Still getting Workday stories

Check out another article about ShareFest and how much of an impact volunteers have had on Redondo Beach schools, especially during the state budget problems.

As the school year ends, Redondo Beach’s schools look better than they did in September, despite the daunting budget challenges faced by almost all districts in California. Student and community volunteers spent May 2 working on much-needed beautification projects at five Redondo Beach Unified School District sites. At Parras and Adams middle schools, as well as Alta Vista, Tulita and Jefferson elementary schools, campuses were cleaned, trees and flowers were planted, picnic tables were built and old ones refinished, and murals were painted on classroom doors and on the sides of buildings to lift the students’ school spirit. Volunteers even built a retaining wall at Parras.

Check out the rest of the article here.

If you've seen ShareFest in the press or want to share your personal stories, please, leave us a comment.

Harbor Gateway community center opens

After two years of work, the Cheryl Green Community Youth Center in Harbor Gateway is open and ready to serve the community.

After a huge community push on ShareFest's Sixth Annual Workday (that you can read about here), the Boys & Girls Club is now running programs after the center's recent opening.

ShareFest, Janice Hahn, L.A. City officials and the entire Harbor Gateway community came together to unify the neighborhood and create a safe place for kids after the shooting of Cheryl Green more than two years ago. But her memory has caused the community galvanized to create  a safer environment for its youth.

The hand-painted sign outside the center

Here is a piece of an article the Daily Breeze ran about the opening of the center:

Charlene Lovett walked up the ramp Monday, stopped, looked at the lettering on the wall, and began to cry.

Two-and-a-half years after her 14-year-old daughter, Cheryl Green, was killed in Harbor Gateway allegedly because of her race, Lovett's dream of a community center for the neighborhood children had finally arrived.

Lovett took part in the opening of the Boys & Girls Club Harbor Gateway/Torrance Cheryl Green Community Youth Center.

The center at Del Amo Boulevard and Denker Avenue is just blocks from where Cheryl died, and takes the place of a dirt lot.

"Cheryl's spirit is here," Lovett said. "I'm looking at all the young kids here. It's amazing that we are here together - Hispanic and black."

You can read the rest of the article here.

Change through partnerships

Over the years working with ShareFest, churches often form bonds with the communities they serve. ShareFest is a conduit for communities to connect and create change together.

One example of this is King's Harbor Church and Bert Lynn Middle School. For two years the church, school and ShareFest have worked together, and the effects on the middle school are evident.

Take a look at the letter below to see how much has been accomplished.

Dear Sharefest Staff:

Bert Lynn would like to thank Sharefest and the King’s Harbor Church for another successful Sharefest Day. We appreciate all the work completed as this day made a significant difference to our school.

The school entrance looks awesome with the removal of the caged fence and repainting of the walls. The decorative wood slats aesthetically looks 100x better and brings in a lot more light to the corridor entrance. This day also included sanding and painting of all the classroom doors, and lunch benches. All this work would not have been possible without Sharefest and the church’s adoption of our school.

I want to especially acknowledge Mr. JR McDonald, the coordinator for all his time and dedication. He helped organize the event and did all the prep work, which made for a successful day. Thank you again for organizing this event, matching us up with a charitable group, the funds to complete some of the projects, and the donated supplies. This event has made Bert Lynn a cleaner and more beautiful place for students to attend.

Enclosed is our school newsletter with a short article about the work that has been completed over the past two-years of Sharefest work performed by the King’s Harbor Church, showing the before/after picture of the entrance to our school. Thank you again for the continued valuable work your agency does for schools and nonprofits throughout the South Bay.

Sincerely,

LeRoy Jackson                                             Jayne Okazaki

Principal                                                        Assistant Principal

The chain link behind these to signs was replaced with wood shading.

READ

During ShareFest's Workday, every volunteer leaves his or her own unique imprint. In some cases it's as obvious as a mural on a wall, but in other cases it's a small personal touch.

Below is part of the newsletter Howard Wood Elementary School in Torrance sent out to parents in which the school notes just how much volunteers did that day.

Thanks to Sharefest Volunteers from City on a Hill We would like to extend a special note of thanks to the fantastic volunteers from City on a Hill Church who participated in the Sharefest workday at Wood this past Saturday. The members of City on a Hill Church adopted us for this Sharefest project and did an amazing amount of work to beautify Wood. We had our handball walls repaired and repainted, our basketball backboards and rims painted, bookcases in the library repainted, and a fabulous mural painted in the library by the artist, Greg “Crayola” Simkins. Special thanks to Cam Northup, Melissa Baranic and Larry Edwards for their coordination of the event. The students and staff at Wood love the new look of our playground and library. The students could not believe the incredible transformation to the playground and library when they came to school on Monday. Thanks again to our Sharefest Volunteers!

Greg Simkins working on the  almost-finished mural

This mural is just one of many projects completed at Howard Wood including other murals and beautification of the campus.

Please, take a look at some other personal stories throughout the blog, and add your own as comments.

Award roundup

If there's an award season for nonprofits, ShareFest is in the middle of it right now.

• We got recognition from a nationwide body with a Certificate of Congressional Commendation from the U.S. House of Representatives that Congresswoman Jane Harman awarded to us on May 17. 

• We received two statewide accolade with a Certificate of Recognition from the California Legislature Assembly  from the 55th Assembly District on June 3 and a Certificate of Recognition from the State of California Senate from Jenny Oropeza, Senator, 28th District, on June 3.

• We were given a citywide award with a Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles from Janice Hahn Councilwoman, 15th District and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in June.

Among all these awards there's another kind that is especially close to our heart. When the local communities we serve recognize ShareFest for the work it has done, it validates our efforts to make an impact on these areas. They know better than anyone else the affect projects like our Workday and Youth Development Academy have, so an award from a city council, chamber of commerce or any other local organization means as much to us as any national award we could get.

On that note:

• The Wilmington Coordinating Council awarded ShareFest with the Non-Profit Organization of the year award on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at the Bannings Landing Community Center.

Thank you to these wonderful organizations and to all the volunteers who make what we do possible.

ShareFest's managing directors receive an award from Mayor Villaraigosa during the 2008 Workday.