Welcome New and Renewing Members
Ryan Anderson, Capital Group
Lauren Barnes, Boeing
Anthony Bertuca, New York Magazine
Matthew Bluett, KPMG
Sindy Cabrera, Wells Fargo
Craig Carter, Raytheon Corp.
Annie Chen, LAUSD
Emily Chin, Deloitte Consulting
Celia Corbin, Capital GroupOlivia Edmonds, Dark Square FX
Tanya Finks, Capital Group
Rose Fong, Northrop Grumman Space Technology
Adam Fox, Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP
Sarah Gettings, Akin Gump Strauss Haur & Feld LLP
Maxim Goldman, Sapient
Katrina Gordon, Boeing
Nidhi Gupta, My Shape Inc.
Gordon Hallman, Proctor & Gamble
Tracy Hauser, Capital Group
Erin Jackson, ETVA Property Management
Alexa Lowry, Boeing
Alison Miller, Capital Group
Diana Molina, KPMG
Jaimi Nanko, First 5 LA
Audra Narikawa, Capital Group
Lisa Nghiem, Mattel
Joanne Nhan, Yahoo Inc.
Kevin Nolen, McCarthy Building Companies Inc.
Scott Page, Clark & Trevithick
Jessica Palomino, Wells Fargo
Peter Pan, Wells Fargo
Heena Patel, United Health Group
Adriene Pickett, Capital Group
Daisy Pizana, US House of Representatives
Jessica Porter, Deloitte Consulting
Dana Rosario, House Ear Institute
Sandra Rosenfeld, Mediscan
Affad Shaikh, Council on American-Islamic Relations
Anna Syrkis, Self-Employed
Viviane Tai, Capital Group
Kenji Taylor, Capital Group
Lauren Taylor, Sapient
George Tellechea, Legal Zoom Inc.
Shiwan Tribbett, Capital Group
Darren White, Dimensional Fund Advisors
Ryan Wolfe, Capital Group
Kahye Yi, Capital Group
Matthew Yonak, Capital Group

Happy June Birthdays!
Robert Brown
Precious Holt
Naseem Khaledi
Alan Kwan
Jennifer Liu
Alexa Lowry
Jaimi Nanka
Lisa Nghiem
Vishal Patadia
Anthony Peraza
Maxwell Sinclair
Jon Ziebarth

Happy July Birthdays!
Michael Barrett
Candace Burnham
Jeff Carter
Albert Chang
Kimberly Donovan
Lydia Hsiao
Mark Iles
Jane Kim
Allison Lee
Charlene Lo
Colin Magee
Allison Miller
Brian Miller
Christy Miyagishima
Jonathan Moore
Mike Ortega
Krishna Shah
Wade Smart
Gabriel Surratt
Leah Weiner
Richard Whipple
Ryan Wolfe
Brenda Zamzow

Congratulations to...
Rijul Bhaskar and Eric Gustafson for participating in the LA Marathon, biking to raise money for Inside Out Community Arts and SOS Mentor respectively. Good work for good causes!

LAJCC staff member, Sonia Paulino, on having one of her photographs selected for exhibition in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

June 6
Ready to Learn Disneyland Trip

June 11
Single Malt Scotch & Cheese Adventure

June 13, 14, 20
L.A. Watts Summer Games

June 17
RVLDP Class 37 Fundraising Basics
Board Leaders Institute

June 25
Projects Committee Meeting

June 28
RVLDP Class 36 Fundraiser & Graduation

June 29
Urban Youth Golf Program 20th Anniversary Celebration

July 8
RVLDP Class 37
Strategic Planning

July 13
SCPGA fundraiser for UYGP

LAJCC Board Meeting

July 29
RVLDP Class 37
Fundraising: Foundation Giving

August 12
RVLDP Class 37
Financial Management

August 15
Foster Family Picnic

SCPGA/Valencia Country Club Partner with Urban Youth Golf to Raise Funds

The SCPGA will host a fundraiser at beautiful Valencia Country Club on July 13 with the proceeds benefiting Urban Youth Golf and Metro Area junior golf. Incredibly, green fees are just $195 for this prestigious, private course. Your group will include 3 Amateur sponsors, 1 PGA professional and 1 junior. Your entry fee includes food, beverage, tee prizes and entertainment. A raffle and auction will also be held, so if you can’t join us for golf you can help out by obtaining items for the auction or raffle. Tee sign sponsorship is available for the unbelievable price of  $50! Contact UYGP Director, Lisa Grimm or click here for registration information.

