From January 4 – 8, 2016 five schools in the San Diego Unified School District were identified and had the opportunity to apply for college at 46 Historically Black Colleges and Universities for free! Through a partnership with San Diego Unified School District introduced by Marne Foster and sponsored by the Blue Heart Foundation the Common Black College Application has been made available to every senior in the district through March.
Morse, Lincoln, Crawford, San Diego and Hoover High schools were identified by the SDUSD as the pilot schools that would receive a visit from Robert Mason – CEO/Founder to personally facilitate the application process. The Common Black College Application has improved college access for the thousands of students that attend school in the San Diego Unified School District. Lincoln High School Counselor Clayton Ballard would say “I think the biggest effect that this is having all the students in the room at the same time; having all these young African American students who are pushing for something to see each other at the same time.. That was the power of having them do it together.”
What is the Common Black College Application? The Common Black College Application allows you to complete a single document and submit it to a number of historically black colleges and universities. Member institutions will honor the CBCA as if it were their own application.
Users of the Common Black College Application usually incur a one-time fee of $35, which allows them to apply to up to 46 historically black colleges and universities at the same time. This however was waived through the sponsorship of the Blue Heart Foundation. “The Blue Heart Foundation has clearly demonstrated their commitment to this community by creating the opportunity for every student throughout the San Diego Unified School District to complete the Common Black College Application for free. I can only hope that other organizations will join us in this effort to increase the educational options for students interested in attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” stated Robert Mason
Why is this application necessary? After years of working in admissions, Robert Mason of EDUInc. created the Common Black College Application as a way of breaking the cycle of poverty that steep application fees perpetuate. It helps low-income families afford the cost of applying to college, and, as he explains, helps HBCUs to find qualified students who might have assumed college was out of their reach.
Because of the costs associated with submitting college applications, many students either don’t apply at all or only apply to one school. The Common Black College Application, however, allows those from low-income families to apply to dozens of schools with minimal effort. Tracy Morris would later say “I just believe that college can change communities and there is no better investment than our youth. Just imagine the paradigm shift that would take place if every one of these young men and women went on to graduate from college… Entire communities would/could change.
One of our staples is ensuring we give back to our community in the form of service. During this Christmas season we assisted at the Holiday with Hope Celebration. Each year the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA hosts a holiday celebration on the Saturday before Christmas. This years festival took place Saturday, December 20, 2014 from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm.
Purpose
To provide a fun day for families with children during the Christmas holiday season. Each year gifts are presented to thousands children thanks to the generous donations of individuals and businesses. This year was no different as nearly 5000 people showed up to take part in this years holiday festivities.
This year’s event featured
Arts and Crafts
Picture with Santa
One gift per child that is present*
Music
Entertainment
Much more!
We are thankful for the opportunity that the YMCA gave us to assist families this holiday season and the opportunity to play the roles of Rudolph, Mickey Mouse and Santa.
Our Annual Christmas Awards breakfast took place Saturday Dec. 5th, 2015 at the Crown Plaza – Mission Valley with the goal to celebrate this holiday season by honoring those that serve our community and bringing educational awareness to San Diego’s foster and underprivileged youth during a festive Christmas celebration.
For the past nine years it has been our opportunity to give and receive the gift of service. We invite youth and families of San Diego to partake in a morning of joy, gift giving and celebration. This year we have grown larger than ever inviting nearly 100 children and providing them a celebratory breakfast. These children and teenagers come from a variety of programs which include which include foster and area group homes
This year’s Keynote Speaker was Devin Hughes.(The Chief Inspiration Officer) with Community Activist of the Year Awards going to Anna Arancibia (Jackie Robinson YMCA), Kristyl JL Smith (Community Activist), Dana Michelle Bryant (Eleanor’s Place) and Joann Fields all of which have directly impacted young people’s lives on a regular basis. We also honored educational administrators Karla Whitaker (CalSOAP), and Beverly Warren both of which have greatly impacted our student’s lives at both grade school and collegiate levels. Finally, sticking with our theme of education we will honored our shining star Shane Harris, Sade Burrell as our Guardian Scholar of the Year for overcoming monumental obstacles to graduate from college along with a and E.J Walls as our Collegiate Activist of the Year. We also had awards for children from both the Heartbeat Music Academy and the H.E.A.R.T (Higher Education And Rising Together) mentoring program.
This was a wonderful Christmas event benefiting San Diego’s Foster and underserved youth and encouraging them to attend and complete college
In order to avoid being “Grinchy” we took in America’s favorite holiday fable as it returned for its 17th joyous year!
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!is a wonderful, whimsical musical based upon the classic Dr. Seuss book. Back for its 17th incredible year, the family favorite features the songs “This Time of Year,” “Santa for a Day” and “Fah Who Doraze,” the delightful carol from the popular animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Celebrate the holidays as the Old Globe Theatre is once again transformed into the snow-covered Whoville, right down to the last can of Who-hash.
We believe culturally enriching field trips matter. They produce significant benefits for students on a variety of educational outcomes that schools and communities care about. The effects of field trips to see live theater demonstrates that seeing plays is an effective way to teach academic content; increases our youth’s tolerance by providing exposure to a broader, more diverse world; and improves the ability of students to recognize what other people are thinking or feeling. These are significant benefits for students on specific educational outcomes that schools pursue and communities respect. Especially when considered alongside our community service efforts.
Lastly, you can never know what may impact a child’s life. Not all learning occurs most effectively within the walls of a school building. Going on enriching field trips to cultural institutions makes effective use of all of a community’s resources for teaching children. You can never know what may impact a child’s life. There’s nothing like seeing a group of young men excited for Christmas.
This year we served the community again twice during the Thanksgiving holiday, The young men of The Blue Heart Foundation’s mentoring program HEART (Higher Education And Rising Together) participated in the Annual San Diego BPOA Thanksgiving Dinner drive and the Annual New Season of Love Block Party. One of our core values is volunteerism, we feel its important to give back and serve our community regularly.
The Annual San Diego BPOA Thanksgiving Dinner drive benefited over 100 families, other amazing organizations that participated in this beautiful event that were Phi Beta Sigma, NFLPA, Sigma Gamma Rho, Brothers United and the San Diego Police Dept and was a great way to kick start the holidays.
That same weekend we volunteered at the Annual New Season of Love Block Party. This is an Annual Event that fed over 1000 families and we were able to distribute 31,000 lbs of groceries and 600 turkeys to families in attendance.
The unique concept and vision of New Seasons Church is to reach this community where it is needed most – the family -every family – with love. Through this event, we plan to bring available resources to our community. We will offer information and assistance with agencies such as: CAL Fresh Pre-Screening, Red Cross WIC, family healthcare resources, East Country Pregnancy Care Clinic, County Health Mobile providing HIV/STD and Hepatitis screening, Covered California information and AKA Head Start.
What is the Common Black College Application?
Why is this application necessary?
