Lots of Youth Are Getting Engaged Our Mission
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CHANGING THE WORLD STARTS AT HOME NEWSLETTER LOTS OF YOUTH ARE GETTING ENGAGED ...WITH THEIR COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD Some mornings when that alarm there are so many urgent needs in our in partnership with JVS, is providing goes off you just want to stay in bed, community and the world that our aptitude testing, training and pull up the covers and turn the music young members want to dive into. paid internship opportunities for our up loud or dive into a screen… escape Here’s what’s new at APCH: teens at dozens of businesses in from the world, right? Or maybe spend • The Bridge, our Teen & Multidisci- the community. the day with headphones on, exercis- plinary Arts Center, is up and running, • Our third Community Garden, this ing your thumbs on your phone. It’s and has increased our daily capacity one in partnership with St. Patrick’s called “cocooning” and people are on campus by 40%! Church, includes flowers for our doing it a lot these days. Avoiding the • RISE at APCH, an innovative inte- Social Enterprise class and an out- world and each other to reduce the grated high school partnership with door kitchen for hosting Community • constant assault on our values, the Da Vinci Schools, is designed to serve Harvest Dinners! rudeness, the dangers we can’t control. the youth at most risk in our commu- • And, coming soon, a Theater Arts At A Place Called Home we believe nity. RISE starts at 8:30am and dove- program in our new state of the art that if you stay in your cocoon all tails seamlessly into APCH’s afternoon “Aunt Marion Brucker Community 2017-2018 day you are depriving the world of and evening wraparound programs Auditorium” at The Bridge. your gifts, positive energy and ideas, and services. All at The Bridge! If you’ve ever seen a butterfly which are needed more than ever. • A Civics & Community Engage- emerge from a cocoon and take flight, Also, you’re depriving yourself of the ment class to educate and empower you know how it evokes a sense of chance to make new friends, learn young people and parents to get freedom, inspiration and new possibil- new things, and discover new possi- involved in community issues, service, ity. When a young person joins A Place bilities and ways to contribute. Every local politics, and beyond. And, APCH Called Home, the world opens up for minute at APCH is filled with op- is now a polling place! them just like that. And they fly! portunities to engage with people, • A Social Enterprise & Entrepreneur- We all need to cocoon once in projects, nature, food, art, politics, ship class to teach youth to de- awhile, but we invite and encourage and more – and to have an impact velop and market APCH products and you to get out from under the covers on the world around you. services to the community, including and turn off the screen – come join Yep, we have added more capacity homegrown flowers and produce, mu- the youth at APCH in spreading your and programs again! Why? Because sic, artworks, culinary treats and more! wings and exploring the possibilities. we still have a large waiting list and • A Vocational Pathways program, It turns out they are unlimited! WHAT'S INSIDE OUR MISSION Executive Director Message 2 A Place Called Home provides a safe, nurturing environment Programs 3-9 with proven programs in arts, education and wellness Community 10 for the young people in South Central Los Angeles to help them Events 11 improve their economic conditions List of Donors 12-14 and develop healthy, fulfilling and purposeful lives. Volunteer Opportunities 16 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE Sometimes anger is exactly what’s AT A PLACE CALLED HOME, ALL ARE WELCOME called for, but hatred is a denial of humanity. Share honestly about the shadows of the past, so history doesn’t repeat itself. Let them know that, paradoxical as it may seem, there is still abun- dant possibility and reason for hope for the future. Engage: march and petition and speak out and sing and vote and ad- vocate and lead for what you believe in – together we are a mighty force. Volunteer and support: A Place Called Home and other organiza- As I write this, it is Fall 2017, an in- spect women. We value black lives. with many flaws and rough edges. tions working for social justice are tense time in the United States and We embrace LGBTQI community Still, at A Place Called Home, we good places to put your energy and in the world. A time in which hatred members and all genders. We wel- keep hope alive every day and we resources. We are not