Palos Verdes Young Professionals Exposing our College Bound Teens to Career Paths

Every year, the Palos Verdes Young Professionals of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce select a Nonprofit of the Year from Chamber members. This year, we have the honor of being that nonprofit organization.

As their first project for our Clubs, the PVYP coordinated a career fair for our high school students at the Wilmington Boys & Girls Club on May 8 with close to 100 high school students attending.

Often when youth attend career fairs, they tend to gravitate toward just one industry without learning about the opportunities in a different field. The PVYP Committee planned for the event to expose youth to several different career paths. They recruited volunteers for a multi-panel event where high school students attended three panel sessions representing different industries. 

College Bound students at the Wilmington and San Pedro Clubs prepared with career assessment tests to alert them to different industries they should be exploring. The whole experience really opened our high school members' eyes to different career and educational opportunities as they enter the next stage of their lives.

Special thanks to our PVYP volunteers who helped the event run smoothly and volunteer panelists who shared their experiences in the fields of Business, Engineering, Health & Wellness, Hospitality, Entertainment and Film Production.

Jordan Baronfeld, Miyako Hybrid Hotel

College Bound youth speaking with an Engineering panelist

during the mixer of our PVYP Career Fair.

Deena Knight, Daily Breeze
Mark J. Doddy, RPVtv
Mike Merell, Disney/Pixar
Sinisa Straser, GlenAir
Deep Patel, GigaWatt
Robert Castellanos, Nano H2O
George Walker, Vistage
Lauren Spiglanin, The Remedy Pharm
Dr. Dave Pommerenck, Pommerenck Chiropractic


*Photos courtesy of PVYP.

PVYP Committee, PVYP volunteers and BGCLAH staff celebrating their collaboration for our youth.

Honoring our College Bound Graduating Seniors

On May 29 at 6:00 pm at the Warner Grand Theatre, we will honor our College Bound graduating seniors from San Pedro and Wilmington at our 8th Annual College Bound Celebration.

Many high school students devote their time and energy on pursuing their dreams of going to college. With all of the obstacles youth face - including financial barriers, strict application requirements, balancing extracurricular activities, unsafe environments, peer pressure, and family obligations - it's always cause to celebrate when they have successfully navigated their way to high school graduation. Our College Bound program provides students with the resources and attention they need to overcome these obstacles. 

Elizabeth Machado is one of the graduating seniors from our San Pedro Club who will be honored at the Celebration as one of our highest achieving students. Elizabeth is a San Pedro High School senior and was accepted into several top universities including an Ivy League school before choosing to go to UCLA in the fall. She is a first generation Mexican American and her family has experienced much success thanks to College Bound. Her cousin and brother both completed the program and will return to San Pedro from their four-year universities to celebrate with Elizabeth. Her younger brother is working hard with College Bound case managers to match his sister’s accomplishments in a couple of years.

"The College Bound program gave me the support I needed as I applied to rigorous schools and countless scholarships. I am thankful that the staff gave me the "push" I needed to get them completed within deadlines." - Elizabeth

Francisco Hinojosa is a Banning High School graduate from the Wilmington Club who has overcome social and financial struggles to accomplish his dreams. He will attend UC Santa Barbara in the fall as the first in his family to go to college. He was raised in a low income household by parents who each work two jobs to support their family which required Francisco to take on a part-time job to help. Despite these hardships, Francisco was able to balance school, extra-curricular activities, community service and his job to get good grades. Thanks to the support of the College Bound program in helping him keep up his grades and complete his applications, Francisco earned the financial aid and scholarships to make his dreams a reality.

"I can honestly say that if I would've never joined the Club and the College Bound program, I would be lost. I would've never known my full potential as a person and abilities to go to college,” - Francisco.

Kimberly Melendez is a senior at Banning High School, attends our Wilmington Club and will attend UC Berkeley in the fall. As she was preparing her college applications with the guidance of our College Bound case managers, she spoke of the many challenges she faced when she entered high school. Many of the youth in her neighborhood fell into gang life or dealt with teen pregnancy. The Boys & Girls Club became a place that she could escape and make friends with peers who shared similar goals. Despite seeing her friends succumb to distractions, Kimberly focused on her school work and will graduate as an AP scholar for her high marks on multiple Advanced Placement exams.

"The College Bound Program has provided me with the foundation and fundamentals I needed to go onto my dream college. The staff here are like family to me. - Kimberly

Joshua Villanueva attends our San Pedro Club and will graduate from San Pedro High School to attend San Jose State University in the fall. For Joshua, the Club has been like a second home for many years. He joined the College Bound program in 6th grade which helped him keep his grades up in middle school to take college ready classes in high school. Joshua's parents worked very hard to support their family and, as a result, were not very present at home. However, they did encourage him to participate in extracurricular activities and join Boys & Girls Club programs to stay on the right track. He will graduate with a San Pedro Pirate Boosters scholarship for his accomplishments as a student athlete on the basketball team.

“Honestly if I didn't have College Bound I would not be going to college. You guys made the process of picking schools easy and made my experience of high school more fun filled.” - Joshua

Club Youth Walk with Mayor Garcetti

Our Wilmington Club Youth of the Year introducing Mayor Garcetti.

A major program component in our three high school centers is character and leadership development. Our youth groups, Keystone and Torch Club, frequently volunteer with different projects and organizations to help improve our community. They are inspired by local leaders and assist when given the opportunity. On April 12, our teens joined Mayor Garcetti's Harbor Area Walk in Wilmington. Councilman Joe Buscaino gave our Wilmington Club Youth of the Year, Crystal Cabello, the privilege of introducing Mayor Garcetti at the kickoff event. It was a great experience for our students to work alongside local leaders in community conversations.

