Meet The Challenge

Since 1937, we have been meeting the challenge. At 15 sites in San Pedro and Wilmington, we help over 12,000 youth reach their full potential in academics, arts and athletics.

Now we need you to join us and Meet the Challenge!

A generous, anonymous donor has offered a one-time challenge matching grant of $250,000 that will enable us to significantly expand our programming and the number of youth we serve. For every new or upgraded donation, our champion of youth will match dollar for dollar up to $250,000.  That means if you make a new donation of $100 today, your impact will be doubled to $200 automatically.

Please help us Meet The Challenge and donate at www.bgclaharbor.org/give/donate, call our Development Department at (310) 833-1322 ext. 242 or 230, or mail in the form at the this link with your donation to:

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor

1200 S. Cabrillo Avenue

San Pedro, CA 90731

We greatly appreciate your support in helping us sustain and grow our programming. We could not continue to provide educational opportunities and a safe haven to Harbor area youth without your generosity.

Over 2,400 Thanksgiving Meals Served at Our Clubs

Every year, we host Thanksgiving Dinners at our Clubs including the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club, Wilmington Boys & Girls Club, Port of Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club and, this year for the first time, the new Harry Bridges Span School Club site in Wilmington. Open to all youth members of the Club and their families, the annual Thanksgiving Dinners offer families the opportunity to come together and celebrate as a community. 

Our Arts Academy band entertaining the community at our Wilmington Club dinner.

Attendees ate their dinner with the all of the trimmings in our Club gyms decked out with seasonal decorations. Live music was provided by our Arts Academy musicians and there were presentations by Club youth about what they are thankful for.

National Charity League mother-daughter volunteers at our San Pedro Club dinner.

The National Charity League Palos Verdes Chapter, Palos Verdes Rotary, San Pedro Rotary and Los Angeles City Fire Department Chief of Staff and Club Board member John Vidovich donated all of the turkeys and hams for the over 2,400 meals that were served at the four dinners from November 19 to November 22. Bonert’s Slice of Pie in Santa Ana donated all of the pumpkin pies served at the dinners.

National Charity League Ticktocker taking family portraits.

Volunteers from both Rotary groups attended the dinner at our newest site at Harry Bridges Span School to assist in serving. National Charity League mother-daughter team volunteers assisted at the San Pedro Club dinner and the Wilmington Club dinner, serving meals and taking family portraits for attendees to have a keepsake of the evening. Student volunteers from Marymount California University who are currently assisting with our programming, volunteered as servers at the Port of Los Angeles Club dinner. The Port of Los Angeles employee band even donated their time to entertain our families at our Port of Los Angeles Club dinner.

For some of the families we serve, this is the only hot meal they will be able to have together this season. Thanks to generous organizations like National Charity League, Rotary and individuals like John Vidovich we were able to ensure that all of our youth were given the opportunity to have a great Thanksgiving.

A Port of Los Angeles Club family enjoying their Thanksgiving.

Our San Pedro Club community celebrating Thanksgiving.

First Annual Fall Arts Academy Showcase on December 4

On December 4 at 4:30 p.m., we will celebrate the culmination of our Arts Academy’s first year of instruction with a FREE showcase at the Warner Grand Theater in San Pedro. In January 2013, we improved and expanded our Comprehensive Arts Programming to create the Arts Academy offering Saturday instruction to elementary, middle and high school students at the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club and the Wilmington Boys & Girls Club.

The arts education fills a need left by the recent exclusion of arts programming in local schools and gives more skilled youth an opportunity to further develop their talents in music, dance, fine arts, digital arts and film production.

Entertainment for the evening will commence with a fine arts gallery and opening reception at 4:30 p.m. Following displays will include demonstrations of game design, 3D modeling, animation and film production as well as live music and dance performances covering several popular genres and styles. 

For more information about our showcase or to reserve a seat please visit www.bgclaharbor.org/news/event-registration.

Check out the video below about our Arts Academy programming created by our students in the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club digital studio supported by the Taco Bell Foundation and the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation.