LAJCC Sponsors Huge Sports Tournament

The 42nd LA Watts Summer Games (LAWSG) will take place on June 13th – 20th at an expanded list of city-wide venues including the Home Depot Center, LA Southwest College, Columbia Park and eight Los Angeles area high schools. As the largest high school athletic competition in the US, the Games are projected to attract up to 6,000 participants from across the great state of California. For the second year POWERADE will be the official beverage sponsor and will supply product and giveaways to all of the participants.

This event was started by the LA Junior Chamber of Commerce to promote the principles of sportsmanship,teamwork and positive achievement. Over the 3 day period LAWSG participants compete in 12 boys and girls athletic events including baseball, basketball, cheerleading/dance, football, lacrosse (for the first time), soccer, softball, tennis, track& field, volleyball, water polo and wrestling. The Steering Committee, led by Games’ Chair Delece Jones, along with Games Manager, Aldo Perez, have been busy for months lining up sports venues, contacting high school athletic directors/coaches and organizing the million details a project of this size entails.

This event was started as a positive response to the Watts riots to “build bridges of understanding” in our communities, but it is much more than just an athletic competition it is a “human relations” event.

Celebrating more than 185,000 participants to date, the LAWSG boast a prestigious list of alumni including Track & Field legends Kevin Young and Florence Griffith Joyner, WNBA star Lisa Leslie, and a host of other extraordinary NBA and NFL players including John Elway, David Greenwood, Roy Hamilton, Lucious Harris, Bill Lambier, James Washington and Jamaal Wilkes.

This year, the Honorary Chairman is the acclaimed former NBA player, Marques Johnson. Mr. Johnson has had a long and impressive career with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors.
Olympic Gold Medalist Kevin Young will be the Master of Ceremonies at the Track & Field event at the Home Depot Center on June 13th at 8am. Simultaneously, at the newly renovated LA Southwest College, James
Washington, formerly of the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys, will kick off the Opening Ceremonies with models from the TV show “Deal or No Deal.”

New this year is the UNITY FEST & College Expo at LA Southwest College. “This is an opportunity for us to empower local business owners along with high school athletes looking toward the next steps in their future,” says Games Chair, Delece Jones.  Athletes and spectators will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to interact, enjoy great music and delicious food. At the same time they will be supporting local businesses and receiving valuable information from on-site college recruiters.

All events are free and open to the public. For further information on how you can help out by volunteering, as well as a full schedule of events please visit www.lawsg.org. Chairman Jones affirms, “We have an extraordinary group of volunteers that take time out of their busy schedules each year to help make the LAWSG happen.  We are always looking for others to add to our team. To volunteer, go to www.lawsg.org or call 213-989-2152.”

On Sunday, June 28, Class 36 of the Riordan Volunteer Leadership Development Program will host its class fundraising event at the newly opened Bottega Louie Restaurant and Gourmet Market in downtown Los Angeles.  Purchase of a ticket will include one drink and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.rvldp.org.  Ticket prices are as follows:

• $10/LAJCC member (advance)
• $20/non-LAJCC person (advance)
• $30/person at the door
  

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS include raffle and a two-part silent auction. Guests will have the opportunity to bid on exciting items such as:

• Tickets to December season finale of “The Biggest Loser”
• Personal training session
• Yoga lessons and much more!

In addition, the silent auction will take a twist and will offer the services and skills of current and past RVLDP members for bid by nonprofit organizations.  A successful bid will provide a nonprofit with a professional who will complete 20 service hours within two months (start dates are flexible) and will provide the organizations with the following:

• Exemplary skills and fresh perspectives at a low-cost
• A new way to gain proven talent during tough economic times
• Insight from RVLDP alumni with public, private, or nonprofit sector expertise and high-level volunteer experience
• Access to diverse business professionals committed to excellence and service  

Bidding will start at $75, so potentially a nonprofit could secure the professional services of a RVLDP alum for less than $4 an hour!  If your nonprofit is interested in pre-bidding for exceptional RVLDP talent or obtaining more information regarding this service portion of the silent auction, please contact Carlos Collard at 310.415.7455 or carloscollard@hotmail.com.  All silent auction items up for bid will be posted on the RVLDP webpage by early June, so please check the website for updates.

