by April | Mentoring
Along with Outdoor Outreach, we headed out to Big Bear for a weekend away from the city. We reserved two cabins for the weekend to focus on teambuilding wrapped around a Saturday learning to snow board and snowboarding. Thank to the instructors at Outdoor Outreach whom we are thrilled to be a partner we will had an exhilarating time away from the city!
Traveling to Big Bear the air was filled with excitement as this would be each young man’s first opportunity to see the snow and even better snowboard. Though the ride was tight with each passing mile we grew more excited for what the weekend had in store. As we hit the snow OO made sure that we were equipped with the necessary clothing, gloves and gear, It was now time to hit the mountain. After an hour of fundamentals the guys began to get the hang of it and they were soon hitting the intermediate slopes. The entire day was full of non stop fun along with great conversation.
By introducing our young men to the outdoors through exciting and joy-filled weekend, we both work to inspire underserved youth to see possibility and opportunity in their lives. We realize that through these positive types of events you began to see attitude and behavioral changes which help them become successful adults. We conquered the mountain, ate good food, saw the city and believe that these memories will last in these young men’s lives forever. Thank you Outdoor Outreach for the opportunity we appreciate the opportunity!
by April | Education, Mentoring
In an event accented by hands-on workshops, class lectures, laboratory visits, campus tours and interaction with UCSD faculty and undergraduates, hundreds of pre-college students and their parents got more than just a savory taste of university life this month when they attended Dare to Dream College: The African Experience at UCSD. My experience on the UCSD tour was truly amazing. Brandon Rosete stated “This tour made me realize that college is the start of “the real world” this is where we can see who we truly are and truly capable of. I am ready to be a young man now with all my peers. We have a long journey ahead of us.”
“As an African American,” said parent Tammy Blevins “I think this event not only challenged young Black students to dare to dream college and to go after that dream, but also challenged parents to get involved, and stay involved, in preparing their children for higher education –starting in early childhood.”
Indeed, the message of early academic preparation and active parental involvement were important goals when UCSD Student Educational Advancement (a division of Student Affairs) joined with the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) of San Diego and Imperial Counties in sponsoring Dare to Dream College. The event was not only intended to help enhance college-going rates of African Americans in San Diego, but to also provide an opportunity to showcase the academic and career opportunities UCSD has to offer.
Meanwhile, parents attended informative and motivational sessions that addressed their particular needs and concerns including workshops on how to be advocates for their children’s education, negotiating college for their children, and a special stage reading and panel discussion on how to speak to children about the importance of college. Dare to Dream College is an annual event and to follow up with event attendees for inclusion in additional college preparation activities
And from UCSD, the event enjoyed the participation and support from the Chancellor’s Office, faculty, staff, Student Affairs, the Black Student Union and other undergraduates. “It was truly both a community and university effort,” reported Linda Doughty, Director, Cal-SOAP.
The event immersed 4th through 12th grade students in various interactive activities with faculty, staff and undergraduates based upon students’ grade levels and academic interest. These included workshops on why college is important, how to develop “mental toughness ” and equally important… overcoming peer pressure. “The tour was really intriguing, I enjoyed the campus and the interaction I got with people on campus and enjoyed the information we received. I would like to thank UCSD for the opportunity to have me and my blue heart brothers on campus” Kaori McGowan would later say.
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by April | Career Development, Education, Mentoring
Saturday Oct. 15th – The Blue Heart Foundation held it’s monthly workshop which focused on both personal and professional development. This month Taryell Simmons of Connect2Careers focused on Creating an Elevator Pitch – Elevator pitches are brief, rehearsed introductions that give potential employers a “highlight reel” of a person’s experiences and aspirations — answering the common “tell me about yourself” interview question. Participants learned to build a pitch that included their passions, goals and qualifications, then practice their pitch individually and in groups.
Our Professional Development portion focused on Real Estate, facilitated by Derrick Luckett, President of DESTINY-SIX-FINANCIAL. Mr. Luckett’s interactive workshop focused on credit health and keys to home ownership. He also provided a powerful overview on redlining and how it impacts communities and wealth redlining is the practice of denying services, either directly or through selectively raising prices, to residents of certain areas based on the racial or ethnic makeups of those areas.
