More than 125 community leaders, elected officials and others recently attended a reception honoring Bright Futures for Youth cofounder and Executive Director Jennifer Singer at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center in Nevada City.
Singer will leave Bright Futures for Youth at the end of the year to spend more time with her family and consult for other nonprofit organizations and companies in the region. Singer announced her decision to leave the organization, formerly known as The Friendship Club, during the past summer.
Sienna Crawford, currently Development Director of Bright Futures for Youth, will become Executive Director on Jan. 1. Crawford has been with the organization for four years.
The Friendship Club started with a handful of high school and middle-school girls in 1995 and has expanded to serve several hundred children and young adults every month – or about one of every 11 young people in western Nevada County.
Bright Futures for Youth’s three core programs are The Friendship Club, the NEO Youth Center and SAFE, a program to help young people experiencing homelessness.
The nonprofit, largely funded by donations from individuals and small-business owners in the community, offers young people a range of services, from free meals and clothes to access to counseling and health care. But, most important, Bright Futures for Youth allows young people to connect with each other in a safe and supervised space.
“I’ve had the privilege of being around good, kind, loving, compassionate people who care about their community,” Singer said. “Bright Futures for Youth represents hope, goodness, care, love, creativity, partnership and community.”