College Bound Workshops for Our High School Seniors

College Bound Director Yesenia Aguilar and her coordinators have been very busy these last couple of months making sure our seniors have all the tools they need to fill out their college applications. Every Monday through Saturday, our College Bound Centers at our San Pedro Club, Wilmington Club and Port of Los Angeles Club have been packed with high school students, especially seniors, preparing their applications with the support of our College Bound coordinators and case managers.

A College Bound tutor helps two high school seniors with their personal statements.

Deadlines for college and scholarship applications are closing in and we have been making sure that our students have the knowledge they need to turn in excellent applications. Our College Bound coordinators and case managers provide 1-on-1 mentoring to all of our College Bound students including our high school seniors which is needed now more than ever.

One way we have been assisting our high school seniors is with two workshops per week that walk our students through the entire college application process. The workshops have been attended by up to 80 seniors at each Club and topics range from "Selecting a College" to "Personal Statement Writing" to "Filling Out the UC Application."

High school seniors at our San Pedro Club take notes at a College Bound workshop on the UC application process. 

As a start to the application season, we hung up our "Wall of Fame" at each Club. The Wall displays pictures of our seniors. Once their acceptance letters start coming in, we will add the name of the colleges they were accepted to under their pictures. It has always been a very proud moment for our seniors to list the colleges that have accepted them under their pictures. We look forward to starting the process again this year!

Our previous College Bound Wall of Fame.

BODIES...The Exhibition Comes to the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club

We participated in the Great American Smokeout sponsored by the American Cancer Society on November 21 to raise awareness of the negative affects of smoking. To mark the occasion, BODIES...The Exhibition in Buena Park visited our San Pedro Boys & Girls Club middle school center for a presentation on how detrimental smoking can be to the human body. 

As a rare aspect of this type of presentation, a docent from BODIES was given permission to bring real human specimens from the exhibition to show the students first hand how smoking can damage organs and reduce life expectancy. The specimens had been prepared with polymer preservation, a process in which human tissue is permanently preserved using liquid silicone rubber. This allowed our students to get up close to the specimens and even touch them for a hands on educational experience about their health.

BODIES docent holding a transparent body slice of real human lungs to show the damage caused by smoking.

The BODIES docent presented specimens that have been damaged by smoking, including a real human brain of someone who smoked, transparent body slices showing damage to the lungs and kidneys and a set of smoker's lungs. This inspired our students to share stories of family members or other people they knew who had become sick as a result of smoking.

Our kids were given the opportunity to touch specimens that are normally only handled by doctors and medical students. Thanks to BODIES...The Exhibition our students are more aware of why they shouldn't smoke!

More information about BODIES...The Exhibition in Buena Park can be found at www.bodiestheexhibition.com/buenapark.

The BODIES specimens were prepared using polymer preservation allowing our students to learn through touch.

First Season of Flag Football Ends with Championships

This fall, our San Pedro Club and Wilmington Club athletics departments started flag football leagues for boys and girls ages 11-13 to compete against local middle school teams. The season ended on the last weekend of October with championship games at Daniel's Field in San Pedro. All of our teams took home trophies!

Our Wilmington Boys & Girls Club Colts with their 3rd place trophy.

Our Wilmington Boys & Girls Club team, the Colts, won against Holy Trinity School to take home the third place trophy. The Colts led by Coach Johnny Walter saw vast improvement throughout the season and were thrilled to end with a big win.

The San Pedro Boys & Girls Club flag football program, coached by Head Coach Phillip Redd, was so popular this season that two teams were organized, the Seahawks and the Bears. Both teams competed in the final game of the season with the first place trophy going to the Bears and the second place trophy going to the Seahawks. The awards ceremony at the championship included announcements of each team's MVP.

The flag football league has been a great addition to our extensive athletics programming which includes leagues for soccer and basketball as well as introductory lessons in a variety of sports to keep our youth healthy and active. 

San Pedro Boys & Girls Club Bears and Seahawks with our MVP holding the first place trophy.

Eric Fonoimoana Shares His Olympic Gold Story

Yesterday, our Port of Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club was visited by local Olympic gold medalist, Eric Fonoimoana. Over 100 kids from the Club and from our Barton Hill Elementary School site gathered in the gym overlooking the Port to meet Eric and hear his story of triumph.

