1. family and parenting

4/8/2015
Latest News from Para Los Niños
Nap Time in Hollywood
Dear Para Los Niños Supporters,
Partners and Friends,
I am excited to share the first issue of
Impacts, our new monthly newsletter.
Impacts gives us the opportunity to
share our work, acknowledge our
accomplishments and supporters,
showcase our talented staff and
enhance everyone's understanding of
the scope and depth of our work as an organization. Each month,
Impacts will offer a variety of stories on the supporters, staff,
clients and events that comprise the world of Para Los Niños. We
hope you find it compelling, informative and even sometimes
inspiring. Moreover, we welcome story ideas and feedback from
all of you. Please don't hesitate to contact our VP of Development
Spotlight
PLN Game changers:
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and Communications, Patrick Sinclair
(psinclair@paralosninos.org), with your ideas and thoughts. We
hope you enjoy this first issue.
Martine
Passionate Commitment Is the Star at PLN Hollywood
Adeline Fernandez comes to
work each morning ready for
something new. "Every day
is a learning experience.
Every day we have a chance
to impact a child or family in
a new and positive way,"
says Adeline.
Read More
Learning to do Whatever it Takes
Danitza Aquino, a Nursing
Assistant at The Atlantic
Memorial Healthcare Center
in Long Beach, had been up
for 24 hours after taking on
an additional shift because a
co­worker had called in sick.
"There was a particular
patient about whom I was
very concerned and I wanted
to make sure he got the attention and care he needed. So I stayed
on to be there for him."
Read More
Helping Families in Need at Ralph's Garage
It's a weekday morning and
Ralph Guirado walks into his
office at the S. Mark Taper
Foundation Child and Family
Center to start his day. He's
just about to sit down at his
desk to check his work email
when the phone rings. "Hi
Ralph, I've got a family that
Amanda Williams, PLN­Gratts
Primary Center Kindergarten
Teacher and Grade Level Chair.
When Amanda Williams thought
about what she wanted to do for a
living, she saw herself pursuing a
career in law. "I thought I was
going to be a lawyer because I've
always been interested in social
justice," she said. But as Amanda
continued to investigate if this was
going to be the right move for her,
she ended up deciding that
teaching was the career that most
intrigued her. After graduating from
Harvard University with a
concentration on History with her
focus being pan­African History,
she began pondering what her next
move would be. "At some point in
time I decided that there were real
opportunities for making justice a
reality in the classroom and so I
applied to Teach for America (TFA)
and went through two years of
teaching still thinking I was going
to be a lawyer," she explained. Her
decision to teach brought Ms.
Williams from her hometown of
New York City to Los Angeles and
to work at the Para Los Niños
(PLN) Gratts Primary Center. The
Teach for American placement
was for two­years, but when that
commitment was up, Amanda
decided she wanted to stay at
Gratts. "I love this community, I
really feel like a part of something.
I feel taken care of here because
of the parents and the families,"
she said. So why has this Harvard
graduate continued to stick with
this career and stay at Para Los
Niños? "I really enjoy learning
about my students and seeing
them learn about themselves. I
really like the character cultivation
because we are all growing up
together in this community," she
explained. Para Los Niños is trying
to transform lives by closing the
achievement gap for children living
in poverty. Ms. Williams is one of
the game changers working to
make that goal a reality every day
and her motivation to help this
community is what enables her to
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needs..." This is usually how Mr. Guirado's day begins. "What I
do is support families," Ralph says, "It's our mission to help
families and it's what I love about this work." Ralph's job title is
"Resource Facilitator" meaning that his role is to connect
individuals and families to whatever they might need. "I am the
guy they'll check with to see if that exists," he explained. This
could be anything from a domestic abuse intervention to furniture
for a home to helping a homeless family find a place to stay for
the night.
Read More Capital Group Gives Back to PLN
Community
A big thanks to the Associates at The
Capital Group for coming to the Para
Los Niños Early Education center in
Burbank on Saturday, March 28, for a
day of learning, painting and service.
The six Associates from Capital Group
began that Saturday with an overview
of the programs and services Para Los
Niños offers and then endured 90
degree heat for 5 hours to paint a 55ft
wall on one of the side of the
playground at the Early Ed Center.
Kevin Swick, one of the Associates,
reflected on his experience with the
project: "Para Los Niños offers children a unique education that
positions them for future success, and I am grateful for the
opportunity to give back to such an incredible organization." Avery
Bell, Director of Corporate Relations at Para Los Niños added,
"We are extremely grateful to these Associates for their hard work
here at the Burbank Center and to The Capital Group overall for
their continued support of the children, families and programs of
Para Los Niños."
A New Wheelchair for Señor Edmundo
Leticia Ortiz was out in the community
one day when she noticed an elderly
man, Señor Edmundo, struggling to get
around in his manual wheelchair.
Leticia, a member of the Neighborhood
Leadership Group (NLG), a part of Para
Los Niños' Best Start Metro LA
program, decided to do something to
help.