While some of the most famous examples of redlining regard denying financial services such as banking or insurance, other services such as health care[ or even supermarkets, can be denied to residents (or in the case of businesses like the aforementioned supermarkets, simply moved impractically far away from such residents) to carry out redlining. The term “redlining” was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a sociologist and community activist. It refers to the practice of marking a red line on a map to delineate the area where banks would not invest; later the term was applied to discrimination against a particular group of people (usually by race or sex) irrespective of geography.
During the heyday of redlining, the areas most frequently discriminated against were black inner city neighborhoods. For example, in Atlanta in the 1980s, a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles by investigative-reporter Bill Dedman showed that banks would often lend to lower-income whites but not to middle- or upper-income blacks. The use of blacklists is a related mechanism also used by redliners to keep track of groups, areas, and people that the discriminating party feels should be denied business or aid or other transactions. In the academic literature, redlining falls under the broader category of credit rationing.
Finally, we were treated as Jay King of Club Nouveau stopped through and present on entrepreneurship… Mr. King started his career over 30 years ago (King rewrote music business history when he manufactured, distributed, marketed & promoted the Multi-Million selling #1 R&B and Top Ten Pop hit ‘Rumors’ by the Timex Social Club on his Indi label Jay Records in 1986). He knows what kind of talent, infrastructure and support that is needed to create a successful brand as well as business.
Building real synergy and networking opportunities between local communities and businesses are critical to the success of ones business, sharing his expertise as a marketer, visionary and businessman who was one of the music industry’s first black executives. We were honored that he would stop by to mentor our young men and guests
by April | Community, Mentoring
On a beautiful Saturday morning we partnered with Outdoor Outreach for a two day Surf Camp trip. The next two days would open the mind and challenge the young men of HEART to come together and a team learn to thrive outside of their element. Both organizations utilize outside the box experiences to provide youth with the support, relationships, resources and opportunities they need to become successful adults. Two primary drivers facilitate positive transformation in the youth we both serve: 1) the opportunity for ongoing experiences that are safe, fun, positive and challenging, and 2) the relationships built and deepened within these organizations.
A.J. was initially reluctant and had to be encouraged to get out the car but as we took to the road all became excited, looking forward to an experience. From the start, excitement filled the air as the group arrived to their destination where sand and surf waited. Corwin was initially reluctant and had to be encouraged but once the safety and surf lesson was complete took to the water as if it was a natural experience. Alexezander normally quite reserved would later say “Man, I had a great time … Yeah I’d do it again” with huge smile.
After lunch the group packed up and prepared to head to San Clemente State Beach for the rest of the weekend. San Clemente State Beach is located at the south end of the city of San Clemente, California. The area around San Clemente is known for its ocean, hill, and mountain views, a pleasant climate and its Spanish Colonial style architecture. The city slogan is “Spanish Village by the Sea.” Visitors are attracted to the San Clemente area for its intense winds and dramatic location.
The beautiful mile long beach stretches between the curling ocean surf and the foot of a steep bluff was the perfect setting to set up camp and spend time away from the inner city. First thing, first the young men set up camp, pitching four six person tents and getting their area prepared to spend the night. Once done it was off to the beach again… Now these waves were no joke. Xavier marveled saying “Wow… These are way bigger than the last beach!” as he grabbed his boogie board sprinting toward the crash waves. After a couple hours in the water it was time to head up for dinner.
The next morning we headed to San Clemente pier taking in the view of the Pacific Ocean and would walk back together enjoying the view, people and landscape. We ended the trip with more of the same sun, surfing and fun. Jason framed the time perfectly by saying “it was nice to get away and just chill with the bro’s…I definitely want to do it again.”
Through these experiences our guys garner a sense of achievement, which increases their confidence, self-esteem and resilience, and enables them to see new possibilities for their lives. Our youth form long-term mentor relationships through these types of experiences. When youth consistently show up and are supported, it allows them to break out of the negative cycles in their lives, like media perception, drugs, gangs, poverty, negative sterotypes and replace them with new positive cycles.
by April | Community, Mentoring, Team Building
August 18th, 2016 – Ending our summer with a Padres win was perfect!!! Attending our final Padres Game of the Summer against the Arizona Diamondbacks which was a huge success as we won 9-8. Once again partnering with the San Diego Padres Charity Ticket Program. Identified as a charity group to partner with the Padres we were sure to take full advantage and had 100% participation. We were featured multiple times during the game with live shots on FriarVision by sharing our pics on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #SDinHD.
