LACF Blog

I am thrilled that President Barack Obama understands the importance of mentoring, and has given mentoring the national prominence it deserves by declaring January 2012 as National Mentoring Month.

He has issued a proclamation saying, “Every day, mentors help young Americans face the challenges of growing into adulthood. By setting a positive example and sharing their time, knowledge and experience, mentors play an essential role in preparing our Nation’s youth for a bright future. During National Mentoring Month, we celebrate the contributions of all those who cultivate a supportive environment for the next generation, and we recommit to expanding mentorship opportunities across our country.”
 (You can read the rest of his speech by clicking here.)

LACF Mentoring began in October 2002, building relationships between students in our neighborhood and available, caring adults.  Since then, the program has grown to 65 mentor/student pairs.  One of our LACF values is the idea of mutuality, and we see the willingness of mentors to learn from students (and vice versa) as mutuality in action.  The LACF Mentor Coaches have the privilege of supporting and encouraging mentors through this process.  We truly count it a privilege to work with the fabulous mentors in our program, and get to see the transforming nature of mentoring relationships first-hand.

Thank you, LACF Mentors, for making a difference in the life of your students, and for seeing their God-given potential! If you are not currently a mentor and would like to become a mentor, please contact Beth at bethw@lakeave.org.

- By Nancy Stiles, Mentor Coach

On May 1st, Lake Avenue Community Foundation (LACF) shared a need for more than $75,000 to fund summer camps and educational programs.  Through the generosity of Lake Avenue Church (LAC), God blessed us beyond belief, providing a portion of the funds for 285 students to participate in our summer programs.  It has been said that a year’s worth of ministry takes place in a single week of camp.Your financial gifts are allowing us to send more kids to camp and offer additional opportunities, including the following summer youth programs:

Summer for Literacy Elementary Program – 45 low income, under-resourced students entering grades 1-5 participated in the summer program.  The goal was to enrich and enhance each youth’s cognitive, social, athletic and leadership abilities, with special focuses on academic enhancement in Math and Reading, and offers a soccer/athletics program.

SKILLZ (School Kredit in Learning Life Zones) – 150 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students, who had multiple F grades and are at risk of being transferred out of regular high school to alternative schools, and students with high truancy and discipline reports were offered six weeks of summer school.  Our goal was to build the confidence, motivation, social skills and academic competence of students who are struggling or not engaged in their education.

Summer Camps – More than 90 students participated in 4 Summer Camp Opportunities

• Jr. High Adventure Road Trip to Lone Tree Bible Ranch
• High School Leadership Development Trip to Lone Tree Bible Ranch
• Katrina Building Project, New Orleans
• Forest Home Camp for both Elementary and High School

LACF would like to mention the partners and contributors who also helped to make our summer programs the success they were:

• Lone Tree Bible Ranch
• Pasadena Outlook
• Forest Home
• Madison Elementary School
• Northwest Neighbors
• Mi Piace Restaurant
• Point Loma Guidance Counselors
• AIDS Service Center
• Amer-I-Can
• Asian Youth Center
• Children of Destiny International
• City of Pasadena
• Crown Cities Community Development Corporation
• Day One
• Flintridge Center
• Haven House
• Maps 4 College
• Mentoring & Partnership for Youth Development
• Neighborhood Connections
• Pasadena Development Corporation
• Pasadena Federal Credit Union
• Pasadena Police Department
• PCC Foster Care
• Peace Over Violence
• San Gabriel Valley Volunteer Center
• Teen Futures
• Western Justice Center
• Women at Work

Please go to www.lakeavefoundation.org/donate/ if you would like to help cover the remaining summer expenses. Lake Avenue Community Foundation gives God the glory and LAC our heartfelt gratitude.  Thank you!!

Susanne began mentoring with LACF about 7 months ago. She has had the opportunity to mentor a young lady who lives in a group home in Pasadena. Her student is moving out of the area and we wanted to capture her thoughts about her first experience as a mentor.

Why did you decide to become a mentor?

I became interested in mentoring while I was working at a transition center for foster youth. I was working in the administrative department and really longed to have more face to face interaction with the youth. I looked up mentoring programs in the area and Lake Avenue Community Foundation was listed. I had visited Lake Avenue Church several times, so I was really excited to become a mentor through their program.

What, if any, were your fears about becoming a mentor?

The biggest fear in the beginning was just the unknowns. I had to completely put my trust and confidence in God, because I did not know where this mentoring relationship would lead.

What were you hoping for?

I was hoping for an opportunity to see God work through me and in my mentee. I also was hoping it would be a learning experience, which it definitely has been.

What do you do with your student?

