Quarterly Activity Report 6final.pub

The Siren
A PAL Quarterly Newsletter
January - March 2008
I S S U E
INSIDE
PAL Jail ‘n’ Bail
Locked Up for Kids….……...2
A Closer Look:
E.J. Jackson……………..….2
PAL Supporters…………...2
Local School Shooting
Continued……..….………….3
Oxnard PAL
Pieces to the Puzzle………...3
PAL Dinner Auction
Donor List…………….….......4
PHOTO GALLERY
6
A P R I L
PAL Dinner Auction Fundraiser
On Saturday, March 1, more
than 200 people arrived for
PAL’s inaugural Dinner Auction
Fundraiser. In total, the auction
raised approximately $25,000
for PAL youth services. Helping
to limit expenses, volunteers at
the event included past PAL
members, current PAL staff and
City of Oxnard Recreation
Department employees.
“We all wanted to give back. As
employees, we see first hand
the difference our programs
make and we see where we
could do more. Tonight was
about doing more,” said PAL
staff member Jason Zaragoza.
Assistant Chief of Police, Bryan
MacDonald, who sponsored
PAL’s Youth of the Year award
table.
Volunteer of the Year, Debbie Estrada, with PAL
Board members
Marie Briggs, Sr. Officer
Klopman and Sgt. Latimer.
Other individuals and
businesses “doing more”
included, Oxnard WAL*MART
(Top Sponsor), Clinicas Del
Camino Real, Inc., Young
Athletes for Christ (YAC) and
Ventura Printing (PAL Partner
Sponsors), Port Hueneme
Country Inn & Suites (PAL
Youth Sponsor) and former
“Fulfilling the Dream”—PAL Youth
march at MLK Day Celebration
During the PAL Dinner
Auction, Board President, Sr.
Officer Ken Klopman, led a
“Stand Up for Kids” bid
session where attendees were
encouraged to sponsor any
number of PAL youth. PAL
would like to send a special
thanks to the following list of
individuals whose support and
generosity made this portion of
the evening so incredibly
memorable.
DONORS
Auction attendee Richard Marquez
trumps the competition
“This was our first year so we
didn’t want to set a high dollar
ticket price. Instead, we counted
on the
generosity of our
sponsors, auction donors and
attendees—and were very
happy with how that turned out,”
said Development Director, Mike
Ramirez.
Local School
Shooting
PAL staff member, Stephanie
Kimberling, getting prepared for
the MLK Day march.
2008 ROTARY CHAMPIONS
3rd/4th Grade Boys’ Basketball
2 0 0 8
Sgt. Randy Latimer
Rick Ravanello
Mayor Tom Holden
Lyz Klopman
Indy Batra
Matt Ramos
Brian “Big Bear” Davis
Commander Cliff Troy
Asst. Chief Mike Matlock
Karen Burnham, Asst. City Mgr.
Grace Hoffman, Dep. City Mgr.
Charles & Cyndi Hookstra
Asst. Chief Scott Whitney
Det. Steven Ramirez II
Rosario Magdaleno
Ralph “Buddy” Cox
Melissa Emery
Pastor Edgar Mohorko
Charles Jones
John and Mary Zaragoza
Debbie Estrada
Chief John Crombach
By now, you’ve undoubtedly
heard the story more times
than you care to remember.
Garnering the attention and
involvement of everyone from
reality show TV stars
to
presidential candidates, the
local school shooting, which
took place at E.O. Green Jr.
High School, has sparked
some important questions.
One that many involved
citizens have asked is, “How
can we help?”
Barrack Obama said, “…we
need to do more in our schools
to foster tolerance and an
acceptance of diversity.”
Continued on page 3
PAGE
2
Last year, Oxnard PAL raised
nearly $20,000 for its youth
services through its inaugural
Jail ‘n’ Bail fundraiser. As part
of the event, 45 PAL supporters
volunteered their time to be
“Locked Up for Kids.”
Following this theme,
participants contacted friends,
family and co-workers to raise
“bail” for their pending “arrests.”
Bail donors received a tax
deduction and participants were
“tortured” with 5-star rations the
day of the event.
send
an
email
[email protected].
this year is to have 100
volunteers and raise $50,000
dollars—but they need your
help.
Expecting an extremely high
“recidivism rate,” PAL’s goal
To participate, contact the PAL
office at (805) 385-8230 or
For additional information,
including event details, log on
to the PAL website at
www.oxnardpal.org or contact
the PAL office.
In July, donations for PAL’s
Jail ’n’ Bail participants will be
accepted online.
E.J. Jackson:
A Closer Look
Oxnard PAL prides itself in
providing a flexible work
schedule for staff members
working their way through
college. Benefiting from this
ethic is recreation staff leader,
turned video program advisor,
E.J. Jackson.
PAL Staff Member, E.J. Jackson,
filming at the 2006 National
PAL Boxing Championships.
In 2006, Oxnard PAL became
the first organization to make
amateur bouts available for
viewing online.
An alumnus of Cal State
University Northridge, E.J.
graduated in 2004 with his B.A
in
Electronic
Media
Management.
“I always planned on going to
college. What I didn’t plan on
was becoming so attached to
the kids here at PAL. I thought
a lot about what I was doing
and how I might use that to
help,“ said E.J. Jackson.
Upon graduating, E.J.’s
education and desire to work
with youth was an integral part
THE
SIREN
to
Businesses interested in
sponsoring the event by
providing food and/or goodies
for event participants should
contact Mike Ramirez at (805)
901-3878.
PAL
Supporters
January - March
of the formation of PAL’s
video production program,
Keepin’ It Reel. As part of
this program, teens have the
opportunity to write scripts,
act, edit, and make short
films. In addition to his work
with youth, E.J. also films
PAL events and creates
promotional materials for
PAL programs.
