A 2nd grade girl in our after-school programs might not yet have heard of American Career College/West Coast University, Balboa Bay Resort, Caribou Industries, Heidi and Ruben Mendoza or Toyota Financial Services—but these generous Foundation for Success supporters have certainly heard of her!

That’s because our luncheon “Presenting Sponsors” have given so generously of time, talent and financial resources to support the event that raises the crucial dollars to support our vital after school programs enjoyed by that second grader and hundreds of other children and youth. This year, we are excited to announce that we have more presenting sponsors than in the history of the Foundation For Success Luncheon. We invite you to get to know our Presenting Sponsors a little bit better:

American Career College & West Coast University: David Pyle philanthropist, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of American Career College and shareholder of West Coast University, has generously supported KidWorks for many years. His organizations have been a Foundation for Success “Presenting Sponsor” since the second year of the event. Yet, David does so much more for our students. He meets with them to discuss their career path, and provides interns to serve in our programs. He and his team have donated hundreds of hours serving at KidWorks. David has also been a major donor to the campaign that helped make possible the expansion of our Dan Donahue Center.

Balboa Bay Resort: The Balboa Bay Resort management Team began supporting KidWorks as a result of the 2013 Foundation for Success luncheon. They have been supporters ever since. We deeply appreciate their consistent generosity on behalf of KidWorks in so many ways. This includes a major gift from their family foundation that contributed to the expansion of our Dan Donahue Center.

Caribou Industries: Mike Harrah, President, has a kind heart and generous spirit for children, youth and their educations. Since connecting with KidWorks in 2015, he has been one of our most generous supporters. This has included the Foundation for Success luncheons, as well as our annual KidWorks Classic Golf Tournament, where he was Title Sponsor in 2017.

Heidi & Ruben Mendoza: Heidi and Ruben Mendoza have been KidWorks supporters since the beginning of our mission to serve children, youth and families in central Santa Ana. Ruben was instrumental in the building of the original Dan Donahue Center and has been actively involved in the recent major expansion of that facility. Both Heidi and Ruben continue to support KidWorks in countless ways.

Toyota Financial Services – Mike Groff, President & CEO, received the 2016 Dan Donahue Leadership award at last year’s Foundation for Success luncheon. That was the first year the award was presented. Toyota Financial Services has been a Presenting Sponsor since the first luncheon, and ever since. His company also donated four vans to KidWorks, which are part of helping us run smoothly each day.

To learn how you can be part of our Foundation for Success Luncheon, please visit: http://kidworksoc.org/foundation-for-success/

Campus Crash is hosted every spring break; We visit college campus. All KidWorks high school students are invited. We learn about what it takes to get to college, what it’s like living on campus, among other things.

This year, 26 of our youth participated. We visited Cal State San Bernardino, California Baptist University, Cal State Los Angeles, and East Los Angeles Community College. We also got the special treat of visiting the Santa Ana Police Department.

It’s important for the youth to learn about different college systems and to visit different campuses so they get a better idea of what they want in a college campus.

Because of trips like these, students chose to apply to colleges out of their comfort zone.

For some seniors, it is their “make or break” deal; they get to visit a campus where they’ve been accepted.

- Daniela Valenzuela, College and Career Coordinator