The Partnership Division would like to THANK the Interpretive Rangers for making the new Ur- ban Wildlife Youth Program a huge success. The nature program had a positive impact on the young participants. Below are thank you letters from two participants.

Dear Ranger Brown, Thank you for being a GREAT park ranger and a great friend to nature. I liked the hike because it was interesting. I disliked that we could not STAY LONGER!! I have never been hiking and it was a great first experience. Now I wanna go hiking again!! 3,000 to 5,000 acres. My feet still hurt!!

Dear Rangers, You guys and girls are awesome. I love everything. But I like the fire exercise the best. I hope I can do that again with you Rangers. You Rangers did great activities they were the best. I hope you Rangers be careful of your job. I hope you Rangers got everything to be safe and protected.

The 2013 Natasha Watley League Season officially ended on Monday, August 26th with a banquet at Algin Sutton Recreation Center. This year’s players were honored with trophies and a visit with Natasha Watley. Liyah Ferris, this year’s “4 Points of the Diamond Essay” winner was acknowledged for her achievement. Liyah wrote about how playing on the all-girls league has impacted her life. “Softball has taught me many things in life. In softball, I have duties, I have to be disci- plined, I have to be dedicated, and have dignity in myself. I was chosen for certain positions because I have a strong arm. This can be like my own life because I can be whatever I want when I grow up. I have grown as a person by learning how to play softball.” The Van Ness player’s inspiring essay won her a free trip to the National Professional Fast Pitch League Championship Game in Chicago where she watched Natasha’s team the USSSA Pride beat the 2-1. Great work, Liyah!!! They had been home for a couple of days but their excitement from their All-Star adventure was still showing in their smiling faces. Montecito Heights Recreation Center’s Dodgers team had just returned from New York City. The team represented the City of Los Angeles at the 5th Annual Junior Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Classic. The Jr. Classic is a friendly, round-robin tournament held each year during MLB All-Star Week. More than 100 young RBI base- ball players from across the country are brought together to play exhibition games and represent their cities. The tourna- ment also provides youth with the opportunity to participate in MLB All-Star Week events and other off-field experiences, in- cluding staying on a college campus and meeting celebrities and professional players. The Jr. All-Star experience creates quite an adventure for young athletes. And an adventure it was! There was strike-outs, wins, losses, injuries, a grand slam and new experiences. Most of the players were surprised when they were picked for the team but soon realized it was their hard work, determination and good sports- manship that helped them win their spots on the All-Star team. The 11-to-12 year old co-ed baseball squad was made up of 10 boys and 2 girls. Frank Rivera, Isaac Diaz, Frank Barajas, Angel Alvarez, Christopher Rivera, Christian Ortiz, Destiny Sanchez, Alexander Leon, Justin Gonzalez, Freddie Chavez, Luis Morales and Cindy Valle-Torres represented RAP proudly in the Big Ap- ple. Clemente Arrizon, Montecito Heights’ Recreation Coordina- tor, was the team chaperone and helped coach. It was a once in a lifetime experience for the entire team, most come from single parent homes and had never been on an air- plane or outside of their Highland Park neighborhood. Team coaches, Frank Rivera and Israel Diaz, also had special experi- ences. The trip was a homecoming for Coach Rivera who grew up in New York and is a Mets fan. It was Coach Diaz’s first visit to N.Y. and he said it was amazing to be there with a great group of kids and finally see the New York skyline in person. The RAP Dodgers were scheduled to play six games but ended up only playing four due to rain. They won two and tied two but the young players said it was the chance to play in the tourna- ment and overall experience that really mattered. Of course it was pretty cool to watch Luis Morales a grand slam in their 3rd game against Baltimore. Everyone ran out to home plate to meet him and cheer! Frank Barajas knew it was a special moment and made sure to run out and recover his friend’s grand slam baseball for a memento. In the their 2nd game they had to bring in relief pitchers Christopher Rivera and Cindy Valle-Torres who struck out all their batters. Both players did not expect to pitch during the tournament but they stepped up to the plate. “It was fun to watch Christopher, the littlest guy, come in and strike out one of the other team’s biggest players,” said Coach Rivera. Angel Alvarez said even though it was scary to see his team mate and friend Isaac Diaz injure his knee and get rushed to the hospital it made him realize how close the team had gotten. “The team was really sad but our coaches had us talk to each other more and we cooperated more with each other.” Off the field, the team got to attend the All-Star FanFest, All-Star Futures Game, Legends and Celebrity Softball Game, and the Homerun Derby; where they all got on the JumboTron and showed off their dancing skills! The players also listened to a pep talk from Darryl “DMC” Matthews McDaniels from legendary hip-hop group RUN DMC at their St. John’s University dormito- ries. The famous rapper stressed the importance to take ad- vantage of the opportunities available to them and make right and positive decisions. The RBI Program is a Major League Baseball youth initiative de- signed to provide opportunities to play baseball, encourage ex- cellence and achievement in education, and to teach the value of teamwork and other important life lessons for kids from un- derserved areas. RAP is one of three organizations that is a Los Angeles County affiliate for the MLB-RBI Program. MLB-RBI have been a long standing Department partner for many years. The launch of a revived RBI-RAP baseball program in Fall of 2012 has been successful. Montecito’s Recreation Co- ordinator Clemente has seen the program’s positive impact firsthand. “10 years ago we had about 87 kids participating in the center’s baseball program for $75. Now we have 558 kids playing baseball and paying only $25. The increase is definitely due to RBI.” The coaches and staff are proud of their team who played hard, made new friends and were voted the most well-behaved team. A special partnership thanks to Recreation Coordinator Clemen- te Arrizon and Team Coaches Frank Rivera and Israel Diaz. THANK YOU, MLB-RBI for providing a once and a lifetime expe- rience!!