Leticia and the NLG immediately
sprang into action. They began looking
into the cost of an electric wheelchair
and although the price was more than they had anticipated, they
make an impact. "I attended a
constructivist school as a child
and I have always thought of it as
such an ideal environment in which
to grow up," she said. "Places
where you can make mistakes and
the process is valued over the
product. It's compelling to be able
to bring that into a community that
otherwise would not likely have
that sort of education. I think a lot
of American education is very
compliance based and I don't see
that as necessarily working,"
continued Ms. Williams.
It's this approach that has earned
Amanda the respect of PLN
students and parents. When she
was asked what her best
experience as a teacher was, she
admitted to being surprised to say
that it was her interactions with
parents during conferences. "When I meet with the parents, no
matter what the test scores say,
they are so grateful. These are the
people who see the growth and
changes in their children. They are
the ones who feel the growth. It's
very gratifying."
During her time at Gratts, Ms.
Williams also continued her
education earning a graduate
degree in Urban Education from
Loyola Marymount University. As
for that law degree she had
planned to pursue, "I've met some
lawyers and learned more about
the justice system and realized
that I have more opportunities for
making justice a reality in the
classroom," she explained, "and I
think I prefer the clientele."
Thank You to Our
Terrific Supporters
We are excited to share
that The JIB Fund
Community Building
Initiative has awarded Para
Los Niños more than
$94,000 to support the
hiring of a Parent
Engagement Coordinator for
our three charter schools.
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began a collection among community members and a local bakery
and found an electric wheelchair for Señor Edmundo within a
month. Read More
Parents Take Photos to Support Healthy
Eating
Many Para Los Niños families are unaware of the
unhealthy eating choices
they face. Tight budgets, fast
food promotions, limited
knowledge of nutrition and a
host of other factors often
lead our families to make
poor eating choices that can
lead to weight problems and even more serious issues such as
diabetes. That's why the Parent Collaborative group of PLN's
Senderos program organized an effort over the last few months to
educate families as to the hazards of poor eating and viable
nutritional alternatives, culminating in a photo exhibit on eating
choices at the MacArthur Park Recreation Center on March 12.
Parents took photos of common food choices in their
neighborhoods, placed them on poster boards and wrote
descriptions that provided information as to why these foods were
unhealthy. "Through these photos, parents were able to showcase
everything they've been discussing these past few months. They
looked at the issues that have been chronically impacting families'
access to healthy foods and the amount of unhealthy food
marketing their children are exposed to. But it wasn't just about
past and present. It was also about looking forward", says Sheena
Nahm, Senderos Program Director. "This exhibit gave parents the
confidence to speak out about an issue that was important to
them. It showed the incredible power of a group of passionate
individuals speaking out, hoping for a better future, and calling for
policy change."
During the MacArthur Park event, guests were treated to an
assortment of healthy snacks, including pita bread with salsa and
a variety of fruits. As guests walked into the main room of the
recreation center, they were greeted by parents who were
standing next to their photos. Guests had the opportunity to
engage with parents as they expressed how they felt about the
unhealthy food marketing environment for their children and their
families.
Representatives from the office of Councilman Gil Cedillo and
County Supervisor Hilda Solis were on hand to lend their support.
"We are delighted to offer
this support and look
forward to working together
during the course of this
grant," said Janis Minton,
senior advisor for The JIB
Fund Community Building
Initiative. Many thanks to The Ralph
M. Parsons Foundation for
their gift of $100,000. The
award will be used to offset
operational costs for the
entire organization.
"Parsons has been a long
time partner for us and we
are thrilled to be able to
continue and grow our
relationship," said Yamileth
Guevara, Director of
Foundation Relations for
Para Los Niños
The Dan Murphy
Foundation generously
awarded $25,000 to Para
Los Niños to support our
Charter Schools. "We were
pleased to make this grant
of financial aid to assist
Para Los Niños," said
foundation president
Richard A. Grant. The funds
will be used to offset
operational costs for each
of the three charter schools.
Thank you Dan Murphy
Foundation!
A big thank you to Margie
Lewis, Para Los Niños
Board Chair, for hosting a
fundraising event last
November 22 at her home
in Hancock Park. The event
helped us secure the funds
needed to match a
generous $50,000 grant
from the Annenberg
Foundation. More than 50
people attended the event
where they heard guest
speaker Marcellus McRae,
Partner, at Gibson, Dunn &
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Latest News from Para Los Niños
Crutcher, discuss his recent
landmark case, Vergara v.
CA, which challenged
California's teacher tenure
law. The evening was a
great success, raising more
than $74,400, surpassing
the fundraising goal. Thank you to our long­time
supporter, The Walt Disney
Company, for their $10,000
donation in support of the
production of our 35th
Anniversary video. This
grant will enable us to tell
the many stories that make
up the 35­year history of
Para Los Niños. From their
first donation in 1980, The
Walt Disney Company
continues to support the
children, families and
programs of Para Los Niños
today.
Thank you to Mark Hickey
of Capital Group who is
leaving our Board after more
than 5 years of service. We
want to take this
opportunity to wish Mark all
the best and express our
deep gratitude for
everything he has done for
our organization.
If you have story ideas for us or would like
further information please contact: Stay In Touch
Patrick Sinclair
Para Los Niños
500 Lucas Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90017
email: psinclair@paralosninos.org www.paralosninos.org
Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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