LACF Blog for July, 2008

by John Wilson – Executive Director

Summer camp once gave me an education. To this day, I can still do a handstand, spit a watermelon seed for distance, and make inappropriate noises with my armpit. I also learned how to perform a back flip on the diving board and even ride a horse. I learned how close God is to us, and how interested our creator is in the details of my life. I formed friendships made of such strong bonds they have lasted until today. I was largely shaped into the person I have become.

Now I grew up on the tree-lined streets of La Canada Flintridge. If summer camp impacted me so much, can you imagine the impression it makes on a young person from a stressful home who never leaves the inner-city? Encountering God’s creativity while catching tadpoles in the pond or roping steers in a corral is a completely new experience. Learning about love we don’t have to earn or grace more lavish than we can describe can rock the foundations of a young person’s world.

Summer camp is really the opposite of the streets. Campers eat three reliable meals every day. They go swimming, do art, and learn new skills. Far removed from sirens and traffic and lurking figures on the corner, nighttime becomes a chance to learn about constellations and the witness that pours forth from the stars every evening. There is no longer reason to be afraid of the dark.

Consider the opportunity to participate yourself in this vital ministry. Your financial support will allow students from our neighborhood ministries to attend camp nearby at Forest Home or far away at Lone Tree Bible Camp in Wyoming and so much more. It costs approximately $500 per person to go to camp. From my point of view as a former youth pastor, a year’s worth of ministry takes place in a single week of camp.

The students in question are getting an education on the streets every day of their lives. With your partnership, we can offer them a different type of education at summer camp. We can introduce them to Jesus.

by Emily White Hodge, Volunteer & Donor Relations Director

Over the course of the last year, we’ve been in the process of re-visioning. It’s been a time where our staff has gathered around a table to discuss our vision & mission, with the hopes of really figuring out where we’re headed & what we dream about for the young people we serve.

We’ve spent countless hours talking about who we are & what we’re about. We’ve spoken passionately, thrown ideas out on the table & dare I say, we’ve even argued a bit. One of the things we really wrestled through is how to word our mission statement. As we wrestled through the process together, one of the things that was a guiding principle for me was, “Is it good enough for my kid?”

Would I want my daughter to hear the vision and think of herself in that way? Would it be BIG enough to grasp God’s best for her life? Would she feel empowered to do great things? At the end of the day, I think we did her justice. We’re not just giving handouts. We’re not just tutoring for tutoring’s sake. We don’t just go camping with kids to get them out of the city. We are . . .

Unleashing the God-given potential of youth

As a person of faith, a dreamer, a socially minded worker, and a Mom, I am very pleased that we’re in the business of unleashing the God-given potential of young people. My hope is that our dreams will be big enough for all that God has planned for my daughter!

This Year-End Celebration was especially significant as it marked the first year the organization presented two monetary college scholarships to graduating Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) seniors.

Johanna Carmona, a Marshall Fundamental Secondary School graduate who will be attending Sonoma State University in the fall, received a $1,000 Founder’s Award, while Laura Pinedo, a John Muir High School graduate attending Pasadena City College (PCC) in the fall received a $500 Founders Award. Silvia Pimentel, who graduated from Blair International Baccalaureate High School, also received a scholarship from one of many Lake Avenue Community Foundation partners. The Ascending Lights Leadership Network awarded Ms. Pimentel a full scholarship covering tuition and books, with additional funding for transportation and food. In addition, they will provide mentoring and leadership training throughout her time at PCC.

In an essay written by Johanna, she writes, “without the help at STARS, I would have never tried my hardest at school”, attributing her success to the support and encouragement of her tutors and mentor. “I am a step closer to reaching my dreams, and am proud to say I know I will reach them”, writes Laura Pinedo. As a teen mother, Laura, despite many major life challenges, worked extremely hard attending high school, adult school while working part time.

Pictured: Lake Avenue Community Foundation Associate Director Mayra C. Macedo-Nolan, STARS Founder Jill Shook, LACF Board Chair Bruce Stone, Lake Avenue Church Senior Pastor Greg Waybright and LACF Executive Director John Wilson with 2008 Award recipients Laura Pinedo, Silvia Pimentel and Johanna Carmona.

Wow – what does one put in a first blog post?

The first thing that comes to mind is how thankful I am for the partnerships we are enjoying while building our new web site. Knowing I’ll leave out many of our key partnerships, I’ll just focus on those I enjoyed today. The first that comes to mind is the DeVos Initiative. Had a conversation with DeVos staff member, Gerald, about how to bring about city-wide change in Los Angeles, specifically about how faith-based organizations could work together to bring about economic, spiritual and leadership development in our poorest communities.

Spark3, our web developer, has helped us refine our mess of ideas and thoughts into a clear, logical pattern for our web site, and makes it possible for you to be reading this right now.

Third, the Community Clergy Coalition of Pasadena brings such amazing leadership to our city.

Lastly (for now), Urban Youth Workers Institute put on an incredible training event for all of our staff at their annual conference in May. I think it’s amazing that we have so many opportunities to work with such quality organizations! Peace out. – Curt Gibson, Associate Director