By Vivian Liu and Eva Raul
Partners for Change Tri-Valley is a Non-profit Organization that has worked tirelessly to equip and empower its members to chart their course out of poverty, through a transformational curriculum that focuses on life skills education, mentorship, and building relationships. All forms of poverty are addressed at Partners for Change, to ultimately see the participants, through their own efforts, lead a better way of life with a strong support group. Members are designated as “Participants” or “Mentors”. Participants seek to create change in their own lives, while the volunteer Mentors offer guidance.
The program offered by Partners for Change consists of three phases. Phase 1 offers transformational life skills training. Phase 2 is about going deeper in implementing the Phase 1 curriculum, developing leadership skills, setting personal goals, and forming intentional partnerships with other participants to help each other achieve their goals. Finally, Phase 3 is all about putting the educational component of reciprocity into action. The idea is to identify a need in the community, such as personal hygiene products, do a drive to collect them, and then share them with people and organizations to get them out to the community in need.
Currently, members meet each Tuesday evening from 6:00-8:00 in Livermore. Asbury Methodist Church collaborates by allowing the use of their building to facilitate the meetings. Dinner from Open Heart Kitchen offers a free meal, which encourages relationship building. The participants and volunteer mentors go through training, group discussions and activities, as well as some informational slideshows. Through these activities, participants support each other in achieving goals and learning their stories.
"Breaking through and sharing goals in itself is some emotional work,” said Stephanie Sanchez, a participant. “But realizing everyone at the table can potentially have your back and help you build a better plan, is encouraging.”
Sanchez, who had been accepted as a board member and elected as CFO, started off as a participant in the program to improve her own life. She was originally referred to the program in 2019 and has been a participant ever since, even throughout the Pandemic. Now, Stephanie is both a participant of Phase 2, as well as a mentor in Phase 1. In her position as a board member, she serves as a voice for other participants.
For another participant, Nina, the Tuesday-night meetings have also been extremely beneficial. Through Partners for Change, Mina now lives in a trailer home given to her by a previous participant who moved out of state. These opportunities to build relationship with others not only helped improve Mina’s mental health, the connections with others also helped Mina’s children. Mina’s daughter will be the first in her family to go to college and through Partners for Change, Mina’s daughter received guidance during the college application process.
In addition to the Partners meetings, Partners for Change has partnerships with other organizations, collaborating with the Livermore School District to create the YouthBuild program. YouthBuild is a program designed for students aged 17-24 who do not have their high school diplomas. The program offers the students life-skills training and trade skill certification to thrive in society.
Partners for Change, with its unique holistic view on poverty, has helped countless people in the community rise above poverty with their big-picture curriculum and strong support group. Near or far, the organization is willing to help anyone who steps into a meeting.
Partners welcomes new participants at any time.
For more information call or email Terri Molano at 510-773-6356 / Director@pfctv.org, or sign up online by clicking HERE.