If you can’t attend, you can still contribute through online donation at www.rvldp.org. Please make sure to type “Class 36 Sponsor” in the comment field. All funds raised through this event will go towards the Riordan Volunteer Leadership Development Program.  So please do come and support this wonderful cause and be sure to bring extra cash for raffles and bid!

Sunday, June 28, 2009 @ 4:00 - 5:30 pm
Bottega Louie Restaurant & Gourmet Market
700 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
*Public parking located next to the venue

Urban Youth Golf Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Golf Tournament & Alumni

Its hard to believe that 20 years have past since the very first Urban Youth Golf classes took place at Griffith Park, Alondra Park and Chester Washington Golf Courses. Thousands of Los Angeles area youth have been introduced to the game of golf and its opportunities. On June 29, we will celebrate what the Program and its members have accomplished over the last 20 years. If you would like to join us in this special celebration or would like to donate goods for the auction, raffle or gift bags please contact UYGP Director Lisa Grimm or click here for more info.

To commemorate this milestone event we are publishing a 20th Anniversary Souvenir Yearbook. You can offer your congratulations to the program that “keeps kids out of the rough”, buy an ad space, acknowledge a special golfer or just get your own copy to see what our grads have been up to. Click here for details and pricing. 

Members Trip the Light Fantastic

Early (well not so early – 10 am) on the morning of Saturday, May 2nd, fifteen LAJCC members and guests arrived on the UCLA campus for a new and somewhat daunting experience – Tango!

Thanks to a contact provided by member Sam Pogosov and the organizing skills of member Rijul Bhaskar, arrangements were made with UCLA student and past-president of the UCLA Tango Club, Amy Wu, to provide an introductory lesson in the Tango. Thanks to them, we were able to offer the lesson free of charge.

While gaining a new appreciation for the stars on Dancing with the Stars – Tango isn’t easy - everyone had a great time gliding across the dance floor under the tutelage of Amy and Kevin Phan, another UCLA student.

Our intrepid students learned what “gancho” and “parade” mean in Tango language and looked very graceful while practicing them. It was so much  fun that several attendees expressed interest in attending the UCLA Tango Club Tuesday night lessons!

Why did you join the LAJCC?
I first joined the LAJCC to help others and give back to my community. I wasn’t doing it for recognition or for a recommendation. I truly wanted to help others. There are so many people out there that are less fortunate than I am and this organization on a daily basis helps me give back and realize just how truly blessed I am.

How long have you been a member?
I’ve been a member for about a year now. I first came into contact with the organization about two years ago when I volunteered with a friend of mine. I have made many friends through the LAJCC. Everyone is super friendly and bring out the best in me.

Which projects &/or committees have you participated in?
I’ve taken part in numerous projects. Ready-to-Learn, LA Watts Summer Games, Gift wrapping at Christmas Time, Kid Fit, and many more, I’ve lost track.

What has been your most memorable/enjoyable experience at the LAJCC?
This organization has challenged me to get more involved, become a leader, put others needs in front of my own. I’ve built character; I’ve become a better person. I’ve challenged myself and asked what more can I do for others.

What have you learned from your LAJCC experience?
I have learned that you can never have too many volunteers, the more the merrier!!  No child should ever be left out.  If more individuals began to help and provide loving and healthy outlets, imagine how that would positively affect children in the inner city.

What are your current job responsibilities/job title/employer?
I currently work for the Los Angeles Times Media Group as an account executive. I develop marketing plans with local advertisers, advise them on their current advertising investment, and develop new business.

Where are you from originally and how long have you been in Los Angeles?
Born and raised in Southern California. I grew up in the small town of San Dimas (or as other know it… “where the 10 and 210 meet at Raging Waters”.) I currently live in the city of Santa Monica, CA, which is beautiful and conveniently close to my office (which is downtown.)

Where did you attend college and what degree(s) do you hold?
I attended San Jose State and received a bachelor’s degree in Advertising. I also was a college athlete and played softball for SJSU; as well as being a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority. I hope to get my masters one day, but I am currently working on my other goals like running a half marathon, writing a book and traveling.