1. Tell us a bit about yourself, where you are from, your family, and your hobbies.

I am a SoCal native, born in Los Angeles and moved to Pasadena when I was 6. I have been here ever since. I am a product of Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) and Pasadena City College (PCC). I’ve been married to my wife, Ana Maria, for 22 years and we have a 19-year-old daughter, Daniella, who is currently attending PCC.

I love creating! Everything about me ties into creativity. I love cooking because it is creative. I love to shop. Have you seen what I wear? Creative. I love to write. My friends and I have a trans-media company, Pitch Block, creating motion pictures, television, motion comics, animation and video games. I love storytelling and the power of media and have loved comics, film and television since I was a child. I truly believe Christ would use these mediums if He was walking the Earth today!

2. What are your life passions? What journey does God have you on?

I believe the journey God has me on is one of hope, to be a source of hope and comfort to others. A friend once said to me, “Eric, you’re an anchor for others. But the funny thing about anchors is that they get dragged through the mud.” That is the story of my life.

I come from such an unusual family. While my father was running from God, his mother was a deaconess and Sunday School teacher and his brothers were some of the original members of the legendary Mighty Clouds of Joy (a gospel group). While my mother was running to God, her father practiced witchcraft and her mother was into new age practices way before it was popularized in the 80’s. Both of my parents come from divorced homes. My dad had to experience the painful divulgence that his father was a polygamist and later, a childhood with an abusive step-father. My parents met in high school; my mom became pregnant with me and my folks got married. I was born and then it seems all Hell broke loose.

My father, at the time a law enforcement officer, was verbally and physically abusive at home. I was told I was an accident, retarded and would never amount to anything. I was beaten with a police baton and metal shoe stretchers. I can so relate to the movie “Precious.” My life wasn’t far from that. I was frail and looked so different from everyone else. I longed to be “normal.” I was molested by another man as a teenager. And yet in spite of all that, here I am, a living example of what God, his Word and His loving people can bring you through.

3. Do you have a word for the mentors?

If there is a scripture that sums up my life, its 2 Corinthians 1:3-5:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”

Because people comforted me in my sufferings I am compelled by God to do the same for others. I have dedicated the past 32 years of my life to doing just that. Which is why I am at LACF, working with teens others would normally give up on. I owe a wonderful debt to God and the people he used to reach me: my mother, my grandmother, Nellie Proctor - my Sunday School teacher, Beth Wells - my 5th grade math teacher, Pastor James Henry, Tommy McMullins, Phil Madden, Dover McCoy, Del Yarbrough. These are the mentors who saw the diamond in the coal, who loved me when I saw myself as hopeless and worthless.

Mentors made the difference in my life. I hope that every mentor would let those Scriptures become their anthem - Comfort others in the same way you were comforted by God through others. Let that comfort overflow onto the kids you engage. Don’t be moved by the exterior. Ask God to help you see His value, His purpose and destiny in that child. Sometimes it can be thankless, after all, you’re dealing with kids who live in the now. The light doesn’t come until later.

I recently had the opportunity to run into one of those men who did this for me all those decades ago. I grabbed him, held him for the longest time and tearfully told him, “You saved my life! I want you to know that the thousands of teens and people I’ve reached, the man that I am, the husband and father I’ve become, you did that!”

So mentors, please, don’t give up! Those kids need you. I need you. This city needs you. I currently sit on the PUSD Drop-Out Task Force and everyone at that table agrees that mentors, quality people like yourselves, are a huge part of the solution!

I encourage you to fight the good fight and finish the course. You never know how many Eric Johnsons your kindness, compassion and long-suffering will produce.

From the Thursday, January 28th issue of the La Cañada Flintridge Outlook:

By JOYCE LOVELACE
The Outlook

One of the most rewarding associations of Dwight Tudor’s life began with a bus ride.

While at a wedding a few years ago, Tudor, a retired food-industry executive and longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident, boarded a guest shuttle and took a seat next to Barbara Wilson, a family friend. The two chatted all the way from church to reception, mostly about her volunteer work with the Lake Avenue Community Foundation — a nonprofit, faith-based outreach organization directed by her son, John.