just fighting has become more visible and influ- come immigrants and refugees. We pledge allegiance to the best inten- hate, we are empowering love, and ential than many if us have seen in stand with all peoples of all origins tions of the United States of America. we need you! our lifetimes. and we support people of all faiths. Let’s keep working to take the dream In service, And so, A Place Called Home reaf- We dedicate ourselves to building closer to reality. firms its commitment to love and to community and we honor every hu- Some ideas about helping the serving vulnerable young people man being, even those we don’t young people in your life through Jonathan Zeichner and families and continually working agree with. these times: to heal the world. The United States is still a young Let them know that anger and ha- At A Place Called Home we re- country – an ongoing experiment tred are not the same thing. WE WELCOME ALL RACES ALL GENDERS ALL ABILITIES ALL PEOPLES AND CULTURES ALL COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN ALL BELIEF SYSTEMS ALL SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS WE STAND WITH YOU apch.org YOU ARE SAFE HERE @apch2830 #equalitypledge #apch 2 EVERY DAY AT APCH CAN BE A GREAT DAY Our annual summer kickoff event has always been Kids Day, a day of pure fun to reward all the hard work our members have done during the school year. It’s a joyful experience to see our youth run from activity to ac- tivity and return to get in line for their second, third, and sometimes even fourth turns! This year we extended the oppor- tunity to our members’ parents and honestly we could not tell who was more excited, the kids or their par- ents! At A Place Called Home, we’re fortunate to have an incredible network of parents and families who volunteer at our events and support our efforts year-round. One parent passionately thanked us for provid- ing a safe and nurturing environment for her child. She explained the hard- ships that her family has experienced A SUMMER TO BE TREASURED FOR A LIFETIME and how this moment - seeing her child run, cotton candy in hand and There is nothing quite like an treated to a variety of unique and came back and brought a friend! (We a huge smile across her face - is APCH summer, and 2017 was no exciting experiences including miss you Pearl!). For other members, exactly why she brings her daughter exception! We kicked off the fun with museum visits, trips to Griffith it was the day of the annual Puppet to APCH every day. APCH’s annual Kids Day, which saw Observatory, the Hollywood Bowl, Parade, or when they went sailing or We were pleased that after we the members enjoy a variety of fishing, surfing, camping, horseback fishing and made their first catch! opened The Bridge we were able to games, such as an inflatable obstacle riding, the beach and more. In total, The beauty of summer at APCH is reduce our waiting list from 1,000 in course, human foosball, and giant our members were treated to 73 that there is a wonderful moment 2016 to 700 in 2017, but we never connect four. Our teens particularly fieldtrips over 9 weeks of summer for everyone; whether it’s witnessing forget that those kids also deserve loved the giant sumo suits! programming! a member going on the trip they the safety, love, joy and possibility Who wouldn’t?! It’s difficult to pinpoint the most had looked forward to all year, that comes with being a member of Field trips are a highly anticipated interesting day or even week of a parent hearing how their child A Place Called Home. and favorite part of summer. As soon summer at APCH; for some of the conquered their fears and stood up as spring hits, the kids start asking kids it was the day when they met a on a surfboard, or a staff member what trips we have planned for mini horse for the first time, or catching the look in a child’s eyes as summer! In 2017 our members were perhaps it was the day the mini horse they witnessed the beauty of the Pacific Ocean for the first time, they are all moments to be treasured fo a lifetime. • 73 fieldtrips • 5919 lunches • 8180 snacks APCH programs and services • 1,020 popsicles 5 • 2 movie nights are delivered via • 1 Kids Day five core departments: • 1 Fashion Show Educational Services, • 1 Puppet Parade Health, Nutrition • 2 Open Mic Nights & Well-being, • 2 mini horses Creative Expressions, • Special Trips: Bridge to the Future, and Surf Camp, Fishing, Community Engagement Horses in the Hood & Volunteerism 3 EDUCATION SERVICES MAPPING THE FUTURE In 2017 the APCH Educational “Donuts,” to share this magic with cur- Services Department covered the rent and future members.