UOFA 2013 Last Session

This year, our Urban Oasis Film Academy participants were able to create and produce 6 films that will be entered in the Bresee's Film Festival! This is a culmination of weekly sessions since the beginning of the year and it was through the diverse, collective efforts that these films became a reality. We would like to thank our mentees, volunteers, staff and partners for making this year's Urban Oasis Film Academy a success!

Viacom's Slang Pictionary

In our recent session with Viacom, mentees and mentors participated in Slang Pictionary! We started off with a generation exchange where our matches had the opportunity to share their experiences in high school- trends, music, politics, culture and anything in between. Then we transitioned to our slang pictionary where mentees and mentors had to draw slang, or informal terms that are currently being used or were used. It was a great session that allowed our matches to learn the different terms they use or used growing up and the different experiences associated with them!

Giovanni & Tim's YMC Story

"Only the guidance from a mentor could make a fifty pound weight lost goal turn into a result of losing one hundred and twenty pounds in just a two year period. The gratitude that I have for my mentor Tim Windgard continues to exceed new heights as I continue to relies how much he has truly change my life. This Malibu local saw me, a twelve year old, two hundred and eighty pound African American male growing up in south central that had no academic motivation for education, no self-esteem because of obesity. This individual had no desire to be different than the troubling drop out students, gang bangers and poor role models that were all to familiar. My mentor Tim saw this young individual and told himself that he needs to contact Youth Mentoring Connection so he can invest time into this young man’s life because he’s going to be successful some day.

Some might say such events as losing as much as one hundred and twenty pounds, becoming a great African American surfer and turning my whole general perspective on school around is much to have accomplished before and during high school. I say it’s just the beginning. The beginning of a developing mentality to not just be the best, but set the bar with my own personal best. A personal, persistent mentality in hunger of new opportunities to challenge myself and improve. This mentality continues to develop because I still haven’t reached the pinnacles I plan to reach. This lead me to be on the search for the door to the new opportunity that will mold me into a better, brighter and more persistent young scholar.

In Youth Mentoring Connection giving me a mentor or what I see him as, the father figure I never had, he paved the we for today and myself successfully finishing my freshmen year of college with a 3.3 GPA. I plan to continue my education at Loyola Marymount University and majoring in business administration, political science, and minoring in environmental justice. I will continue doing various internships and jobs that are guided toward my major during undergraduate. Following that, I plan to continue my education in graduate school at Stanford University and at the same time start generating profit for the company I am in the process of starting with a Stanford Graduate Chemist and few students from UCLA. We are developing a water conservation company that will innovate the waste management industry. After that, I will run for Speaker of the Assembly for the State of California. Then I will run for Governor of California. Following that I will run for President of the United States. After that I plan on opening up a non-profit that reflects the same core values as Youth Mentoring Connection. I want to continue YMC’s mission to help connect more individuals to invest their valuable time into young inner city kids most say will be nothing in life. Similar to what most people said about me at a first glance. YMC connected me with my mentor and proved the nay sayers wrong. I want to help save lives just as YMC did with mine.

In the summer of 2011 the Metlife Foundation and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging(N4A) flew my mentor Tim and I out to Washington, DC for a Older Volunteers Enrich America Awards reception were Tim’s received a national honor. He received the Silver Honor for the national Mentoring Award. Part of the event article reads, “Tim Wingard, 69, has been a volunteer at the Youth Mentoring Connection (YMC) for seven years.YMC awakens at-risk youth to their power, unique gifts and purpose by matching them with caring adult mentors. Tim, who still surfs, volunteers his time for the surf program and brought his mentee, Giovanni (Gio), surfing on weekends. At 13, Gio weighed 285 pounds and was struggling in most areas of his life in South Central L.A. Tim taught Gio how to eat healthfully, to surf and to be a proud, responsible man. As a result of Tim’s mentoring, Gio lost 120 pounds. Gio is now president of his high school’s debate team, an honor student, surfer and basketball player who has been accepted to several universities. Tim and Gio remain extremely close five years after first meeting.” Youth Mentoring Connection first changes lives of the mentee, then changes lives through the relationship with the mentor and the end result is that YMC enriches both lives."

Path of Your Life!

In out last Viacom Mentoring session, our mentor and mentee matches participated in "Path of Your life" where they were able to reflect on their life path and where they want to see themselves in the future. It was a great opportunity for our matches to learn about each other and to see the challenges and successes they have experienced in their life so far!

Odyssey- What's my gig

In this session the mentees and mentors in Odyssey had a great time playing the game "What's my gig". We invited a group of people with diverse jobs to join a pannel and talk about the work they do. The mentees had to figuere out the type of job each panelist did by asking questions and matching the name next to their job title. After the mentees match each person with their job they had an opportunity to sit and talk to them about what it takes to their job.

