May E-News

MAR VISTA LITERACY FAIR:  EMPOWERING YOUTH THROUGH READING

Mar Vista Family Center (MVFC) believes that parent participation in a child's education is the key to success.And it all starts with reading together.

To reinforce the importance of family reading, each year MVFC holds a free, fun-filled Literacy Fair.  This year's Fair, held on April 16^th, attracted over 500 children and their parents.  Children gathered in front of the reading stage and were entertained by guest readers and musicians.  Families had a chance to learn about literacy and library programs, while also getting the opportunity to take part in fun activities such as face painting and cookie decorating. And to reinforce the importance of reading in the home, all families were given books to take home and read together.

Mar Vista Family Center Celebrates Literacy

MVFC thanks its major sponsors-Del Rey Neighborhood Council, Sony Pictures and City National Bank-as well as its many sponsors and visitors representing libraries, adult literacy programs, and local businesses.  

Here's what one participant had to say:  

It was a pleasure to attend your splendid event! The Mar Vista Family Center truly is a fine facility, and you all do wonderful work there. You are to be congratulated--and I would imagine--envied more than a little. We enjoyed our day and commented frequently how impressed we were with the children that we met. Honestly, we told each other a dozen times how charming, delightful and well-mannered all the children were, and what an obvious difference it makes having parents involved in their education and activities.  Thanks for all your good work, and for sharing your Family Festival with us.

Best regards,
Penny Mickelbury
Literacy Coordinator, Robertson Branch Library

MAR VISTA FAMILY SUMMER CAMP:  A SAFE SPACE FOR KIDS TO BE KIDS

Letter from Lucia Diaz, MVFC CEO:

Dear Friends of Mar Vista Family Center,

We believe that Summer Camp is an experience every child should have.  Unfortunately appropriate resources are not always available for all families and some children and teens languish over the summer, losing the gains they have made in school and often getting themselves into trouble.  At MVFC, we make it our business to provide an enriching day camp experience for up to 150 deserving children each summer, while also providing valuable work experience for older youths who themselves were campers in years past.

MVFC's campers come from densely populated, low-income, predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods in the L.A. and Culver City area, particularly our local community adjacent to the only Federal Housing Project on the Westside.   Camp is vital to the children of our community.

Campers, ranging in age from 6 to 12, spend their summer at MVFC in a happy, safe and loving environment.  We mix a great deal of fun with the structure children need, providing an array of experiences including sports, arts and crafts, music, dance, photography, and field trips.

For young adults MVFC provides valuable (but difficult-to-get) work experience, first as volunteers and later as paid counselors.  If funds permit, at the end of each summer we provide stipends ranging from $200 to $500 to the volunteers. 

Last year when LAUSD announced the closure of many summer programs, MVFC dug deep and found a way to increase camp enrollment to 150.  We could not afford to let these children spend an idle summer.  With government budgets being cut even further, we will once again try to stretch our resources to keep enrollment at 150 -- and with your help we hope to meet that challenge. 

MVFC knows that summer camp works.  The opportunities provided by our camp have been proven to help youth stay away from violence on the streets and prevent gang involvement.  Once new campers participate in our summer camp, they are significantly more likely to return during the school year to take part in our no-cost academic tutoring and enrichment, leadership training and college prep program.  One strong summer camp experience can be the catalyst for a youth's success in college and beyond.

The overall budget for MVFC Summer Camp is $80,000. I would like to personally ask you to consider becoming a sponsor of the 2011 Summer Camp.  The children and teens of our community-as well as their parents-would greatly appreciate your support.

With appreciation,

Lucia Diaz, Chief Executive Officer

DONATE NOW TO SUMMER CAMP AND OTHER YOUTH PROGRAMS

College Season

Guadalupe excited to show school spirit

Congratulations to graduating high school senior Guadalupe Quintero, who will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall, where she will major in Film Studies.  Guadalupe will be graduating from City Honors High School in Inglewood and has been a strong participant in MVFC's By Youth For Youth Programs, volunteering at the Literacy Fair, the Art and Music Festival, and the By Youth For Youth Conference. She also tutored high school youth during MVFC's after school programs. In her spare time, Guadalupe plays guitar in a Latin Cumbia band with her father, Moises Quintero, and younger brother, Moises Quintero Jr., and has performed at the BYFY Christmas party.

Guadalupe's success has been a family affair and now she will be following in her older sister Carmen's footsteps when she enters Berkeley. Carmen, who was also an active participant in the BYFY program, is now completing her first year at Berkeley majoring in Architecture. Both young women will be active on campus, joining the Cal band and their great tradition. It has been an honor mentoring these extremely bright young students and we wish them the best of luck as they pursue their dreams.