Corwin Harris (HEART Parent) stated ” It’s great to see that the padres are giving back to community by providing tickets for programs like this! We had a great time watching the Padres with the group. Olijah exclaimed “It was a great experience, I never thought that would happen that I’d see us on the big screen… but when we did .. WOW!”
We partnered with the San Diego Padres Major League Baseball’s “Commissioner’s Community Initiative” and MLB Player’s Association “Players Give Back” to donate complimentary tickets to deserving non-profit organizations who serve children within the Padres focus of LIVE (children’s health), LEARN (education) PLAY (recreation), and SERVE (military and first responders).
Though the Padres lost to the San Francisco Giants, it did not diminish the excitement of the group, all had a fabulous time staying until the last out was recorded. We look forward to our next trip to Petco Park and have to thank Christina Papasedero and the community relations and Padres Foundation for the opportunity. Shani McGowan (Parent) framed the event perfectly when he said “All the kids had a great time last night, they just wish the Padres had gotten more hits… This was the first baseball game for many of them and I’d like to thank the Padres for the opportunity.”
by April | Community, Mentoring
Shortly after multiple shootings happened across the country townhall meetings were held at the George L. Stevens Senior Center in the Skyline/Encanto area. The focus of these meetings was to promote healing and bridge the gap between the community and law enforcement.
As youth advocates we have a unique opportunity to make significant change in the world. As a matter of fact, the involvement of young people has already made a difference all across the country and the world.
Kaori McGowan delivered a heartfelt speech where he questioned “How can I not be a victim of the system, when I’ve lost so many friends, family and brothers. It’s sad that every morning I have to tell my little brother “make sure you stay safe.”
H.E.A.R.T. (Higher Education And Rising Together) believes that Youth can…
Advocate for policy change:
Young people are effective at garnering support for policy development and capture the attention of political leaders and the media in ways that adults can’t.
Project a powerful voice:
Youth have credibility with their peers and other community leaders.
Young people naturally provide innovation and creativity, making this work more exciting and attractive to policy makers, partners, and other youth.
San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman, several police officers, community leaders and residents attended the meeting. Zimmerman said her officer have worked hard to build relationships with the communities they patrol, and they will continue to improve communication.
One man in attendance said the meeting was a good start, but unless police departments do a better job of policing themselves, the shootings will probably continue and might take place in cities like San Diego. “Until we actually face and attack racial prejudice that’s embedded in police departments, we’re going to continue to have these problems,” said Armand King who lives in the Skyline area of San Diego.
The Blue Heart Foundation is focused on the empowerment and education of underserved youth. Our program is based on nine (9) core competencies which fall under three categories: 1) Abilities, 2) Applications, and 3) Character. Advocacy falls under character development where members model high standards of personal conduct at all times and in all places.
7. Advocacy – Members are advocates for just causes in their schools and communities. 8. Equity – Members are committed to social, political, and educational equity for all people. 9. Ethics – Members model high standards of personal conduct at all times and in all places. These are critical traits in a young man’s growth as well as ensuring that fundamentally they make good choices when exposed to difficult decisions.
Traveling to Big Bear the air was filled with excitement as this would be each young man’s first opportunity to see the snow and even better snowboard. Though the ride was tight with each passing mile we grew more excited for what the weekend had in store. As we hit the snow OO made sure that we were equipped with the necessary clothing, gloves and gear, It was now time to hit the mountain. After an hour of fundamentals the guys began to get the hang of it and they were soon hitting the intermediate slopes. The entire day was full of non stop fun along with great conversation.
By introducing our young men to the outdoors through exciting and joy-filled weekend, we both work to inspire underserved youth to see possibility and opportunity in their lives. We realize that through these positive types of events you began to see attitude and behavioral changes which help them become successful adults. We conquered the mountain, ate good food, saw the city and believe that these memories will last in these young men’s lives forever. Thank you Outdoor Outreach for the opportunity we appreciate the opportunity!