“She was so eloquent about what she was doing,” Tudor recalled. Her enthusiasm for the foundation was so infectious, he said, that it inspired him to get involved.

Ever since, Tudor has been a devoted and effective champion of LACF, which was founded in 2001 with a mission “to unleash the Godgiven potential of at-risk youth, providing the tools necessary to thrive academically, emotionally, economically, and spiritually.”

He has given his time, regularly tutoring children in the after-school program at LACF headquarters in Pasadena. He has played a leadership role on its board of directors, and he has helped expand local support for LACF’s good works, fostering connections between the foundation and the La Cañada Presbyterian Church, where he is a parishioner.

Though Tudor downplays his contribution, he’s happy if his example shines a spotlight on the foundation. Those at LACF, meanwhile, praise his rare dedication.

“Dwight is a stand-up man, a great man of God who puts his words into action, both here at the foundation and at his own church,” said Greg Helton, development director of LACF, whose board members recently held a get-together to honor Tudor as he stepped down after several terms of distinguished board service.

“He has made a great impact in the lives of children through his sincerity and the credibility he brings to them,” Helton said. “He’s been a blessing; a great leader on the board and an advocate for what the foundation has been doing to make a bigger impact in the community.”

Tudor grew up in Glendale and graduated from USC. He and his wife, Sylvia, have lived in La Cañada Flintridge for 47 years, and their four children attended local schools.

“My conviction is, we need to spend money, time, effort and talent in our local community, and I consider northwest Pasadena part of our community,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to isolate a need and develop the programs to fit that need.”

At its facility on East Villa Street, LACF serves nearly 100 neighborhood children from kindergarten to middle-school age, who find a haven there in the afternoon hours when their parents are at work.

A network of volunteers, from teens to senior citizens, offer help with homework as well as guidance and mentoring, with emphasis on Christian values as a foundation for success in life. This is no drop-in center for babysitting, Helton stressed, but rather “a genuine investment of energy and time in these kids.”

Tudor’s pupils, Helton noted, have come to regard him as a wise and kindly grandfather figure, a positive role model and consistent, caring presence in their lives.

For his part, Tudor has enjoyed seeing the kids grow and thrive along with LACF’s tutoring and mentoring initiatives. “The program has evolved to where there are specific needs and objectives for each child, from general to more individualized tutoring,” he observed.

While financial donations are welcome and essential to the success of any outreach effort, Tudor urges us all to also discover the joys of donating our time and talents in hands-on, personal ways.

There is, he reflected, “a great reward in doing that,” a deep and wonderful sense of gratification that builds slowly but surely over time as tangible results emerge.

“It’s very subtle,” Tudor said. “I’m not sure it’s overt. But it reinforces your Christian values, and shows you that you can make a difference.”

To learn more about the Lake Avenue Community Foundation, visit www.lakeavenuefoundation.org.

You may also view a PDF of the article.

From the Thursday, January 21st edition of the Pasadena Outlook:

Lake Avenue Community Foundation announced that it has secured its 100th community volunteer to support the acclaimed STARS after-school tutoring program. More than 150 local youth, ranging from kindergarten to high school, participate in the program, which is held Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at 500 Villa St.

The 100th volunteer, Daniel Hsieh of Pasadena, is pleased to be a part of an organization that gives so much back to the community.

“I can’t believe this, but I had no idea about all the programs and community services being done in this little building to make a greater impact in the lives of neighborhood children,” he said. “LACF is the best-kept secret in Pasadena with all they are doing to make a long and lasting impact in these kids lives.

“I am grateful for LACF giving me the opportunity to serve in the community. And I hope to build upon LACF’s success.”

STARS takes a community-collaborative, asset-building approach to after-school programming to provide Pasadena Unified School District students, primarily residing in northwest Pasadena. It gives them an opportunity to rise above the challenges of their environment to become college-educated, responsible citizens of the community.

By providing academic support, enrichment opportunities and family- strengthening activities, and by encouraging growing and accountable relationships with positive adult role models (tutors and mentors), the foundation provides an environment in which students are challenged to grow toward becoming what God intended them to be.

