improving-Chandlers-Area-Neighborhoods

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Your ICAN Donation Could Qualify You For a Tax Break!

Donations given to Arizona nonprofits, such as ICAN, by December 31, 2012 are eligible for a tax break under the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit, also known as the Working Poor Tax Credit. The tax credit reduces tax liability for couples up to $400, and individuals up to $200. The credit is only available to donations given to charitable organizations labeled as 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.

East Valley nonprofit youth program, ICAN, is one of the qualifying nonprofits and greatly values the credit that brings in substantial financial support for their free youth programs. The Working Poor Tax Credit is important for nonprofits like ICAN, because the increase in donations helps support programs for the following year, while donors receive a tax break.

To learn more about the Arizona Working Poor Tax Credit, visit http://www.azdor.gov/TaxCredits/WorkingPoorTaxCredit.aspx.

The post Donate to ICAN Before End of Year for Tax Break Eligibility appeared first on ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth.

Every year ICAN and the community come together to provide one of the biggest free Thanksgiving dinners in the East Valley.

This event is very valuable to the community, especially to the at-risk youth and their families we provide services to. Many lack the resources to have a full Thanksgiving dinner that many of us are accustomed to having yearly. The ICAN Thanksgiving Dinner brings together community members to help coordinate and serve one of the largest Thanksgiving dinners. It’s always a fun time with plenty of games and live entertainment for the whole family!

The event is free for the public to attend and there are plenty of volunteer opportunities for those who want to get involved. We are currently in need of basic Thanksgiving dinner items including pies, canned green beans, canned corn, rolls, battery-powered tea lights, and food baskets to raffle off. If you are interesting in donation for the Thanksgiving dinner, please contact ICAN’s Family Programs Coordinator, Alicia, at alicia@icanaz.org. 

The post ICAN Annual Thanksgiving Dinner – November 14, 2012 appeared first on ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth.

The Teen Summit is a free event open to any teens, no matter if where they live and affiliation with ICAN or CCYSA. Nationally recognized guest speaker, Calvin Terrell will address the group on the affects of substance abuse on ones self and their community beginning at 9am. Break out sessions with community leaders from Chandler Police Department and MADD will take part immediately  following the guest speaker.  Lunch will be served at 12:30 followed by a car show, info booths, prizes and music from 101.5 Jamz DJs.

Guest speaker Calvin Terrell is founder and lead facilitator of Social Centric; an organization he designed to provide education and training for all ages to enhance human interactions and global progress. He is a former Assistant Director of the National Conference for Community Justice/Anytown USA Arizona Region. He has taught for Upward Bound at Arizona State University and the Arizona National Guard’s Freedom Academy. For more than twenty years, Calvin has lectured, trained, and lead comprehensive workshops for valuing diversity, equity, and justice building in schools, corporations, and civic organizations for thousands of adults, children, and youth throughout the United States.

The post Teen Summit 2K12 – September 22, 2012 – The Chandler Coalition on Youth Substance Abuse appeared first on ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth.

Voting is open to Facebook users at Facebook.com/ChaseCommunityGiving and for Chase customers at Chase.com/ChaseGiving. Chase will donate the $5 million to the 196 charities who receive the most votes, with awards as follows:

$250,000 to the charity receiving the most votes;
$100,000 to each of the next ten runner-up charities;
$50,000 to each of the next thirty-five runner-up charities;
$20,000 to each of the next fifty runner-up charities;
$10,000 to each of the next one hundred runner-up charities;

In June, Chase customers and employees came together to nominate the nearly 30,000 charities who make up the pool of participants for the 2012 program. All eligible nominated charities had the opportunity to receive an equal share in an additional $2.5 million grant by accepting their nomination by August 30th.

About Chase Community Giving

Chase Community Giving was introduced in 2009 as a new way forward for giving. It’s a program that lets fans of Chase Community Giving, and now Chase customers, vote to help determine where Chase donates millions of dollars. Since the program’s inception, nearly 3.5 million Facebook users have “liked” Chase Community Giving. In total, millions of people have helped Chase donate over $20 million to over 500 charities in 41 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Chase Community Giving is part of JPMorgan Chase’s annual giving, which totaled more than $200 million last year.

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/09/06/4241186/chase-community-giving-kicks-off.html#storylink=cpy

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This week we welcome back guest blogger, Alicia Perez, ICAN’s Family Programs Coordinator, regarding the upcoming ICAN Parent Café events starting next Tuesday, August 28, 2012!

On August 28^th ICAN will be hosting the first Parent Café from 8:30–10:30 am.  Parent Café creates a safe, comfortable place where parents can have their own conversations about the things that matter to their families, and learn about resources available in the community that can be helpful to them.  The Parent Café idea was created after several conversation with parents that participated in the Strengthening  Multi-Ethnic Families Program offered at ICAN.  They expressed the need to have support groups where they can share experiences and learned from other parents about issues they face with their children.

