Farewell, Intern Diana!

This past Monday, June 28, marked the last day of Foundation for Second Chances' first-ever Programs Intern, Diana Norton! Diana was an incredible asset to the Second Chances team, and provided a solid foundation for our Reading Wheels Literacy Program that will continue for years to come. Diana also made meaningful contributions to ensuring the success of our Community Health Festival, and in developing curriculum for our Mentoring Program. A wearer of many hats, Diana will sorely be missed here at FFSC.

Diana, right, with our new PR/Marketing Intern, Menchie Caliboso

Diana's energy, compassion, and sense of humor brought indispensable ideas and unforgettable memories to Foundation for Second Chances, and we know she is destined for great things. We wish Diana the best of luck in her aspirations to earn her Masters degree so that she can one day run her own non-profit organization--a feat we are confident Diana will soon conquer.

Thank you, Diana, for all your hard work and dedication! You will always remain an important member of the Second Chances family.

SCMP Climbs to the Top of Los Angeles!

On Sunday, July 27, Second Chances Mentoring Program hosted its monthly Group Outing at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook on the recommendation of mentor Joe Weiner! It was a beautiful day in this pocket of nature nestled in Culver City, and our group had a great time hiking up the infamous stairs to see all of Los Angeles below.

No doubt, it was a challenging workout, but it was Taylor W.'s favorite part of the outing! "I liked climbing up the stairs because we all had to work together." Keeping each other motivated and taking in the views of Los Angeles from above made it worth the effort!

Mercedes, Taylor, and Michelle pose together at the top

After a round of high-fives and catching our breath, mentors and mentees had a picnic lunch before walking through the educational exhibits at the Visitors Center. The rest of the day was spent playing sports, with some of our mentees trying out volleyball and baseball for the very first time!

Reading Wheels, Class of '10!

The weekend of June 12th marked the end of the Reading Wheels Literacy Program for the school year. In honor of the close of Reading Wheels, Melissa Wyatt, Executive Director of FFSC, myself (Diana) and my fellow volunteer coordinators (Shannon and Su-yin) planned a very special final day for our kids and volunteers.

We began the day just like any other, breaking the kids up into K-2nd graders and 3rd-5th and assigning them volunteers. After reading " Here comes Summer!" with the K-2nd graders and "Phineaus Macguire Erupts" with the 3rd-5th graders, we decided to play a very special and wildly entertaining game. Created by Shannon, the game is a mix of musical chairs and a pop quiz. You begin the game just like musical chairs but instead of automatically being out if you dont have a chair when the music stops, must answer a pop quiz question related to the books. If you get it wrong, you are out, if you get it right, you get to keep playing.

After a very competitive game of Shannon's amalgamation of musical chairs and a pop quiz, (Congratulations to Aura for winning!) Melissa surprised everyone with a very special Graduation lunch! Nothing says "Congratulations on graduating from the first round of Reading Wheels" like fried chicken and red velvet cake!! As a thank you to all the kids for participating in the Reading Wheels Program, we created graduation certificates for all the kids so they would have something to take home with them....besides a full belly and left over pieces of cake.

Although RW has closed down for the summer all of us here at FFSC are very excited to start back up in September. See you all then!

Aon and Second Chances Partner to Beautify New Designs Charter

In May, Second Chances Mentoring Program was selected to partner with leading global reinsurance intermediary, Aon, to serve our community. The project at hand? The beautification of a burgeoning, innovative charter school in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, New Designs Charter School.

On Tuesday, June 1st, the Los Angeles offices of Aon hosted a silent auction to raise funds on behalf of Second Chances Mentoring Program. Employees came out to bid on tickets for Disneyland, an autographed game ball from the Los Angeles Lakers, a week-long condo rental in Honolulu, a brand new Kindle, and so much more! Over $3,000 was raised that afternoon; combined with the Irvine office's silent auction the previous week, $4,500 was raised to help breathe new life into the New Designs campus.

Second Chances would like to recognize Aon employees for their support and generosity--from mobilizing volunteers to coordinating fundraisers, our sincerest thanks. Deepest thanks go to Sheryl Marx, Executive Assistant at Aon and Second Chances mentor, for nominating FFSC for this incredible community partnership. Our gratitude also extends to Warren Sata, Director of School Operations at New Designs, for all his support and enthusiasm.

On July 15, 2010, over 100 Aon employees will be repainting classrooms, implementing murals, building new seating areas, planting flowers, donating sports equipment, teaching classes, and creating a vegetable garden for the University Park campus of New Designs.