by April | Community, Volunteerism
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.
by April | Community
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
by April | Community
Watching the San Diego State State Aztecs dominate Wyoming 38-3 after tailgating was a perfect way to celebrate the 2015-2016 SDSU homecoming . The young men participating in the H.E.A.R.T. mentoring program were truly in for a treat on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. The victory in front of an announced crowd 
of 38,761 at Qualcomm Stadium showed flashes of how good the team could become.
The same could be said of the young men of H.E.A.R.T. of which 18 young men with unlimited potential will come together and devote themselves towards aspirations of a higher education. Many of these young men could “fall through the cracks” due to lack of resources and/or opportunities afforded in the public education system. What we address are the other needs that young men need to make better decisions, learn to be goal oriented as well as focus on character development.
We were joined by the Men of the Omicron Iota Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity inc… Together each and every gentleman both young and old got to know each other and build a familial bond. This is an exciting time in these young men’s lives and we are looking forward to watching and tracking the growth of these ten young men as they work to achieve success together. Be sure to watch their growth and cheer them on as they strive to reach their potential and beyond.
by April | Career Development, Community
Our November Workshop focused on Engineering & Technology
from 8 AM – Noon we covered the following:
Hour One – Workshop Kickoff – Check in strategy for better grades
Hour Three – Professional Development – Careers in Engineering and Entrepeunership
Dameon Bryant – Entrepreneur & Senior I phone Developer at GadLight –
Dameon Bryant has been a software developer for 14 years and 100% self taught. Among his accomplishments are the following:
– Developed navigation system for 2010-2012 General Motors vehicles
– Developed software to enable rapid movie production for the Avatar sequels
– Developed software to display fantasy stats on displays in all NFL stadiums
– Won 2nd place in San Diego Startup Weekend “Tech Innovations for the Fashion Industry”
Anthony Winston III Electrical Engineer (Business Owner) and Jason Witt – Community Affairs Engineer (Business Development) both discussed the drive and focus it takes to make it through college as well as life.
Hour Three – Social Skills/Educational Development – Q & A with Kendrick Dial on know in your voice and Personal Empowerment
Hour Four – Discussing core fundamentals such as SAT, ACT, and Essay Writing with some additional classes like FAFSA & Financial Aid and College Careers & Majors.
by April | Community
Damontae and I joined Lan Jefferson host of the Neighbor‐to‐Neighbor Radio Show brought to you by the All In San Diego Advocacy Group this past Saturday to discuss the need of young men in our community. Lan’s show is aired every Saturday morning at 10:00 am on KBLKRadio.com. This radio show features topics by community speakers, on news reports and areas of concern for education, economics, health, civic engagement, veterans, youth, and much more through different radio show formats such as “In Their Own Words,” “In the Spotlight” and the “Heart of the Matter.”
More about the sponsor of the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Radio Show. The All In San Diego Advocacy Group was founded for and by the people of San Diego. The group addresses issues and concerns of people overlooked, left out and without a voice. Their focus is on advocating and fighting for education, economics, employment, health, civic engagement, political involvement, veterans, youth, safety, environment, and much more. If we are not all in, then we are left out!
by April | Community, Team Building, Uncategorized
The Blue Heart Foundation in partnership with the Old Globe Theater treated a night out for the youth and families to a viewing of Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors”. We are a locally based mentoring program that is focused on the empowerment and education of under-served children and foster youth. Our program is based on three categories: 1) Abilities, 2) Applications, and 3) Character which are developed by education, empowerment and teamwork.
As part of our program we feel it important to expose youth to events they may not normally have the opportunity to see and in this instance we viewed 
Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors”. The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical twins that were accidentally separated at birth. This jazz-drenched New Orleans setting of the Old Globe’s just-opened production was presented with a ‘20s makeover, with brass bands marching through at scene breaks and the cast busting out such old-time jazz standards.”
There were points throughout when musicians saunters about onstage to play soulful accompaniments that kept the entire crowd engaged and excellent ensemble work all around. However, certain moments that stood out were: A barn-burning, revival-meeting scene featuring a hilarious turn by Austin Durant as a faith-healing Dr. Pinch… “Youve been healed!” of every issue from baldness to gout … He just couldn’t cure bad credit.
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.
This year’s event featured