The sessions includes a time for open-ended questions guided by a facilitator, a presentation about the topic and the resources available for them, and a group discussion to share ideas and approaches that leads to stronger families.  Parent Cafes are also a great place to meet other people and make friends, and collaborate with others to build a stronger community for our families.

The topics for the Parent Café are suggested by the parents as well.  This month we will be talking about Bullying. The invitation is to every parent that wants to learn on how to prevent and identify bullying, share experiences on how to handle bullying situations, and want to help other kids that have been victims of bullying.

We all know that being a parent is not easy.  By building relationships with families, ICAN assists them in strengthening the protective factors that are already present in their lives.  The Parent Café will be a new way where families can get more information and the support they need to keep their children healthy and safe, and help them grow up to be successful members of their community.

The post ICAN Parent Café Offers East Valley Parents to Build Stronger Family & Community Relationships appeared first on ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth.

If you were out at Chandler Fashion Center over the past month, you might have noticed the big yellow bus inside the mall. The reason it was “parked” there was for the Fulton Homes Stuff the Bus at Chandler Fashion Center benefiting ICAN, an annual school supply drive that benefits Valley nonprofit organizations and the youth they serve.

This year ICAN was excited to be announced as the beneficiary of the annual “Stuff the Bus” drive and the opportunity to provide backpacks full of school supplies to many underprivileged ICAN youth who might not have the resources necessary to get the required school supplies for the upcoming school year. On Monday (August 6), the bus came to ICAN and dropped off the supplies which filled our halls! This Friday there will be a special event for ICAN youth to distribute backpacks full of supplies to help be prepared for academic success!

Thank you to Fulton Homes, Chandler Fashion Center, and 99.9 KEZ for making this opportunity possible and really making a positive impact to our youth and community! Thank you to all those who volunteered at the bus every single day including ICAN volunteers, ICAN staff & board members, and 360 Vantage, AlphaGraphics of Gilbert, Big Two Toyota-Scion of Chandler, DPR Construction, and National Charity League – San Tan. Here are a few videos posted by Marty Manning from 99.9 KEZ during the “Stuff the Bus” drive featuring ICAN’s own CEO, Becky Jackson:

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The end of summer was marked with our annual luau celebration on July 20, where 250 youth got to spend the day participating in crafts, dancing, and more fun! Throughout the day there were appearances from Spongebob Squarepants and Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba who hosted a dance party in our gym. Youth were extremely excited and had many more visitors from volunteers like the Flower Girls, Intel, and Bank of America. The day ended with a treat, every youth received a backpack full of essential school supplies for academic success from the Chandler Compadres. For the last 3 years, the Chandler Compadres have donated backpacks with the community helping to fill them up.

Thanks to everyone who made the Pack-a-Backpack Drive such a success including Chandler Compadres, 360 Vantage, Avnet, AlphaGraphics of Gilbert, Bank of America, Bernard’s Builders, Big Two Toyota-Scion of Chandler, Chasse Building Team, Edward Jones, The Hungry Monk, PayPal, Microchip, Tasti D-Lite Chandler & Chandler United Methodist Church.

Here are a few photo highlights from the day: (View the full album on the ICAN Facebook)

The post Summer Ends with 250 Backpacks for ICAN Youth Thanks to Chandler Compadres & Chandler Community appeared first on ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth.

ICAN’s youth programs are proven effective at preventing substance abuse, gang activity and other delinquency among youth through the development of life skills like “resilience.” Resilience refers to an individual’s ability to adapt to change and stressful events in a healthy and flexible way. Resiliency is critical in the prevention of gang activity because it boosts a child’s ability to “bounce back” from negative circumstance, choosing a positive path rather than the path of gang involvement.

Many people may not realize that gang activity is quite prevalent in the Chandler community, as evidenced by the following provided through ICAN’s Annual Community Needs Assessment:

• 9 rival gangs exist within the area (Chandler Police Department 2011)
• 4th riskiest Maricopa County community for youth (Arizona Department of Behavioral Health Services 2009 Needs Assessment)

Of 10 youth who live in the downtown Chandler area, you can expect to find: (ICAN Community Needs Assessment 2011)

• 7 living in extreme poverty, in household earning less than $25k per year for a family of four
• 8 will be using drugs or alcohol to cope with the harsh realities of the streets
• 4 will not graduate high school
• 2 will be gang affiliated by the age of 12

ICAN’s primary strategy is to prevent gang involvement through the building of social skills that allow for productive decision making by youth. Secondary to that, ICAN has also partnered with the Chandler Police Department’s Gang Unit to strongly impact gang involvement among older youth through bi-monthly “outreach & ride-alongs” to recruit at-risk youth into our programs and share an alternative to life on the streets. ICAN also partners with the Chandler Coalition on Youth Substance Abuse (CCYSA) to make positive community impacts.

If you would like to learn more about ICAN programs for youth ages 5-18 and getting youth registered, visit here or contact us at info@icanaz.org or 480.821.4207

The post Chandler, Arizona Community Issues: Gang Activity appeared first on ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth.