Our Dance Students Meet Club Alumnus Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland with our San Pedro Club and Wilmington Club 

dance students and dance instructors Nathan Billingslea and 

Gracie Delgado at a recent promotional event for Misty’s memoir.

We aim to motivate our youth to break down barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential. One of our most inspiring alumni, Misty Copeland, is proof that our youth, regardless of their beginnings, can overcome obstacles and accomplish greatness.

Misty Copeland as a soloist in “Le Corsaire” with the American Ballet Theatre.

Misty Copeland is the first black female soloist in the American Ballet Theatre in over 20 years and is only the second black woman to hold that position. She has her own line of dance wear, has appeared in commercials for Diet Dr Pepper and Coach handbags and is the national youth of the year ambassador for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

In her youth, Misty and her siblings participated in after-school programming at the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club. Her recent memoir, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, describes our San Pedro Club as one of the few places that she felt comfortable in her upbringing while dealing with financial and emotional struggles (Copeland, 2013 p. 30).

When Misty was 13 years old, she joined ballet classes offered at the Club. Although she was starting ballet training for the first time, she quickly showed amazing ability and grace. Misty’s training intensified and she was ultimately awarded a scholarship to American Ballet Theatre’s summer program. She joined the junior studio company in 2000 and then the senior troupe in 2001.

Earlier this month, several high school dance students from our San Pedro and Wilmington Clubs were given the opportunity to meet Misty and receive copies of her memoir thanks to Live Talks Los Angeles. Our youth heard Misty give a live interview and were able to ask her questions during a Q&A portion. One of our San Pedro Club dance students asked if Misty ever felt discouraged when faced with challenges in her neighborhood or at home. Misty immediately responded that facing those challenges only made her push harder to accomplish her goals and she found solace in dance.

Misty was able to start dance training due to the free ballet lessons offered at our Club to youth members who seek creative outlets and opportunities to develop their skills. We have expanded and improved our arts education since then, thanks to inspiring stories like Misty’s.

Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, was released in March and details Misty Copeland’s journey to dance stardom.

Wilmington Boys & Girls Club Celebrates Women’s History Month

Gabriela Medina, Cecilia Moreno and Lupe Lopez participating in our panel event.

March is Women’s History Month and our Wilmington Club celebrated by commemorating local female leaders in the Los Angeles Harbor area who inspire our youth. Our Keystone student leadership group coordinated a panel event with Cecilia Moreno, Port of LA Community Affairs Advocate, Lupe Lopez, United Way of Greater Los Angeles Administrative Coordinator, and Gabriela Medina, Field Deputy for Councilmember Joe Buscaino, as moderator.

Our Keystone created table center pieces honoring 

celebrated women throughout history.

Our Keystone group prepared the event with guidance from Wilmington Club High School Center Director Hilda Chacon. Tables were decorated with center pieces honoring famous women throughout history at this afternoon event for our youth, staff and board members.

Ms. Medina lead the panel asking Ms. Moreno and Ms. Lopez about the decisions they made in their youth to accomplish greatness. Both have strong ties to the Wilmington community and have each served as Honorary Mayor of Wilmington. They both expressed admiration for our Club’s College Bound program and stressed the importance of hard work in the face of adversity. They advised our youth to find what they love to do and develop their skills whether they choose to go to a traditional college after graduation or seek other paths.

Our youth thanking our guests for attending the panel.

After the final audience question, Keystone youth thanked our panelists and moderator for attending and serving as such great inspirations to our members. Ms. Medina closed the panel, speaking to the importance of community service organizations like the Boys & Girls Club that offer community youth opportunities to reach their full potential. We know that the girls and boys who attended left inspired after hearing the panelists’ stories of success.

Championship Win at March Madness Tournament

Our three Clubhouses organize their own sports leagues, but the Clubs were recently given the opportunity to collaborate for a Boys & Girls Club March Madness Basketball Tournament. We sent one team comprised of high school youth from our San Pedro, Wilmington and Port of LA Clubs to participate and we are proud to announce that they took first place in their division.

For the 12th straight year, Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley held their annual March Madness Tournament for Boys & Girls Clubs in the Los Angeles County Alliance. Our Head Coaches Phillip Redd and Thomas McKenzie and Athletic Director Philip Jones organized a team from our three Clubs to compete and the collaboration was well worth the effort. Our LA Harbor boys were thrilled to represent our entire organization and take first place.

BGCLAH Basketball takes first place at March Madness Tournament.

Board Member Suzy Zimmerman Honored by Palos Verdes Chamber

On March 13, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce recognized our Board member, Suzy Zimmerman, as a Salute to Business Honoree. Suzy was presented with her award for her work with State Farm by Supervisor Don Knabe, State Senator Ted Lieu and Chamber Board member Allen Bond at the Salute to Business Chamber Dinner at Trump National Golf Club.

Since she joined our Board in 2011, Suzy has helped us expand our network considerably. She has been instrumental in gaining support from local businesses and helping us serve more youth. In addition to our Board and her work as a State Farm Agent, running her own Palos Verdes office serving the South Bay, she is also president of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Club.

Congratulations to our own Suzy Zimmerman!

Suzy Zimmerman receiving her award from Supervisor Don Knabe 

and PV Chamber Board Member Allen Bond.

Partner Spotlight - Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals

When we started our Corporate Giving Program in 2007 and began recognizing local businesses, several of our supporters signed up to become our first official partners. One of our longstanding patrons is Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals.

PST has provided our Club with generous funds, allowing us to serve as many youth as we do throughout the Los Angeles Harbor area. Their collaboration has helped us expand our enrichment programming and provide more educational opportunities to at-risk youth.

PST is a privately held, professional cargo-handling company that provides expert vessel loading and unloading services for the global maritime transportation industry in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Pasha Group, PST is the third largest independent West Coast terminal operator, holding several long-term leases with the port.

Celebrating Literacy

On March 3, we celebrated Read Across America 2014 by the National Education Association and Dr. Seuss's birthday with events marking the importance of childhood literacy. As part of our Triple A Strategy, we are committed to helping our youth excel in reading comprehension. Coincidentally our two events centered around books about traveling and exploring new lands.

San Pedro Honorary Mayor Kathy Carcamo celebrating 

Dr. Seuss's birthday with our Port of LA Club youth.

Our Port of LA Boys & Girls Club Director Sonia Espinoza organized a special reading event to commemorate what would have been the 110 birthday of Dr. Seuss. San Pedro Honorary Mayor Kathy Carcamo attended to read Oh, the Places You'll Go to our elementary school youth. Our Club members also created their own Cat in the Hat top hats as part of the celebration.

United Way of Greater Los Angeles sponsored our Read Across America event at our Wilmington Boys & Girls Club. Michael Smith attended to read his book, What in the World!: Wild, Weird, and Wonderful Adventures of a Wanderer about his travels around the world. Our middle school and high school youth heard first hand about Mr. Smith's adventures through 30 countries and what he learned during his travels.

Michael Smith sharing his book with the help of one of our students.

We celebrate literacy every day at our Clubs with tutoring in reading, activities to help increase reading comprehension, book clubs for our middle and high school youth and expansion of our Early Literacy Program. We could not accomplish this without the support of organizations and volunteers who help us improve the quality of our programs and reach more youth.