Shout ! Factory- SMC Tour

In this session the mentees and mentors had an opportunity to take a guided tour on the Santa Monica College Campus. They visited the SMC athletic department, library, dance department and the different buildings where several classes take place. This was a great opportunity for mentees to ask questions and start exploring new routes for their life.

Odyssey- Empowerment Session

In this session the youth and the mentors received an opportunity to learn what is sexuality and gender and what it is like to be seen as men and women in society. The activity consisted of a discussion and a moment of sharing between men and women about their continous struggles.

Shout!- Photography Session 4.20.12

The Mentees and Mentors at Shout! Factory had a chance to learn from a professional photographer about the different techniques involved in photography. They learned about the many creative ways to take and used photos. They also had an opportunity to share their own photos with the rest of the group.

HBO- Film Project

HBO mentors and mentees were divided into 3 teams for a film project. The teams had assistance from Edgar (who is a film maker) and some of his friends. These are the following titles of the films: Teen Pregnancy, Choices we make, and What’s behind the Mask?. The screening is scheduled to take place on June 2^nd at the Year-end celebration.

Shout! at Bergamot Station

Looking for a great spot to spend time with your mentee? Then Bergamot Station in Santa Monica is the spot. Recently the mentees and mentors from Shout! Factory had the opportunity to explore the multiple galleries available at Bergamot Station. This is a great spot to sit and eat and spend some quality time with your mentee, walking around the art and photography rooms will make a great one-on–one outing.

WB Group Session

At this session the Mentee and Mentor were given an opportunity to take a look at their new years resolution and how they plan to commit to their goals. Both Mentor and Mentee shared their dreams and future accomplishments with one another and some matches shared to the entire group about what changes they are looking forward to making. Thank you WB for another wonderful Session.

CHLA Holiday Party

This was our holiday session with our mentors and mentees. We had dinner following our white elephant gift exchange, which was filled with a lot of goofy gifts.

Warner Bros. Holiday Party 2011-2012

In this session our Mentors and Mentee's enjoyed a fun game of White Elephant after eating a delicious Christmas Lunch at Warner Bros. Here are a few pictures of our lovely matches having a great time and showing love all around. Enjoy.

CHLA 2011-2012 Matching Session

In this session, mentors and mentees were matched and got to know each other through the mentor/mentee interview and introduced each other to the rest of the group!

HBO Thanksgiving - Toast & Turkey

In honor of the holidays, the mentees and mentors at HBO had a chance to share with each other what their ideal thanksgiving dinner would look like and what guests they would invite. They also had a chance to give a toast to those special people in their lives.

CHLA 2011-2012 Getting to Know You Sesion

CHLA mentors and mentees were given another opportunity to get to know each other. Each mentor and mentee were able to have quick individual discussion with one another. After the session, the mentors and mentees choose their top three picks. By next session, they will find out who they are matched up with!

CHLA Meet and Greet

CHLA's first group sesssion: mentors and mentess got together and interacted through different activities, discussions, pizza and chaos bowling.

HBO Meet & Greet

Surfing 2011

Once again our youth had an amazing time surfing the waves. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers that came out and helped. This would had not been able to happen with out your support. Thank you and lets keep making a difference in young peoples lives.

Agueda's Thoughts: More Fee Hikes

    The type of work Youth Mentoring Connection does is life-changing and life-saving. I believe that in order to be able to do such great work that also comes from a good place individual’s need proper training and education on the issues that our communities are facing. Many of us come from such communities, therefore, we have experienced the issues first hand, but regardless of this, being able to critically reflect and analyze your experience is crucial. There are many college courses, professors, advisors, etc who can provide such things for an individual and being able to have those resources at your disposal is an issue of accessibility and equity for our communities.
    Both the UC and Cal State systems recently approved additional fee hikes for the 2011-2012 academic year. The announcements were made this week, just weeks before the year is to begin.  For people who come from a low-income background such notifications can be alarming and can cause panic. How can a family who is barely making ends meet come up with an extra $500-600 in a matter of weeks? Many families do not have disposable income and do not have the liberty to simply set aside money for short-noticed expenses.
    Now, considering all this, how are individuals who are interested in doing social justice work supposed to get the education and training needed to be most effective in the communities they work with when they can barely afford college? How can individuals move up in the social ladder and give back at the same time when their access to so many resources is limited?
    The 9.6% increase the UC Regents recently approved along with the 12% increase the Cal State board approved both will be on top of the previous fee hikes both systems had previously approved for this upcoming academic year. Issues of accessibility and equity have been present within our higher education system for years but fee hikes like these will only create more issues for communities of color.
    Such fee hikes will make it extremely hard if not impossible for many to attend a 4-year institution after high school or transfer from a community college.  This issue goes beyond economic disparities; fee hikes continue to create access for some groups and continue decreasing and limiting the access to higher education to many other groups.  How can those groups whose access is limited be fair competitors in the current job market, do good work, or simply get by? 


Agueda