Solar Youth

Nearby Shooting Rattles Solar Youth

by | Mar 13, 2020 2:22 pm | Comments (1)

Thomas Breen photo

Solar Youth’s Candace Wright and Joanne Sciulli at the nonprofit’s Westville Manor headquarters the day after the shooting.

Joanne Sciulli and Candace Wright had planned on talking about COVID-19 precautionary measures at Solar Youth’s all-staff meeting.

They instead ending up dealing with the traumatic fallout from a safety hazard even more immediate than the virus pandemic: a shooting that took place outside of the West Rock nonprofit’s headquarters right as kids were arriving for an after-school program.

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Solar Youth Kroons For Dough In Tough Environment

by | May 23, 2016 7:02 am | Comments (0)

Lucy Gellman Photos

Harrison.

Quintaisja Harrison didn’t know a lot about New Haven’s natural environment — or about nonviolent communication and public speaking — until she was in the third grade, and a budding organization called Solar Youth offered to take her on a field trip to West Rock with a few fourth graders from her school. There, members promised, she could experience some of the the city’s native topography and learn about Connecticut’s food chain.

The trip lasted a few hours. By its end, Harrison was hooked, and became a participant in Solar Youth’s education-based programs.

Fourteen years later, she’s still there, working as a volunteer educator to teach kids like her younger brother the same lessons that so enriched her childhood — and helped her become a better version of Tae, the version that you see standing here today.”

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Citycologists Go Exploring

by | May 13, 2009 5:55 pm | Comments (4)

citycologists.JPGNote: Fernando Betancourt Jr. attends New Haven’s Sound School. He wrote the following story as part of a school internship program.

On a cool April day, I joined Solar Youth’s Citycology group for a brief hike in the woods. During the hike adult educator Curtis and four other youth interns engaged the Citycology group comprised of 5 – 8 year-old youths in fun activities such as songs, story telling, and listening to animal noises. From walking on the hike with Citycology, I learned that these activities were designed to be more than just fun.

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