NEWSLETTER 2019-2020 Everywhere on the APCH workshop, on the athletic field, world with everyone holding campus there is learning, in the gardens, and the kitchen, these values as their touch- laughter and creativity. It’s a the kids are learning to REACH stones? Lately it can feel like place where hundreds of kids by exploring and developing humankind is going backwards. Changing growing up in a rough neigh- themselves around the values of: However, with hundreds of kids borhood come every day to be Respect. crossing our threshold every the world safe and receive nourishment for Empathy. day and thousands more that their minds, bodies and spirits. Accountability. have grown up at APCH and starts at But, that’s just the beginning. Courage. are out in the world, we see the At APCH, we support and in- Hope. ripples of change getting stron- A Place Called spire young people to empower Our young people are volun- ger and moving us all forward. Home themselves, gain self-sufficiency, teering in the community, visiting Changing the world starts and use their talents to make the elders, distributing food and in your home, too. Please join world a kinder, healthier and school supplies, and figuring out us and start REACHing today! more just place for everyone. how to be of service everywhere In every classroom, studio and they go. Can you imagine a EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE U.S. military. the USA so extraordinary. we imagine how they will make My father’s work got him to The rising tide of white suprem- a difference. Will they be a con- the middle class and he taught ist violence against immigrants stitutional scholar? Will they be me and my brothers to never and people of color is real and in the trades, or a corporate ex- take this country for granted, and it’s ugly. Elected “leaders” are ecutive? A journalist, a teacher, to hold it to a high standard. betraying their own immigrant a cop or a counselor? We don’t Americans live this story every stories and desecrating the know exactly what’s ahead for day when we eat Chinese or Ital- Constitution, which was not them, but our mission is to make ian or buy tortillas and bagels at written to trumpet how “great” sure they leave APCH empow- the market, listen to Reggae and America is, but to hold us ered to look out for themselves What is an American? Salsa and R & B on the radio, accountable to our ideals. and to manifest the real go to a museum or the theater or The most important election American Dream… equity for My father’s family fled Eastern a concert. of our lifetime is coming, and all people. Europe and washed up on the Except for our Native Amer- young people will be the most shores of New York following a ican and enslaved African deeply affected by the outcome. promise of safety. He grew up in ancestors, most everyone in this It’s time to stand up for them so a ghetto and went on to be the country has an immigration story they can stand up for themselves. Jonathan Zeichner first in his family to get a college in their family, and it’s all this With every student we send to education and serve in the magnificent diversity that makes college or launch into a career, OUR MISSION A Place Called Home provides a safe, nurturing environment with proven programs in arts, education and wellness for the young people in South Central Los Angeles to help them improve their economic conditions and develop healthy, fulfilling and purposeful lives. GET INVOLVED YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE - Are you looking to make a difference in the lives of youth and families in need? Consider donating your time, talent and treasure to A Place Called Home! Here are ways YOU can get involved: JOIN OUR BOARD OF nities for enrichment and support DIRECTORS - Dedicated pro- through supervised one-to-one re- fessionals and philanthropists lationships between our members support our mission by steward- and caring adults in the commu- ing the organization’s fiscal and nity. Contact LIFEMentoring@ business management and rais- apch.org for more information. ing more than a million dollars VOLUNTEER - We’re looking each year. Contact jonathan@ for skilled, committed volunteers apch.org for more information. who want to donate their time JOIN OUR LEADERSHIP and talent. APCH is extending COUNCIL - A group of emerging APCH Board of Directors a special invitation to volunteers professionals from diverse back- supporters that want to stay with like-minded individuals in their retirement years. Your grounds and industries who want connected to APCH year round. while serving the greater good! wisdom and experience can to give back. Contact gilbert@ Members receive free tickets to Contact [email protected] for make a meaningful difference in apch.org for more information. APCH events, advance notice of more information. the lives of our young people! NEW! JOIN OUR SOCIAL