1. RESTORING AT-RISK NEIGHBORHOODS...ONE LIFE AT A TIME
Fall 2014
HOPEREPORT
REPORT
Touching lives with hope.
1902 W. Chestnut Avenue
Santa Ana, CA 92703
714.834.9400
kidworksonline.org
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit #51
Santa Ana, CA
KidWorks helps transform the lives of at-risk children, families and communities in Santa Ana, California, through educational support, health and
fitness programs, and spiritual and leadership development activities that begin with preschoolers and follow youth into their college years. 100% of
KidWorks high school graduates are college bound. To learn more about KidWorks please visit www.kidworksonline.org.
Walking on streets without
sidewalks isn’t safe, especially
if you are walking with children or
pushing a stroller. Riding bikes without
a bike lane in traffic isn’t safe
either.
But what do you do when
you have to bike or walk to
get where you need to go in
Santa Ana? If you are a student-
member of KidWorks’YEN
(Youth Engagement Network)
participating in the Bike It!
Santa Ana campaign, you engage
other teens and local residents
around these important com-
munity issues, present the
challenges to city decision-makers, and
work together to create change.
When presented with a meaningful
challenge, KidWorks’YEN realized
that they could become agents of
change for themselves and those
around them.They created maps
using ArcGIS software, studied traffic
flow, and continued to educate
the community. The collaboration
of these young leaders with city
employees resulted in the success
of the city receiving six grants
totaling $3 million to create
sidewalks, bike lanes and better
traffic flow to keep the residents of
Santa Ana safe.
That is the power of our young
leaders at work. Safer streets mean
a healthier community and a better
tomorrow for all!
Dreaming a BetterTomorrow
Traumatized at school, KidWorks mentors help one
little girl find her voice and her confidence.
Crystal is a shy 6th grader with a pretty smile. She loves
arts and crafts and chatting with her friends. But last
year, that pretty smile was nowhere to be found.
At the beginning of 5th grade, there was a misunderstanding
on the playground that led to Crystal being falsely accused
of making threats against a younger student. Unfortunately,
the situation was mishandled by a teacher, who called in
the school resource police without an investigation or
notification to the school administration.
Crystal had no one in her corner, no one protecting her. It
wasn’t until later that evening that
Crystal’s mother found out what
happened and by then, the damage was
done. Crystal’s trust in adults had been
devastated.
Over the next months, Crystal’s
mother fought the false accusation and
heavy handling of the situation, while
Crystal retreated into her shell: she
didn’t want to eat, she had stomach
aches, she missed school and she
didn’t want to play with her friends
at school or home. Crystal lives on
Townsend Street, and area known for
high crime rates and gang activity. She
shares a two-bedroom, one bathroom
apartment with 9 others.
Due to her living situation, it was hard
for Crystal to find time and space to
be alone. Her mother and father, as
well as her sisters, continued to try to
break Crystal
out of her shell.
Even her school
counselors
met with her
regularly.
Luckily, Crystal
had been
attending the
KidWorks
afterschool
programs
since kindergarten. KidWorks staff mentors Jessica and
Melissa swung into action. They knew their first priority
was to repair the damage done by the adults
in authority, so they set about creating
situations where Crystal could learn to
re-trust select individuals. They spoke with
her frequently, sometimes directly about the
incident, sometimes just mentoring her to
find her voice and be stronger – for herself
and when dealing with peers and adults. For
months it seemed like they were treading
water. But Crystal started opening up, little
by little, building bridges to her mentors. She
discovered—with KidWorks’ help—that she
had control over how to handle what had
happened to her, and has grown stronger
because of it.
A year later, she’s a little shy, but that sweet
smile is here to stay.
Starting Over
Thursday,November 13,2014
11:30am - 1:30pm
DoubleTree Hotel
201 E.MacArthur Blvd.,SantaAna
Foundation for Success
Luncheon
8th
Annual
Featured Speaker:
Bob Goff
Mr. Goff is a NewYorkTimes
Best Selling Author, the founder of
Restore International, a nonprofit
human rights organization
operating in Uganda, India and
Somalia, as well as a highly sought
after speaker for leadership and
team building events.
