Did you receive the KidWorks January Hope Report in your mailbox this week? If not, check it out HERE.
Want a hard copy? No problem! Copies are available at the KidWorks Dan Donahue Center. Pick up at the front desk Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm, 1902 W. Chestnut Avenue, Santa Ana, CA. 92703.
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KidWorks Students Give Thanks
We asked our students "What are you thankful for?" and they had some great answers!
“What I’m the most thankful for is the KidWorks Center.”
-Cynthia Ramirez
“What I’m the most thankful for is you guys being here to help us with the homework.”
-Joselyn Torres
“What I’m the most thankful for is the opportunity for new experiences at KidWorks Programs.”
-Isabel Rivas
“What I’m the most thankful for is the center. It has helped me improve my homework and grades.”
-Sophia Sanchez
“What I’m the most thankful for is the neighborhood cleanup event.”
-Cynthia Espinoza
“What I’m the most thankful for is my baby brother and food.”
-Natalie Beltran
“What I’m the most thankful for is the support of my family and friends. The opportunity to get an education.”
-Gabriel Beltran
Giving Thanks: Karen Gallardo-Cano
Editor’s note: We’re delighted to present the third installment in our latest blog series, Giving Thanks. As everyone prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving, we feel this is the perfect time to invite KidWorks’ friends and families to share a little about what they are most thankful for. Look for another installment next week!
Karen Gallardo-Cano knows exactly the blessings she’s thankful for this holiday season. In fact, they number in the dozens. No, they are not material goods. This high school sophomore and KidWorks student is most thankful for the many KidWorks staff members, volunteers and fellow students who have positively impacted her life.
“I am so grateful to everyone who is in my life because of KidWorks,” she says. “The staff and volunteers always push me to go the extra mile. They sit by my side and let me know that I matter.”
Karen takes her appreciation for others and applies it to her leadership position as president of Community Leaders of Santa Ana (CLOSA), our youth-led organization that helps improve the surrounding neighborhood with cleanup, sponsored events and other activities.
Like a good leader, she is quick to say “thanks” to her team, including Maria Contreras, vice president, Nancy Cervantes, secretary and all the CLOSA membership.
“They are amazing,” Karen says.
Karen is also thankful for each of the 24 hours in a day. Without a doubt, she fits all she can into her waking hours. Karen is a member of the green environmental club at Valley High School and serves as Associated Student Body Vice President for the class of 2019.
And did we mention that she also makes time to play on the school’s varsity and junior varsity water polo teams?
Speaking of giving thanks, we are so grateful to Karen for being a KidWorks student for 11 years, and for the time she spends as a volunteer helping other children and youth.
Now, if someone could just invent the 30-hour day, Karen would find a meaningful way to fill that time, too!
By Glenn Leibowitz, Volunteer Content Writer
St. Andrew's Comes to KidWorks for a Serve Day!
Thank you St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church for coming to KidWorks for your Serve Day 2016. KidWorks has been a long time ministry partner of St. Andrew's and on Saturday, September 17th, many members of their congregation came to our Dan Donahue Center for a Serve Day.
Volunteers hosted a carnival for our families and participated in reading buddies with our K-5th grade students. Another team of volunteers revamped our storage space to accommodate more instruments for our music program, Avanti.
Avanti leader, Joe Cristina, led a group of volunteers in working directly with our music students and we ever had a parenting workshop.
Here are some photos from our event!
A Closer Look: KidWorks’ Programs: KidWorks University Workshops
Editor’s note: We are pleased to introduce our latest blog series, “A Closer Look: KidWorks’ Programs.” We offer a full range of programs for children, youth and adults. In this series, we focus on several of aspects, giving you a peek into what makes these programs tick—and sharing a few “little known secrets”!
You can always tell when KidWorks posts the list of workshops conducted by our volunteers: Students crowd around the sheet, clamoring to sign-up for their favorites.
“Whether its music or woodworking, our KidWorks University workshops fill up fast,” says Noemi Juarez, KidWorks’ Director of After School Programs.
The workshops are individually tailored for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The idea behind KidWorks University is twofold: First, it allows our students to learn to make the choices they’ll increasingly face as their educations progress, such as what major to select in college. Secondly, it also gives the students a chance to develop their creative sides, which is part of our “whole student” approach to academics, character and spiritual development.
“In many ways, KidWorks University starts to give our students a taste of what a college or university environment will be like,” Noemi says. “They develop skills and interests, and even have the chance to try something new, to have a variety of experiences.”
