MENTORS DEVELOP BONDS WITH YOUTHS NEEDING PALS.Byline: DIANA PEYTON Community Columnist There's more to life than what one can learn from books. Some people think students need a little help from their friends. If you ask academic mentor Micki Schulman-Fisher she'll agree. ``My wonderful mentee men·tee n. One who is mentored. [ment(or) + -ee1.] and I have built a great sense of trust, mutual respect and caring which has grown between us and when that builds up, walls come down and a safety zone takes its place,'' she said. Schulman-Fisher was paired as a mentor with a 14-year-old from El Camino Real High School El Camino Real High School (also known locally as "ECR" and by some more recently as "ELCO") is a public secondary school located in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. , and has established a strong bond typical of relationships that have been built through the El Camino High School "El Camino High School" may refer to:
At the end of the semester a note of thanks came to Schulman-Fisher with some unexpected affection. ``The best thing of all is that you have a very big warm heart,'' the student wrote. Schulman-Fisher framed it, and the feeling is mutual, she said. Beatrice Hraca, a West Hills resident, has also experienced more than she expected through the program. After 40 years of social work she finds mentoring just as rewarding, without the pressure. ``I didn't realize how much impact I had until a year had passed and the boy brought two of his friends with him'' to be mentored, she said. Carole Donahue, a former staff member at El Camino, received a grant that brought $225,000 for the three-year program. Now El Camino's academic program director, Gloria Morrison, is expecting approval of a renewed grant. Donahue is no longer a staff member at the school but is working with her husband, Robert Donahue, to develop nonprofit Team Learning Centers, which are designed to bring students, seniors and other community members together through mentoring. The goals of the organization are threefold: to establish TLCs in schools, libraries, senior centers and houses of worship; to provide $50,000 annually in scholarships to participants in the mentor program and to distribute 5,000 Virtual College Visit compact discs. The CDs give college-bound students a glimpse of campuses, staff and amenities at eight prominent colleges in the country. Local businesses involved are The Boeing Co., Topanga Plaza Management Co., Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box , RJ Associates, Gold & Gold CPAs, Lucky Grocery Co., Skopos Consulting, Woodland Hills Rotary, Salomon Smith Barney Smith Barney is a division of Citigroup Global Capital Markets Inc., a global, full-service financial firm, that provides brokerage, investment banking and asset management services to corporations, governments and individuals around the world. and the Salvation Army Salvation Army, Protestant denomination and international nonsectarian Christian organization for evangelical and philanthropic work. Organization and Beliefs The Salvation Army has established branches in 100 countries throughout the world. . Community mentors are Sal Barrios Barrios is a name of Hispanic origin. The name may refer to: Persons
Also contributing time are Rafeal Cortes, Abeer El-Ahmad, Kevin Feeney Kevin Feeney is a High Court Judge in Ireland. He was elected to the High Court (Ireland) in March 2006. Mr Justice Feeney is a former student of Gonzaga College S.J., and a graduate of University College Dublin and the Honorable Society of King’s Inns. , Judith and Ron Fischer, Charles Gold, Ryan Guerriero, Marlene Gurewitz, Kris Hager, Cy Hichens, Ronald Jackson, Hope Keswick, Jackie Lee, Juan Higareda and Alan Kay. Other mentors are Henry Loureiro, Sunny Marks, Roberta Mehegan, Rachel Michelson, Brandie Ogders, Debra Pelmont, Don Ploski, Clyde Porter, Veronica Hernandez Ortiz, Barbara Sloan, Jim Sloan and Tom Starko. Also, Charlene Swink, Danny Thornburg, John Turner, Susie Unkeless, Jane Walsh and Su Min Wang. Local singers, dancers, thespians and musicians have performed their way into $200,000 worth of grants awarded under the California Community Foundation The California Community Foundation, located in Los Angeles, California serves all of Los Angeles County and is the United States' second-oldest community foundation. It has assets of over $1 billion and makes grants for several different charitable purposes. . Seven emerging artists and community-based arts organizations received awards for the multiculturalism in their work through two initiatives, the Brody Arts Fund and the California Community Foundation Arts and Cultural Fund. Ballet Folklorico Ollin of Panorama City received $3,500 from the Brody Arts Foundation and North Wind Quintet in Chatsworth and Synthaxis Theatre in North Hollywood each received $5,000. Local artists awarded $5,000 by Brody are MariTa Bodman, a puppeteer from Arleta; choreographer and Encino resident Jacques Heim; and Malathi Iyengar, a dancer and choreographer from Sherman Oaks. Deaf West Theatre Founded in 1991, Deaf West Theatre Company has become a cultural institution serving as a model for deaf theatre worldwide. It is noted for being the first professional resident Sign Language Theatre in the western half of the United States. Company in North Hollywood received $12,000 from the California Community Foundation Arts and Culture Fund. The recipients were given their awards during a public reception at the Japanese American National Museum The Japanese American National Museum opened its doors in 1992. The museum is located in the Little Tokyo area near downtown Los Angeles, California. It is devoted to preserving the history and culture of Japanese Americans. in Los Angeles. |
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