Don’t miss the#1 Charity Luncheon in Orange County!
For more details about the event, please visit us at kidworksonline.org. Or, contact Lisa Gels at 714.619.7560 or lisa@kidworksonline.org.

2. Thank You$200 - $999 (continued)
Anita and Mark Brown
Jane and Scott Calder
Zacarias Cervantes
CharitableVentures of Orange County - Building
Healthy Communities
Kymberly and Anton Chiapuzio
Daniel Ciauri
C &V Consulting Inc.
Dana L. Fraser Remodeling & Design, Inc.
Dwight Reilly Surety & Insurance Brokers, Inc.
Nina and Wilfried Eibach
Fred Farr
Mirta Forrester
Ira Garbutt
Kirstie Garcia
Lisa and Al Gels
Cynthia and James Helfrich
David Hengstler
Debbie and Jeffrey Hetschel
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hite
Inland Empire Framing Inc.
Kenneth and Eileen Jacobs
Jamar Power Systems
Regina Jennings
Nancy A. Kemp
Linda and Andrew Lawler
Roy Lee
Sheila and Ron Litzinger
Heidi and Ruben Mendoza
Monica Mendoza
Morley Builders Inc.
M & A Water and Party Supplies
Marion Palanjian
Newsong Community Church
Bryan Peck
Francesca Rehnborg
Michael A. Santoro
Ross Savage
Alison and Bradley Schweitzer
Shea Homes & Shea Properties
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Studio-Pad
Kyle Team
Townsend & Raitt, LP
Alex Triestman
EricVanDerHeyden
Village Church of Irvine
Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim
Cari and Donald Walls
Weingart Foundation
Westcliff Early Childhood Center
*Includes cash and in-kind donations. Please note: If your
donation occurred after the publication deadline, your
donation will be duly noted in the next issue.
Please email don.dang@kidworksonline.org if you have
any questions or concerns about this report.
Imagine growing up in a low-income
neighborhood in Central Santa Ana,
surrounded by noise, traffic and violence.
Now imagine having the opportunity to go
to camp for a week atYosemite, surrounded
by 100 year old pine and Sequoia trees,
hiking through fields and into meadows full
of flowers you’ve never seen before. Imagine
breathing mountain air when you’ve only ever
lived at sea level. First times are wonderful.
Fourty-two 6th-12th grade KidWorks
campers were able to experience the beauty
ofYosemite at theYosemite Sierra Summer
Camp, courtesy of a generous grant from
Star Rock Ministries.
For a lot of the campers, it was the first time
they left home without a family member,
and certainly their first sleep away camp
experience. It was such an amazing and
wonderful week – filled with hiking, swimming,
kayaking, archery, mountain boarding, and that
crazy banana boat on the lake!
One of the key elements of the week was
the workshops that encouraged the campers
to embrace their
individuality and
discuss life skills and
how to overcome
challenges as they
arise.
A week filled with
firsts, but one that
will be remembered
forever.
Thank you Star
Rock Ministries!
$50,000 - $99,999
Toyota Financial Services
$20,000 - $49,999
Draper Family Foundation
Public Health Institute
The Sacred Harvest Foundation, Inc.
Wells Fargo
$10,000 - $19,999
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP
Dhont Family Foundation
Evening Star Foundation
Frome Family Foundation
Kaiser Permanente
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Stuart Kane LLP
TELACU
The Crean Foundation
Western Digital
$5,000 - $9,999
Andrea and Terry Donahue
Building Block Foundation Fund
Paula and Patrick Donahue
Donnie Crevier
G&L Realty Corp., LLC
Kaye Scholer LLP
Kern County Supt. of Schools
Marin-Finn Foundation
Orange County Community Foundation
U.S. Bank
Winslow Maxwell Charitable Trust
$2,500 - $4,999
Angels Baseball
Archer Norris
Bixby Land Company
City National Bank
DuckworthMehner Private Wealth Advisors, Inc
Eibach Springs, Inc.