Like many of our Club members, Eric is a South Bay resident born and raised. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney he and his partner Dain Blanton won the gold medal in beach volleyball. Eric has played professionally for more than eighteen years and has won at least one tournament for seven straight years between 1998 and 2004.

Eric Fonoimoana helps our kids win in the tug-of-war competition

After a spirited tug-of-war competition organized by Eric, the kids settled down to watch a short movie showing the famous moment when he made the final block over the net sealing the gold medal win for Dain and himself. Our youth saw Eric’s medal ceremony as the star spangled banner played over Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Eric revealed to our kids that he was only seven years old when he saw his sister win the silver medal in swimming at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and decided that he would do whatever it took to get to the Olympics. He is the youngest of six siblings who introduced him to volleyball as a child and challenged him to develop his athletic skills. From playing sports to doing simple chores, Eric was brought up to always finish what he started. He gave every challenge his best effort and never quit half-way through. Eric explained that it was his hard work and determination to never give up that led him to Olympic gold.

Our Club kids were thrilled to see Eric’s gold medal and were inspired by his story. As the kids passed in front of Eric to see his medal, one middle school girl informed him that she was working hard as a gymnast and wanted to go to the Olympics. Two girls from our Port of Los Angeles Club Teen Center who play on POLA High School’s volleyball team attended the event after practice to meet Eric.

Thanks so much to Eric Fonoimoana for visiting our Club and sharing his story and to our supporters at Wells Fargo for helping arrange the visit. More information about Eric and his non-profit foundation, Dig 4 Kids Education Foundation which provides academic and athletic opportunities to youth in low-income communities, can be found at www.dig4kids.org. 

New volleyballs for our Club kids donated by Dig 4 Kids

Bids For Kids 2013 Honors the Port of Los Angeles

On October 4, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor celebrated our 18^th annual Bids For Kids Auction and Dinner as we honored the Port of Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach. Bids For Kids is our largest fundraising event and this year raised over $250,000 during the evening.

Each year, our Board members and Club staff organize a silent and live auction dinner to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of the Club’s youth programming at 17 sites in San Pedro and Wilmington and raise funds to expand programming impact. Guests were treated to a silent auction reception overlooking the marina with live music provided by the Club’s Arts Academy jazz band. They were then seated for a sumptuous dinner and stirring live auction assisted by teen volunteers from our Keystone student leadership group.

Thanks to everyone who attended! We appreciate your continued support and look forward to seeing you at next year's event.

Club Youth Visit Cirque du Soleil "Totem"

On Thursday, October 10, youth from our San Pedro, Wilmington and Port of Los Angeles Clubs were invited to a preview performance of Cirque du Soleil's “Totem." We received a generous donation from Cirque du Soleil of 50 passes for our middle school and high school members to see this thrilling production as it makes its nation-wide tour. 

Our youth were excited that "Totem" was set to open at the Port of Los Angeles and were wonderfully surprised to have the opportunity to see the show before the public opening. "Totem" uses acrobatics, aerial dance and cultural performance techniques to portray the journey of the human species. This unique show has definitely opened our Club members' eyes to a whole new area of performance art. 

"Totem" will show at the Port of Los Angeles until November 10. Ticket and performance information can be found at www.cirquedusoleil.com/totem.

Our Club members in front of the "big top" to see Totem.

Our Transportation Services are Growing

Over 400 Club members at our San Pedro, Wilmington, Port of Los Angeles Clubs participate in our transportation program to get from their schools to our Clubs safely. Now we are able to serve even more youth members thanks to a very generous donation from the Harbor Community Benefit Foundation of two buses to serve our Wilmington community.

The two Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Blue Bird 78-passenger school buses replaced one of our diesel fueled models to make our transportation program more environmentally friendly. The buses will serve the over 150 youth members in Wilmington who are able to ride on our buses at no additional cost to their membership fee. 

Thanks Harbor Community Benefit Foundation for our new CNG buses!

