SAN francisco's foster grandparent program (FGP), sponsored by the felton institute/family service agency (FSA), is committed to meeting the critical needs of our community

FGP volunteers are active, vital, and community-minded adults age 55 and over who are placed in meaningful volunteer opportunities that increase the capacity of school and community-based programs for children. Our FGP volunteers foster trusting and supportive relationships with the children they serve, helping to nurture the social, cognitive, and emotional development of each child. The program began in 1965 as part of the original pilots in the country and continues to be an essential part of the education and support of SAN francisco children, as well as an important way to bring meaningful and stipend, volunteer opportunities to low-income seniors in our community. Program partners include 25 volunteer stations consisting of: 19 infant and preschool programs, 3 elementary schools, 1 after-school program (with plans to develop 1 additional after school programs), and 1 counseling center. Our FGP volunteers provide significant services and educational support to children and their families struggling with poverty and other social issues. The majority of our pre-schools in our portfolio are head start programs, and thus by their own eligibility criteria, serve primarily low income, high need families. The majority of our elementary schools served by FGP volunteers are supporting children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The majority of our volunteer sites offer services in multiple languages including cantonese, mandarin, spanish, tagalog, and russian. In response to requests from volunteer stations, we have recruited a multi-ethnic, multilingual volunteer corps where 82% speak languages other than english. FSA is requesting a grant of $298,818 to recruit, train, and place 47 VSY (volunteer service years) with a grantee share of $40,254.00 or an amount of $339,072. The specific service activities and focus are incorporated in four work plans and comply with the corporation for national and community service (CNCS) regulations and strategic initiatives. We designed the work plans to support children and youth in improving and increasing their literacy skills, school readiness, and positive socialization, in school, community, and clinic-based volunteer sites. Work plan #1 encompasses our largest group of volunteers with 35 volunteers assisting in general classroom activities, including reading, art, and music, and encouraging positive behavior and socialization with children age 0 to 5. We project that FGP volunteers in this plan will serve 140 children at 19 preschool sites. Work plan #2, 7 volunteers provide service in SAN francisco unified school district elementary schools through collaborations with experience corps and reading partners, and we project that 28 children age 5 to 11 will be served annually. Work plan #3, 4 volunteers will provide service in school-based and community-based settings in both individual and group literacy sessions, projecting to serve 16 children age 5 to 12. Work plan #4 provides support in a clinic-based setting and is our smallest work plan with 1 volunteer serving in 1 volunteer site, providing regular socialization and comfort to children of parents receiving clinic services. We project the volunteer will serve 6 children in this work plan.