In the beginning I had to do on campus visits at the group home where she stays. Once my mentee and I felt comfortable together we began doing short one-to-two hour outings in downtown Pasadena. We went to books stores, Target, Starbucks, gardens and enjoyed just walking around and talking. We began to attend the Saturday service at Lake Avenue Church and that has turned out to be an amazing experience for the both of us. The group home also had “family nights,” which I went to and we also enjoyed going to the Legacy event through Lake Avenue Community Foundation. My mentee is moving soon, so we recently did a fun photo shoot and I’m going to make an album as a going away gift.

What do you struggle with as a mentor?

The biggest thing I struggle with is feeling inadequate. I have asked myself several times why I’m doing this. Am I really the best person to be mentoring this child? My Coach helped me so much with these doubts. She reminded me that my role is to be available. I need to step back and just be a witness of what God is going to do in her life.

Are there times with your student that give you hope?

Our relationship has had its up’s and down’s. For about two weeks my mentee didn’t want to see me. There were some behavior issues that were addressed and that was difficult for her. Coming through that trial, though, my mentee showed great maturity in apologizing and wanting to continue our mentoring sessions.

Providing a faith based experience for my mentee has been the best use of our time. My mentee has developed healthy positive relationships with the teachers and other kids in the class at Lake Avenue Church. Sometimes my mentee has asked questions that reveal God is indeed at work in her heart. Again, I had no part in that. I was just available and God used the opportunity to work in my mentee’s life.

Have you seen positive changes in yourself?

This definitely has been a challenging experience, but it has taught me so much about relying on God. I have also been able to just watch in amazement and be a witness to God’s working. That truly is the best part.

Do you have a story you would like to share?

Sometimes the simplest things have been the most fun for me and my mentee. She loves chili cheese fries. I don’t have to always plan a big exciting adventure. Going to church and getting chili cheese fries after has been “our” thing. I think it has been fun and helpful to develop a couple favorite things to do. I know that when my mentee moves she will remember our time together and our talks over a plate of cheesy fries.

If you had the chance, what would you tell someone who is considering becoming a mentor?

If someone is considering becoming a mentor I would just remind them that it will not be their influence that makes the biggest impact. It’s all about being a tool for God to use. Even when I didn’t feel like doing my weekly visit, God used my obedience and commitment. Your mentee will value your commitment more than anything.

STARS is unfortunately losing two of committed tutors at the end of this month, and we want to take the time to thank them for their service, love and commitment.

Charles and Pat Del Pino served with us as tutors and Thursday readers for over 5 years. They attended most of our events and were always reliable. I asked them a few questions about their experience with us. Click the link to see their interview.

Why did you start volunteering with STARS?

Charles: ” I had been an elementary public school teacher for 37 years and had co-led a small tutoring and homework program for 8 years. I wanted to serve the Lord and help to make a difference in the lives of others in some way.

Pat: “I wanted to be useful after retiring and had prior experience in a church-based tutoring program. I wanted to be able to help kids spiritually and as well as academically.”

What did you learn from your time with STARS?

Charles: “I’ve become aware of the hardships that some of our children and families deal with.”

Pat: “Like Charles, I’ve learned that some of our children and their families deal with very difficult life situations and that at the same time they have a strong sense of family which sustains them. The children can be very caring – for example helping me get through a crowd with the walker or carrying something for me.”

How were you blessed while serving with STARS?

Charles: “I’m blessed with the knowledge that my first STARS student has continued in the program for these several years, even though the two of us experienced some conflicts. I’m also blessed with the knowledge that the child who I helped for four years has become a strong and engaged student and is doing well in school.”

Pat: “Seeing students grow and mature physically, academically and even spiritually has been a blessing – especially when they take pride in their accomplishments. One student I’ve worked with lacks confidence in her abilities and it’s a joy to see her smile when she ‘gets’ something.”

If you could do it again, would you do anything differently?

Pat and Charles: “We wish we had made more of an effort to know the families better.”

What advice do you have for the other tutors?

Charles: “Have a number of educational activities for kids to do when their school work is finished.”

Pat: “Praise your students whenever you can and don’t become frustrated with the short time you have with them – believe that you are making a difference in their lives, and fight any temptation to be judgmental about their families.”

Pleases see click on the link below to see the article in Outlook News!

Pasadena Outlook 11-25-10

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.

At its annual Volunteer Awards Dinner Celebration 2009, the Lake Avenue Community Foundation honored Wendell and Liz Watts as Volunteers of the Year, Don Jose Ozuna as recipient of the Andy Bales Compassion Award, Mike Bohenek as winner of the Impact Award, and Steve Morgan as Partner of the Year.

Click here for the full article.

STARS, a tutoring and mentoring program funded by the Lake Avenue Community Foundation to assist young students, recently held its annual party to celebrate the end of the school year.

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]

by Mayra-Macedo-Nolan

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!

by Mayra Macedo-Nolan

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