Taco Bell's Latest Menu Hit, The Taquito Rico, by Wilmington Boys & Girls Club

Join us tomorrow at the Taco Bell in Wilmington on PCH and Avalon Blvd. and purchase a Taquito Rico to support the Wilmington Boys & Girls Club. The Taquito Rico is an award winning recipe by high school students involved in our College Bound program and all proceeds from tomorrow's sales between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. benefit programming at our Wilmington Club Teen Center. 

In August, College Bound teens from our Wilmington Club and San Pedro Club were invited by Taco Bell Foundation for Teens to Camp Taco Bell. At the company's headquarters in Irvine, the teens learned from Taco Bell leadership how to develop and market a new menu item. The Wilmington Boys & Girls Club won for the second year in a row for their Taquito Rico and the five winning team members were awarded a total of $2,500 in scholarships. 

Now they, and the other two Southern California Clubs that won, will sell their winning menu item at their local Taco Bell locations to compete for additional scholarships. We hope you will come out tomorrow to the Taco Bell in Wilmington for a delicious meal and to support our teens!

Taco Bell

100 W Pacific Coast Hwy, Wilmington, CA 90744

The Taquito Rico (regular and supreme) is our Wilminton Club teens' award winning recipe.

The Wilmington Club team winning one of the first place prizes at Camp Taco Bell.

Our San Pedro Club team working hard on their menu item at Camp Taco Bell.

Business workshop in the Taco Bell test kitchen - where the magic happens!

The STREAM Premieres Today Benefiting Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Take your family to the movies this weekend and support Boys & Girls Clubs of America with the latest family adventure flick, "The Stream." This must see coming-of-age movie premieres today at select Regal Cinemas across the nation, including Edwards Long Beach Stadium 26 and Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21. The film stars Rainn Wilson, Mario Lopez, Kelly Rutherford and Christopher Gorham and includes the production talent of nine San Pedro Club teens. Please purchase your tickets Here. The majority of producer proceeds benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Earlier this summer, nine high school students from our San Pedro Club were given the opportunity to work with Rainn Wilson and the production team from Dreaming Tree Films and Foundation to create this feature. The nine teens who participated were selected to share the production talents they developed in our educational film production studio supported by the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens and the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation. Working along side film professionals, the teens fit right in, taking crucial roles in production and shooting scenes just like the pros. They even walked the "blue carpet" on Wednesday night with Rainn Wilson and Mario Lopez at the L.A. Live premiere. 

We hope you enjoy the film and support Boys & Girls Club of America programming this weekend!

Our San Pedro Club Teens with Mario Lopez at "The Stream" L.A. Live premiere.

Walking the blue carpet premiere with "The Stream" stars, Rainn Wilson and Mario Lopez.

Our San Pedro Club teens earlier this summer shooting a scene with "The Stream" director, Estlin Feigley.

Working on post-production editing.

Our Supportive Club Parents

In September, we had our first parent meetings of the school year. It gave our youth members' parents a chance to see the Club and the latest programs we have available for their children. We make it our mission to help raise our community's next leaders and need the support of our community and parents to provide our youth with the best opportunities possible.

The Wilmington Club Elementary and Middle School Centers had their combined parent meeting on September 14 with 130 parents in attendance to learn how they could work with our Club staff to better their children's education. A program fair highlighted the different ways we are accomplishing our Triple "A" Strategy for comprehensive programming in Academics, Arts and Athletics. A generous donation from U.S. Borax enabled us to give away backpacks and school supplies to the families that attended. 

Our Newest Site at Harry Bridges Span School

We are proud to announce our new site at the Harry Bridges Span School for grades K-8. Nearly 200 students have joined the new site so far and will receive dedicated homework assistance and participate in a variety of academic, arts and athletics programs. The new site will also host a marching band, taught by Harmony Project instructors, a drill team and a cheerleading squad. Programs are funded by the After School Education & Safety Grant and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, originally founded by Harry Bridges.

This school year, we will introduce the Boys & Girls Club of America program, SMART Moves, at all eleven school sites. The program helps strengthen children’s decision-making skills so that they can make safe, well-informed choices for successful futures. Harbor Area Counseling Services has volunteered their services to assist with the program at the Harry Bridges Span School site.

