 |
|
Our Goal for 2010 is to creatively reach and teach another 100 youth in the fields of media production and performance.
Under our 501 3 c non-profit we have been granted approval to endorse the Michael T. Pennerman Scholarship Program. Click
here to found out more about this young man's tremendous life and passion as a youth. Also please feel free to apply for the
High School Scholarship Progam if you qualify.
Turn the Youth Around in the local News
Art adds to Bags for Kids
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
FROM LEFT: Calexico High School students Samantha Salas, Elizabeth Williams, Steven Llamas, Corina Chairez, Veronica
Perez and chairman of Turn the Youth Around, William Pennerman, go through a pile of backpacks donated to needy students in
the Calexico School District. |
By JONATHAN DALE, Staff Writer
Thursday, May 31, 2007 10:33 PM PDT CALEXICO — Steven Llamas
looked around him at the room filled with backpacks, realizing that his hands will help more than 400 kids slip on a new bag.
The
17-year-old Calexico High School senior was one of a handful of students from Calexico High, Calexico Mission School, William
Moreno Junior High, De Anza Junior High and Enrique Camarena Junior High whose drawings of Martin Luther King Jr. raised $750
for the local Bags for Kids foundation at an art auction Jan. 15.
“Wal-Mart then matched the $750 to give us
a grand total of $1,500,” Bags for Kids coordinator Michael Jeffers said. “With that money, we brought backpacks
to distribute to all the schools involved to give to needy students.”
“Whenever I’m doing a piece
and I can see it actually affects a lot of people, it gives me gratitude,” Steven said. “It makes me happy that
I can do something and see its affect on people.”
Jeffers said the Calexico-based fundraiser, which took place
at Hometown Buffet in Calexico in January, is the first step in an effort he would like to see reach the entire Imperial Valley.
“Our
goal is to provide every kid in the Imperial Valley with a backpack,” Jeffers said.
Bill Pennerman, the founder
and director for the San Bernardino-based Turn the Youth Around organization — of which Bags for Kids is a subsidiary
— said the donation is for a great cause.
“We believe in investing in the youth of today, and it starts
with education,” Pennerman said. “We believe the star is shining bright here in Calexico.
“Our motto
is that the youth comprise 25 percent of our population, but 100 percent of our future,” Pennerman said.
The bags, which came in an assortment of shapes, sizes, colors and material,
will be handed to students from Calexico’s three junior high schools and single public high school, as well as Calexico
Mission School.
|
| Winner of 2008 MLK Poster Contest |
|