ExplorOcean
Ingram Micro
Jane Deming Fund c/o OCCF
Liberty Hill Foundation
Maximus
Mariners Church
Newmeyer & Dillion LLP
Robert D. Olson
Elizabeth and Michael Schreiber
Shea Homes & Shea Properties
Southern California Gas Company
Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson,
LLP
The Irvine Company
Union Bank
William and Nancy Thompson Family Foundation
$1,000 - $2,499
AES Due Diligence, Inc.
Anthony Ansevin
CBRE Foundation, Inc.
Arturo Echarte
Farmers & Merchants Bank
Susan and James Hart
JCAP Financial Group
LPA, Inc.
Lucy and Rick Rawlins
Mater Dei High School
Lisa and John “Calum” McBean
Karen and Barry Meguiar
NewYork Life
Hoang Nguyen
Adriana Ocampo
Outdoor Recreation Group
Schwab Charitable Fund
Silversage Advisors
Strata Media, Inc.
Kyle Team
$200 - $999
Abergel & Associates, Inc.
Erik Agle
Kathy Aylesworth
Stephanie and Tim Bernardy
Bertie Chawla
Scott Beyer
Pam and John Blom
Summer Born
July 1, 2014 through September 30, 2014
Legos are small. Legos really hurt
when you step on them with
bare feet. But Legos may help change
the world. Alex Triestman,13, has
decided to change the world, one
Lego brick at a time.
When Alex was 6 years
old he, he started noticing
that Lego kits came with
‘extra parts’, which nearly
added up to a functional
package by themselves.
And that started him thinking… he
realized that if he combined a few
of the ‘extra parts’ packages with
some spare Legos, he would have
a complete small package – and,
better yet, he could share it!
Alex germinated this for a while and
five years later, when he turned 11,
he decided to create a non-profit
- Brickshare. He wanted to gift
Legos to children who could not
otherwise afford these wonderful
little toys.
Alex just needed to figure out
how to package the Legos for
distribution – and once he did, the
Brickbot was born! He put out the
call to collect
the ‘extra
bits’, the
leftovers, and
gently used
Legos from
friends, family,
neighbors,
and school
mates. While
he did this,
Joanie, Alex’s
mother, helped him with an online
search for worthy local non-profit
serving children in need. Joanie
found KidWorks!
But then he thought that
he could pair Legos with
school supplies! So, with
his mother’s help he started
a GoFundMe page to
purchase the supplies for
KidWorks.
Alex organized ‘stuffing parties’
that created over 250 Brickbots for
distribution. KidWorks has been
fortunate to be the recipient of
Alex’s and Brickshare’s generosity.
We are so pleased to have met this
extraordinary young man and gotten
to know him.
Alex is still passionately raising
Legos and funds to make sure that
Legos get to the homes of boys
and girls who perhaps might not
have access to this expensive and
educational toy.
Brickshare helps military children
who have parents that are deployed
abroad, low-income children,
orphans,
and children
abroad who
could not
afford the cost
of a Lego set.
To learn more,
check out
his website
at www.
brickshare.biz.
Anything
but SmallA story about one of KidWorks’
youngest donors
Our DeepestAppreciation for your Generous Donations
Alex Triestman coordinates with his friends to pack Brickbots for
donation.
Alex Triestman and his mother, Joanie
RIGHT: This donation funded
the demolition of carports at the
Bishop Manor apartment complex,
where one of the three KidWorks’
community centers is located.
These carports housed illegal drug
activities.
ABOVE: Jimmy Mai,Wells FargoVP, KidWorks’ board member;Al
Nederhood, KidWorks; Mavel Becerra,Wells Fargo Community
Outreach Coordinator; Keith Kobata,Wells Fargo Greater Orange
County President.
ABOVE: Ava Steaffens, KidWorks’ CEO; Daniel K.Walker,
CEO and Chairman of the Board at Farmers & Merchants
Bank; Patrick Murphy, President of Mater Dei High School,
with KidWorks’ students
ABOVE: Ava Steaffens, CEO,
and Craig Hirson, SeniorVP of
Bank of America - KidWorks
Board member, with a group of
KidWorks' students.
Marcos & Efren learn the ropes
course.
Seeing Stars
atYosemite
Giselle climbs the rock wall.