P.O. Box 880706
San Diego, CA 92168-0706
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Welcome to juvenile court book club
San Diego, California
JCBC Program Update 10/10/2021
Dear Volunteers and Potential Volunteers,
Many thanks for all of your patience during this time of Covid. As most of you know, Juvenile Court Book Cub has been suspended for many months due to the pandemic and the fact that the juvenile facilities we serve have been closed to all visitors. We did conduct a few Book Club meetings via Zoom and most of the teachers were working virtually from their homes.
As to the future we are slowly getting back on track. Two new facilities for girls transitioning from Juvenile facilities to the world at large have been created and Book Club has been asked to open our literacy program in both places. One is in Vista and one is in La Mesa. Right now we are putting together a bi-monthly schedule for each of them. We are also in the process of finalizing the security clearances that will be needed to satisfy the requirements of the San Diego County Office of Education. These clearances include volunteers and tutors.
The Juvenile Hall facilities (near Rady Children’s Hospital) have been experiencing some outbreaks of Covid and the staff has closed the facilities to outsiders. We are hoping to resume Book Club meetings there as soon as possible. We are also juggling new security clearance requirements demanded by Probation and we are trying to finalize what will work best for all of us.
As soon as we can finalize all of these elements I promise to get back to you with how to proceed,
Once again, many thanks for your patience!
Regards,
Bobbie
About Juvenile Court Book Club
Juvenile Court Book Club is a 501(c)(3) public-benefit nonprofit organization run entirely by volunteers. We operate innovative literacy programs inside San Diego's youth detention facilities.
Since 1996, JCBC volunteers have collaborated with Court School employees and the San Diego County Probation Department to provide students who are wards of Juvenile Court to share books, develop reading skills, and meet new people. Our programs include monthly Book Club discussions, one-on-one tutoring, independent reading libraries, and college scholarship awards.
Students gather monthly with community volunteers to discuss a wide range of literature in a roundtable book club setting. The books they read serve as a springboard for discussions of real-life challenges, experiences, inspiration, and issues that are relevant to students in detention.
JCBC was founded by Judge Maria Arroyo (Ret.), Juvenile Court Referee, with support and encouragement from Judge James Milliken (Ret.), former Presiding Judge of the San Diego Juvenile Court. Many of our volunteers are attorneys and retired teachers, and have volunteered with us for more than ten years.
We gratefully acknowledge financial support from numerous partners in the local community. Our supporters include:
- CECO County Employees Charitable Organization
- Dr. Seuss Foundation
- Friends of Children United Society
- Hervey Family Non-endowment Fund
- Lawyers Club Fund For Justice
- Price Charities
- Rancho Santa Fe Women's Fund
- San Diego Council on Literacy
- San Diego Indigent Criminal Defense Fund
- Wong Family Foundation
- And many others
JCBC is the proud winner of the award for "Outstanding Program for Youth" from the San Diego Juvenile Justice Commission, as well as the 2015 “Distinguished Organization” Service Award from the San Diego County Bar Association and the 2011 "Celebrate Literacy Award" from the Greater San Diego Reading Association.
Thank you Girl Scout Troop 2208
Thank you to the girls and leaders of Girl Scout Troop 2208 who made and painted a beautiful bookshelf and stocked it full of over 400 books for babies and toddlers for the girls at Girls Rehabilitation Facility (GRF) to read to their children and younger siblings during visits. The children will also be able to take a new book home with them. Thanks also to San Diego Council on Literacy for the $500 grant for baby books for this project.
Bookshelf and books provided by GS Troop 2208 to GRF.
Girl Scouts of Troop 2208 who built a bookshelf and provided baby and toddler books for girls at GRF.
Supervisory Probation Officer Tyra Myles explains the programs at GRF to GS troop 2208.
Supervisory Probation Officer Tyra Myles answers questions about GRF during visit from GS Troop 2208.
Open Letter to FOCUS - Friends of Children United
To the members of FOCUS,
Thanks for your generous grant monies recently donated to our Juvenile Court Book Club. In the past two years, you have given us approximately $4300 which acquired 430 copies of 18 different titles for the boys of Unit 800, San Diego Juvenile Hall.
I tell the students, “Your books are given to you by people who’ve never met you. These people feel you are worth their time and their money.” It’s hard to assess if this sinks in – they are teenage boys, after all.
But I hope it does. This is the challenge volunteers working with these kids face. We invest time and effort trying to give skills and viewpoints to this population, yet we’ll never know if we succeed.
However trying is worthwhile. Certainly, if no effort is made, changes won’t occur. Most of the boys openly share that they never read before being detained at juvenile hall. Now without phones, computers, internet, TVs or iPods, books are all they have. They are discovering reading is something you do for yourself, not for a school assignment.
And they are affected by the books. I remember a boy in one of the discussions emphatically stating how he “hated the book.” He then proceeded to analyze it with animated, well thought out ideas. Another book had a character that lost his parents at a young age. One of the students opened up about the death of his own parents. Another shared (after reading “Hamlet” no less!) the regret of actions taken or not taken that cannot be undone. How many students are affected by reading but don’t share? We’ll never know, but I feel there are many.
Mr. Rogers said, speaking of the tragedies occurring in the world and in our lives, “My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” In this day and age, we can all benefit from doing this.
You at FOCUS are true helpers. Your generous donations help these boys to read, think, format ideas and express them aloud. Hopefully this gives them skills and insights to change their lives. Again, thank you for your generous donations to the Juvenile Court Book Club. They are vastly appreciated.
Tadd Mannino
Unit 800 Site Coordinator, Juvenile Court Book Club
Greater San Diego Reading Association Event April 23, 2016
Upon accepting the award, Jennifer asked the crowd (mostly teachers) to go out of their way to ensure that previously-detained teenagers feel welcome once they return to their regular classrooms.
JCBC is grateful to GSDRA for recoginizing its efforts to encourage students attending Court schools to read.
San Diego Council on Literacy Affilated Programs
Juvenile Court Book Club is represented by board member Joan Stein (middle row, second from left) at a meeting of the Affiliate literacy groups of San Diego Council on Literacy. Executive Director of San Diego Council on Literacy, Jose' Cruz, is in the back row center.
Honors for JCBC
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Juvenile Court Book Club has been selected as the Distinguished Organization of the Year by the San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA). The award is given annually for "outstanding service by a group, the contributions of which over a period of time have had a significant favorable impact on some facet of the legal system." View the press release here.JCBC is a proud member of the San Diego Council on Literacy
P.O. Box 880706
San Diego, CA 92168-0706
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