Wednesday, April 20, 2005
SCHIFF SECURES CASH FOR KIDS
By: VINCE LOVATO
NEWS-PRESS AND LEADER
For Jose Quintanar the old adage that "all politics is local" is true.
The We Care For Youth
co-founder received word that Rep. Adam Schiff recently helped secure
$50,000 for the nonprofit organization as part of his Kids First agenda of
initiatives that he hopes will improve education, safety and health care for
children in his district.
Quintanar had hoped to receive
$150,000 a year for three years in federal funds, enough money to continue
his anti-violence and youth-to-jobs training programs with Burbank and
Glendale schools.
The one-time influx of $50,000
is enough to continue some programs while putting others on the back burner.
"I'm not exactly sure what the
reason is but it might have to do with Katrina and the war," Quintanar said.
"All money is significant for us and we are very grateful to Congressman
Schiff to have gotten something for us."
The money was originally
earmarked for anti-gang and anti-violence programs in Glendale, Burbank and
Pasadena that would have involved about 4,500 teenagers in workshops and
in-school and after-school programs, Quintanar said.
The program was scheduled to
be expanded from a pilot program at Hoover High School.
"It was based on a nonviolence
conference we had three years in a row at Hoover that served about 200 to
300 students with anger management and conflict resolution training for
staff and youth," Quintanar said. "We perfected the model at Hoover and we
wanted to start up similar programs at two high schools including one in
Burbank but we couldn't go forward because of the funding."
Still, the program will
receive the $50,000 in three to six months, which will be used to continue
its business training program through the Bliss Unlimited retail outlet in
the Town Center.
The store opened Nov. 9 and is
used as a real-world training ground for students to learn about the
business world, he said.
"They learn all aspects of
retail and they get high school credit through the program which is
accredited by the L.A. County Department of Education's Regional
Occupational Program," Quintanar said.
"We have 22 students enrolled
in the program and some get paid as well through workability programs for
students with special needs."
The Town Center donates space
and the Burbank Mayor's Youth Task Force donated $20,000, Quintanar said.
"The rest of the funding comes
through fund raising and sales of merchandise," he said.
The program serves Burbank,
Burroughs and Monterey high schools in Burbank and Glendale High School but
students from anywhere in the county are eligible to participate, he said.
Linda Maxwell is the other
co-founder of the program.
We Care for Youth and Bliss
Unlimited can be reached at (818) 919-8896 or (818) 445-7979. |