LACF is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that is unleashing the God-given potential of at-risk youth, providing the tools necessary for them to thrive academically, emotionally, economically and spiritually. LACF is in a relationship with approximately 150 low-income students in Pasadena, cultivating greater community and hope in the lives of the students and their families.

For more information, call (626) 449-4960 or visit www.lakeavefoundation.org.

You may also view a PDF of the article.

Click here for the full article.

STARS takes a community-collaborative, asset-building approach to after-school programming to provide Pasadena Unified School District students. By providing academic support, enrichment opportunities and family-strengthening activities, and by encouraging growing and accountable relationships with positive adult role-model tutors, STARS provides an environment in which students are challenged to grow in the program sponsored by the Lake Avenue Community Foundation.

Read more & see all the photos in the full article [PDF]

Each night last week as students gathered their belongings and headed home for the night, STARS Tutors slipped quietly out of the “Big Room” at Villa 500 and into the Tutor Cafe. 

Here they got to know a little more about other tutors who share the room with them during their weekly tutoring session while enjoying a warm drink and tips ranging from techniques for teaching and encouraging reading to the fun tricks of teaching students how to multiply their “9’s”.  I certainly learned something new each night! 

Most importantly, I gained further insight into the “common denominator” of deep commitment these heroes (aka Tutors) possess…..and that in the world of STARS, 1+1=HOPE.

Thanks to all who took the extra time to join in on the conversation each night - and to the educators who shared their years of experience with us each night.

STARS Tutors rock!

This past Saturday parents who completed the 10-week Parent Project course offered by STARS gathered to celebrate this milestone and support one another on the continuous journey of being a parent. For most immigrant families, from south-of-the-border or otherwise, parenting their children in a place so different from where they’re from poses even more challenges than those faced by parents who were born in the U.S.

The Parent Project not only provided helpful tools for parents dealing with their adolescents - but in this case also provides a forum for discussion around the theme of the parenting difficulties immigrants face - and a much needed supportive community.

The graduates shared stories of the many little successes they are already experiencing in their homes and relationships with their children as they apply the new learning. Many contribute their new found hope to both the course and the community they have found within the group.

We believe it all starts in the home – which is why LACF extends its commitment to students beyond tutoring and mentoring and into the home – where REAL families are shaping kids.

It was a privilege being with these dedicated parents this past Saturday as they shared their stories and their delicious food! I was encouraged and inspired by each of them!

For more info on upcoming Parent Project courses in Pasadena, visit: http://www.pasadena.edu/CEC/programs/pasadenaparentproject.cfm

Professional race drivers Erica Nocita, the 2006 Quick 16 National Hot Rod Association Eastern Division champion, and Lorenzo Rodriguez, winner of the Baja 1000 and a M.O.R.E. Off-road Championship Series winner in 2006 and 2008, took some time out of their schedules to speak to children at Lake Avenue Community Foundation’s after-school program.

The two drivers shared with students how they became race car drivers and their career goals.

Lake Avenue Community Foundation is a faith-based nonprofit organization that works with at-risk youth. It works with about 150 low-income students and their parents in Pasadena.

Below, race car driver Lorenzo Rodriguez, Baja 1000 Winner and SCORE Point Champion in 2002 left, with Curt Gibson, Associate Director Lake Avenue Community Foundation and Erica Nocita right, 2006 Quick 16 National Hot Rod Association Eastern Division, spoke about their experiences as race car drivers and their career goals to the youth of our STARS program at Vila 500 in Pasadena on Monday, March 9, 2009.

Nocita at STARS

Race car driver Lorenzo Rodriguez, Baja 1000 Winner and SCORE Point Champion in 2002 left, with Curt Gibson, Associate Director Lake Avenue Community Foundation and Erica Nocita right, 2006 Quick 16 National Hot Rod Association Eastern Division spoke about their experiences as race car drivers and their career goals to the youth of our STARS program at Vila 500 in Pasadena Monday, March 9, 2009. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Walt Mancini/SXCity)

Cool Kid