1800 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32301

1-850-222-5847

Gandy Printers won a trophy at the Tally Awards; but that’s not the point.

Several years ago a friend asked for help with a sponsorship for Capital City Youth Services; specifically printing for their Tally Awards. He’s a longtime customer and made a quick pitch why he was passionate about CCYS.  2017 is the fourth year we have participated.

This year we were happy to win a Tally Award, (for Technology – Graphic Design), as we’re proud of what we do. We got our picture taken and had a great time at the Tally Awards, but that’s not the point.

Here’s the point:

Leon County schools reported 870 homeless youth during the 2015-2016 school year

While delivering the programs I was given a tour by the CCYS Outreach & Development Director, who explained the scope and complexity of the organization’s mission. Twenty minutes later I had learned something important; there’s a large, unseen population of young people in the Big Bend who have no place to go for food, clothing, and shelter. I learned about the scarcity of services to alleviate the impact of teen homelessness. Most important, I learned about the multi-faceted approach CCYS takes to engage these young people.

To get an idea how large a need CCYS addresses, consider this: 

  • Leon County schools reported 870 homeless youth during the 2015-2016 school year, many of these youth are served by the CCYS emergency shelter.
  • CCYS served more than 1,250 youth last year across all programs.
  • CCYS’ crisis hotline is available 24 hours for referrals. Any youth, family member, caregiver, counselor, friend, etc. can call to see if CCYS can be of assistance.

To get an idea of how effective CCYS’s six programs are, consider this:

  • 82% of youth remain housed or employed after receiving street outreach services.
  • 92% remain non-adjudicated (have not been arrested) 6 months after receiving services.

If you might like to help, consider this: “CCYS works to alleviate the immediate problems of youth during runaway or other crisis situations, reunite runaway, transient and other youth in crisis with their families, strengthen family relationships, help parents and youth decide on future courses of action, prevent juvenile crime, and prevent domestic violence and abuse.”

Much as our customer asked us, we are asking you to support Capital City Youth Services. Gandy Printers is glad to know there are dedicated professionals undertaking this mission, and proud to be a sponsor.

by Hugh Butler, April 6, 2017