Variety definitely describes KidWorks University. Classes have included music (classical, folklorico and more), ballet, acrylic painting, pop art, chess, soccer, physical fitness, computers, cooking, electronics (where they made their own flashlights) and poetry.
“Surprise—poetry was more popular than I thought it was going to be!” Noemi says.
She points out that the workshops are all volunteer-led. Each workshop is four to five sessions and there are three to four workshop cycles each year.
“The volunteers are so passionate about their skills, talents and hobbies,” Noemi says. “They are so delighted to share them with our students. Some volunteers have been conducting workshops at KidWorks for years.”
Noemi says that workshop leaders have included anyone with a passion for something they want to share. Volunteer workshop leaders have included high school and college students, Boy Scouts, professionals and retirees.
Interested in leading a workshop? Just let us know. Our students are sure to fill every seat!
By Glenn Leibowitz, Volunteer Content Writer
Our Students Win Top Honors in Art Contest Promoting Fair Housing
Two young KidWorks students were recently recognized not only for their artistic talent, but also for their social awareness.
Fifth graders Lesly and Aaliyah took first and third place respectively in a poster contest sponsored by the Fair Housing Council of Orange County.
The students’ artwork was selected from among hundreds of posters submitted by students in grades four and five.
“The contest gave KidWorks students an opportunity to learn about fair housing laws and to depict what they learned in an artistic style that represents their views on fair housing choice,” says Kriss Goss-Marr, our Director of After School Programs.
The winning students were presented with a framed picture of their poster, a certificate, and a cash prize.
“I couldn’t believe that I had gotten third place out of all of those drawings,” Aaliyah says. “I just drew a house with all the things that I would want for my family in my home.” She is a student at our Bishop Manor center.
Lesly and Aaliyah are also applying the lessons they learned at KidWorks about financial literacy. Both plan to save the money they were awarded.
“It’s inspiring to see our students envision their ideas about fair housing choice. Many live in overcrowded and very difficult home environments where it would be easy to get discouraged. However, this contest provided encouragement to dream and create change so that fair housing laws and healthy living conditions would be a reality for all.”
Living Out Our Mission in Santa Ana
18 corporate groups, nearly 700 volunteers, over 3000 pairs of shoes, and 1 amazing goal. Saturday, May 21, 2016 was an amazing day of partnership in Santa Ana. KidWorks joined forces with Love Santa Ana Initiative and OneOC for a day of beautification projects at Madison Elementary School and beyond!
Employees from Disneyland, Pacific Life, and Taco Bell, and other corporations teamed up with local community groups to benefit KidWorks and the community here in central Santa Ana.
“Our commitment is to restore at-risk neighborhoods one life at a time ... with the goal of transforming the neighborhood”
Our Youth Have a ‘Bucket List’ to Help the Environment
For four years, we, the Youth Empowerment Network Compost program, have recycled and processed more than 60,000 pounds of organic waste into nutrient-rich compost. Our goal is not only to reduce waste in landfills but also to create our own soil for use in our garden and to share with the community.
Our program creates opportunities for other youth to get involved with their community and learn about agriculture.
We collect buckets of waste from families in our neighborhood and process it in our garden. However, the bucket lids are not very pleasing to families because they are difficult to open.
The money raised will be used to replace the lids to more manageable ones. The funds would be appreciated any time between April 12 and May 7th. Replacing the bucket lids is important because the families contribute significantly to our program, and this would be a way of showing our gratitude.
On May 7th, we will be honoring the families' participation in our program by hosting a dinner at our community center. We would love to surprise them!
We,the youth, would be extremely grateful for any funds, even the smallest amount would be appreciated and be of help to us.
Interested in helping?
Thank you,
Youth Empowerment Network's Compost Program
2nd Annual iHeartOC Successful!
Yesterday, at noon, the giving lines for the 2nd Annual iHeartOC Giving Day closed. We raised an amazing $70,750 (matching amount pending) and ranked 3rd place out of nearly 400 other Orange County based non-profits who participated in the 30 hour giving spree.
Because of the generous support we have received, we will be able to provide nearly 300 KidWorks students with a summer safe haven. Our students will have the opportunity to explore new interests and spread their wings in ways they might not be able to during the school year. This summer, our students will be encouraged and empowered to dream big!
Our supporters make it possible for us to focus all of our attention on pouring into the lives of kids that need it most, so for that we say thank you! Our deepest gratitude to each and every person that partners with us and calls KidWorks family!