Mayor Garcetti with our Wilmington Club teen volunteers.

Executive Director Mike Lansing with our teen volunteers at the Mayor Garcetti Harbor Area Walk.

Councilman Joe Buscaino Joins Us for Daniel's Field Athletics Facility Groundbreaking

After many years of planning and fundraising, we have launched a project to install a multipurpose recreational area in the historic Daniel's Field in San Pedro. The new facility, facing our San Pedro Boys & Girls Club, will include a sports arena with ADA accessible ramp, a baseball batting cage, golf driving-range cages, picnic and snack area and sustainable landscaping. 

Councilman Joe Buscaino at the Daniel's Field Groundbreaking

San Pedro Club alumnus, Councilman Joe Buscaino, joined Executive Director Mike Lansing and our youth for the groundbreaking ceremony on April 22. Special speakers for the event included Mark Mariscal, Region Superintendent of the Department of Recreation and Parks; Ray Brewer, Field Office Director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and John N. Vidovich, Assistant Chief of LAFD and Boys & Girls Club Board member.

Our Executive Director Mike Lansing 

with Councilman Buscaino

Councilman Buscaino kicked off our groundbreaking ceremony by detailing the new additions to Daniel's Field and getting our youth members excited about the new athletics programs. He also spoke of the importance of education and our organization's national impact with the College Bound program.

Executive Director Mike Lansing spoke next about the long journey to get to this point. He expressed his optimism about the new additions to Daniel's Field and, turning to our youth, explained that we are adding the new area for, "you to use and hopefully that even your kids can one day use."

We are very excited about the changes we are implementing at Daniel's Field and the way it will benefit our community. Our athletics programming will expand significantly once the project is complete with the quality recreational opportunities our youth deserve.

Kory Minor Visits the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club

It's always a great inspiration for our youth to meet a Boys & Girls Club alumnus who accomplished greatness in the face of adversity. Yesterday, entrepreneur and former NFL linebacker, Kory Minor visited our San Pedro Club to tell his story, starting with the decisions he made as a young athlete.
 

Kory Minor with some excited fans at our Club!

Kory is a former All-American football linebacker originally from Los Angeles. In his senior year of high school, he was named Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today. He went on to the University of Notre Dame where he was a 4-year star on defense and team captain. In his professional career he played for the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers. 

Like many of our members, Kory was faced with distractions while trying to accomplish his goals. He was raised by a single mother and, although he dreamed of one day playing for Notre Dame, he knew his family couldn't afford to send him to his dream school. Kory had two options: either give up on his dream or commit to it. Kory chose to commit and spoke to our young athletes about the importance of committing to a dream and working hard for that dream.

"Whatever you are dreaming now is possible if you commit to believe and commit to work."

Kory Minor speaking at the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club.

Kory also spoke about the friends he lost in high school because he was so focused on his goal. He stayed away from anything that could distract him like drinking, smoking or doing drugs and only spent time with people who didn't fall into those behaviors. When he was named Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today, he proved wrong everyone who didn't believe in him and was awarded a full scholarship to Notre Dame.

Today, Kory is a motivational speaker, business strategist and a five store franchisee of Domino's Pizza where he took his franchise company from $600,000 in sales to nearly $4 million as an owner. He motivates individuals and organizations as CEO of Kory Minor Industries. Kory spoke of the importance of valuing education as he did when he utilized his degree in business to create a legacy for himself.

Thanks to Kory for sharing the valuable lessons he learned on his journey from young hopeful athlete to NFL player and successful business owner.

School Club Sites Sweep Championships

Our Harry Bridges Span School cheer team with their first place trophies.

In addition to our three Club houses, we run 11 Club sites at local LAUSD schools where we implement enrichment programming in academics, arts and athletics. The competitive teams at our school sites are making major strides. Our Fleming Middle School dance team won the National Championship at the 2014 Jamfest Dance Competition in Las Vegas for the second straight year. Our Harry Bridges Span School cheer team won first place at the Sharp Regional Competitions and an invitation to advance in the national competition. The Wilmington Middle School robotics team, a school program that we facilitate after hours, won Best Overall Championship at the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition at Legoland California.

Wilmington Middle School Robotics with their Lego trophy 

at the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition.

Our school Club sites organize programming that our youth would not otherwise be able to participate in. We introduced and coordinate the dance and cheer teams at Fleming Middle School and Harry Bridges Span School and extended participation opportunities for the Wilmington Middle School robotics team. 

In many cases at our school Club sites, we step in to support and extend already existing programs. At Wilmington Middle School, Dana Middle School and Banning High School, we coordinate after school practice for marching band and drill team. This broadens rehearsal and performance opportunities as well as increases the number of youth who are able to partake in music education at the schools we serve.

Our School Sites Director Bryan Jebo and his team lead our school Club sites, making it possible for our youth to stay after hours and reach their full potential.

Our Fleming Middle School dance team participants are national champions for the 2nd straight year.

Introducing Our New Volunteer Outreach Coordinator

We are expanding and improving our volunteer opportunities thanks to longtime Board member, Tamara Powers who is volunteering her time in the new role of Volunteer Outreach Coordinator. Tamara has served on our Board since 2007 and is our Vice President of Development. An avid volunteer in the community, Tamara frequently visits our Clubs in San Pedro and Wilmington to assist with programming and events. From helping with art projects to serving at our Thanksgiving Dinners, Tamara contributes to our day-to-day activities in addition to fundraising initiatives for our organization.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact (310) 833-1322 ext. 237 or email leilanis@bgclaharbor.org.

Tamara Powers (left) with our Fine Arts Director Sandra Avila at our Meet the Challenge mural painting project.