Arts Academy Kicks Off

Our Arts Academy began its first session of the school year on September 14. Professional instructors help our more gifted youth develop their artistic skills in Music, Dance, Fine Arts, 3D Modeling and Game Design. This allows our youth to develop their talents to meet their full artistic AND academic potential!

Since the recent exclusion of arts programs in local schools, we stepped up our game and improved our already excellent arts programming to develop the Arts Academy available at our San Pedro and Wilmington Clubs in early 2013. We are excited about the continuation and expansion of this program and looking forward to inviting all supporters to the Arts Academy Showcase in December.

National Entrepreneurial Competition Win for San Pedro Boys & Girls Club High School Senior

The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) Foundation selected Tatyana Bradberry from twelve national youth participants part of the BizFest Entrepreneurial Competition at the USHCC national convention in Chicago last week. Tatyana was awarded for her winning business plan of a mobile device application idea known as E-Vents that would house information about local events by category and interest. Bank of America granted her with a $3,000 scholarship to fund her future education.

Tatyana was joined in Chicago by five other regional winners of the BizFest Entrepreneurial Training and Competition hosted at the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club Teen Center in August. All 27 high school juniors and seniors from the San Pedro and Wilmington Clubs who participated in the training and competition are part of our College Bound program. 

The six finalists who won all-expenses paid trips to compete in Chicago include:

Kaitlyn Andrews, San Pedro Boys & Girls Club

Alexander Arredondo, Wilmington Boys & Girls Club

Tatyana Bradberry, San Pedro Boys & Girls Club

Julio Jimenez, Wilmington Boys & Girls Club

Vanessa Solorio, Wilmington Boys & Girls Club

Erik White, San Pedro Boys & Girls Club

Check out today's Daily Breeze article announcing the news!

Tatyana Bradberry receiving her 1st place prize at the USHCC convention in Chicago

Our six regional winners from the San Pedro and Wilmington Clubs who traveled to Chicago

Wilmington Site Holds Basketball Banquet / Awards Presentation

 "Here are a few pictures from our Basketball Banquet / Awards Presentation this past Saturday. The season lasted 3 months, we had 110 kids in the program divided up into 2 divisions (Biddy 7-9 & Minor 10-12). At the banquet ,each child was presented with a trophy with their name & team name on it. We had over 250 people at the banquet & it was a great success!"

-Thomas Mackenzie - Wilmington Site Athletics Coordinator

Once Homeless, A San Pedro High Student Snares Full Posse Scholarship

Ella Johnson at the Boys and Girls Club,

 

A Once Homeless "Anti-Social" Student Finds Her Way at the Boys and Girls Club And Receives Coveted Posse Scholarship; It's a First for San Pedro High

By Diana L. Chapman

Read the full story here:Ella Johnson Story

Come Out and See Our Kids Shine... Spring 2013 Arts Academy Showcase!

Come out and support this great event! Proceeds benefit the BGCLAH, SPHS, & the Elks!

Dana Strand Club Member Wins Hawaiian Ave School "Student of the Year"

 

Gabriella Aguirre is a 5th grade student at Hawaiian Ave. Elementary, and a proud member of the Dana Strand Boys and Girls Club.  She has been a member of the club since Dana Strand opened its doors in 2008.  Gabriella is the recent recipient of the Hawaiian Ave Elementary Student of Year Award.  She has been member of the month several times throughout her membership at the club.  She is achieving her full potential as a productive, caring and responsible citizen through her active participation in club activities and programs.  She has become a role model to other club members and an inspiration to the staff and volunteers that commit to the youth of Dana Strand.  We are very proud of Gaby and her accomplishments.  We hope her achievements will inspire others and impact the Boys and Girls Club of the Los Angeles Harbor in the future.

 

- Sonia Espinoza - Dana Strand Site Director

The First of the Arts Academy... A complete SUCCESS!

Toyota Employees Come Through For Kids at our Dana Strand Club

   

Thank you Toyota Employees!