volunteer opportunities and more. MENTOR - Our L.I.F.E. Mento- Contact [email protected] for CHANGE CLUB - SCC is for SCC is a great way to network ring program presents opportu- more information. Changing The World Starts Arts and Creative Expression 4 Donors List 11-14 at A Place Called Home 1 Counseling 6 Events 15 TABLE OF Executive Director’s Message 2 Educational Services 6 Community Engaement and CONTENTS Get Involved 2 Health, Nutrition and Volunteerism 15 Summer at APCH 3 Well-being 7 Message from the RISE High at APCH 3 Teen and Young Adult Sevices 8 Board Chair 16 2 SUMMER AT APCH Summer Fun Competitions Build Camaraderie Summer is an especially magical time at APCH and this year, we introduced the first ever summer fun competitions! Members from all age groups were divided into teams consist- ing of littles, middles and teens. Teams competed for victory in baseball, volleyball, and sand castle building at our beach days and Kids Day at Griffith Park. These activities were yet another opportunity for members to prac- tice REACH (Respect, Empathy, Accountability, Courage and Hope) values and a chance to build relationships with youth of different ages, resulting in greater unity among our members. In summer 2019, 40 members learned how to surf and our youth went on 75 field trips! RISE HIGH AT APCH RISE High at APCH is an innovative education partnership between A Place Called Home and Da Vinci Schools that services the highest opportunity youth in our community, including those in the foster care or probation systems and living without stable homes. RISE High R RESPECT where they receive daily Students Receive Onsite E constructive feedback Job Training EM PA THY and mentorship. A We find that students In addition to pursuing their ACCOUNTABILITY participating in the pro- high school education, many of C gram are excited to come our RISE students need to earn C O U R A G E to campus because not money to support themselves H only are they advancing or help support their families. H O P E in school, they are also In order to do so, they need interning to learn new training in vocational skills, skills and earn money! something that is missing from in the foster care and proba- nutrition, and life skills classes. And, the program is working. most high school curriculums. tion systems and who would Students are placed in APCH Previous interns have gone on to That’s where the APCH intern- otherwise need to get permis- departments ranging from Devel- secure full-time and part-time posi- ship program comes in! sions (from probation officers, opment to Nutrition and Urban tions in Los Angeles and beyond. Over the course of a term, social workers, court-appointed Agriculture (NUA) and Theater, Whether a student’s goal students can participate in advocates and guardians) and where they receive hands-on is to go to college or secure various 100-hour paid internships find transportation to work for training in administrative, cook- a job after high school, RISE on our campus. They develop an external employer. With an ing, technical skills and more. High and APCH are equipping skills and add experience to their on-campus internship, students Each student’s likes, dislikes and students with resources to rise resumes that help in their future can pursue their education and passions are taken into account above their current circumstances employment searches. Obtaining job training while receiving prac- when assigning them to a de- and pursue their educational job training on campus removes tical support and wraparound partment. They learn vocational and professional dreams. hurdles for our students who are services such as counseling, skills in a supportive environment 3 ARTS & CREATIVE EXPRESSION Arts & creative programs at APCH are thriving, from our theater program producing its very first full production to the music department’s debut of our first mariachi band, Mariachi Los Alcantraces! APCH is dedicated to using the arts for social and emotional development, while inspiring imagination and self-expression. Celebrating Art, Girlhood of creating original works of art. and Latinx Culture All the young ladies featured in the film have been members In celebration of Hispanic of APCH for years and have Heritage Month (Sept.15–Oct. had unique experiences via 15, 2019), five APCH members our Arts & Creative Expres- were filmed over the summer for sions programs. Some have a documentary that aired on the performed at the Walt Disney Disney Channel. The documenta- Concert Hall with the Inner City ry highlights how the arts impact Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, their lives as young women in others opened for Diana Ross South Los Angeles, and more with the APCH Dance Company importantly, how being part of and one helped raise funds for the Latinx community defines and APCH programs by creating shapes who they are.