“We feel very lucky to have
E.J. as a part of our PAL
staff. With his education and
experience, there are a lot of
other things that he could
chose to do.”
—PAL Co-Director, Terrel Harrison
•
General
•
Employee Contribution
Program
Lawrence & Megumi Morgia
Maria Gonzalez
Maureen Hooper
Terrel Harrison
Julie Estrada
Ken Klopman
Mark Norris
Michael Ramirez
E.J. Jackson
Fia Talamaivao
Camilo Stinson
Debbie Estrada
Gil Ramirez
Sally Ramirez
Diane La Douceur
Sofia Balderrama
Ryan Carey
ISSUE
2
PAGE
3
Local School Shooting continued from page 1
With this in mind, those involved
at PAL met with key officials to
discuss the needs of our local
youth. School psychologists
were already working with
individual students—and various
organizations were holding vigils
or marches to promot e
“acceptance.” In the meantime,
young people everywhere were
left sorting out their feelings in
c h at r o o m s , b l o gs a nd
conversations with friends and
classmates.
To facilitate a
focused discussion locally
became PAL’s goal.
Assisting in this goal was Emmynominated speaker Milton
Creagh, Jr. PAL has sponsored
the appearance of Mr. Creagh
several times in the past,
primarily on the topic of drugs
and alcohol. This time the topic
was, Acceptance: A Personal
Initiative. The presentation
encourages students to take a
personal responsibility for the
inclusion of others and the
issues of bullying and diversity
are addressed head on.
While in Oxnard, Milton Creagh
spoke to staff and students at
E.O. Green Jr. High School
and Channel Islands High
School. Mr. Creagh also
made
an
evening
presentation at Pacifica
High School, which was
open to students, parents
and concerned community
members—at no cost.
“The kids were talking and
we thought it was important
that we be a part of the
conversation,” said co-director
Terrel Harrison. “I learned a lot
and I think they did, too.”
“The kids
were talking
and we
thought it
Momentum Skate Competition
On Saturday, March 29, Oxnard
PAL and Momentum Surf
Company held a skateboard
competition for youth ages 7 to
19. Over 1000 people came out
to support the event and exactly
378 youth participated. There
was no entry fee to participate
and sponsors for the event
included the City of Oxnard,
Momentum Surf Co. owner,
Evan Caples, Flip, Plan B
Skateboards, Spy, Circa, Bones,
Dope St yle, DVS Shoe
Company, World Riders of the
Next Generation and Volcom.
Local hip hop artists MC Hollow
and Forgotten Science provided
entertainment for the event and
DJ Notiss provided music and
sound.
Oxnard PAL Basketball
Oxnard PAL’s 3rd and 4th grade
boys’ basketball team capped
off a terrific season with a
Rotary Tournament 1st Place
trophy and a 21-19 win over
returning champions Christa
McAuliffe elementary school.
Earlier in the year, the 3rd and
4th grade boys had suffered a
tough one-point loss to Christa
McAuliffe when they met in the
City Recreation League
Championship game. The team,
coached by PAL Youth Center
supervisor, Kingsley Garrick,
was undefeated up to that point.
Earning a birth into the SCMAF
state tournament, the team
advanced to the semi-finals
before losing a close match to
Compton.
Party! Party! Party!
In February and March, the PAL
Youth Center hosted their
annual Valentine’s Day and
Easter holiday parties. Nearly
200 youth participated in the
two events and those who
attended had their choice of
several activities being offered
throughout the day.
Next Siren
YDC: Sacramento Experience
805 Cruizin’ Car Show & Concert
PAL Youth Film Camp
was important
that we be a
part of the
conversation.”
—Local School Shooting
O X N A R D
P O L I C E
A C T I V I T I E S
L E A G U E ,
350 South “K” Street, Oxnard, CA 93030
Mailing address: 545 South “A” Street, Oxnard, CA 93030
P: 805-385-8230 F: 805-487-6975 W: www.oxnardpal.org
I N C .
Nonprofit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oxnard, CA
Permit No. 399
“Every Kid Needs A PAL”
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Board of Directors
”
Ken Klopman, President
Greg Barnes, Vice-President
Marie Taylor-Briggs, Secretary
Charles Hookstra, Treasurer
Gil Ramirez
Randy Latimer
Gary Amar
Executive Director
Terrel J. Harrison
Recreation Supervisor
Development Director
Michael Ramirez
PAGE
4
5 Star Limousine
AEG Merchandise
Benjamin Jewelers
BG’s Coffee Shop
Big Brand Tires
Breakers Stereo
Briggs Family, The
Cabo Seafood Grill & Cantina
California Police Youth Charities
California Strawberry Festival
Captain Jack’s Tours
Casa Escobar
Channel Islands Kayak Center
Channel Islands Sport Fishing
Courtyard by Marriott (Oxnard)
Cut Co. and Vector Knives
Duran Sports and Hobby
Gil Ramirez
THE
SIREN
Glamour Beauty Boutique & Salon
Hook, Line & Sinker Seafood
Island Packers
Jersey Mike’s Sub
Jon Gomez
Laugh Factory, The
Le Mirage Fitness & Spa for Women
Majestic Ventura Theater, The
Mandalay Nail & Spa
Mediscan
Momentum Surf Company
Nostalgia Electrics
Okada Chiropractic
Oxnard Fire Department
Oxnard PAL Boxing
Police Chief, John Crombach
Plaza 14 Cinemas
Pro Image
Pro Signatures Memorabilia
Procter & Gamble
Q104-7 FM
Ramirez Family, The
River Ridge Golf Club
Ron Fischer
Rose Dental Group
Rusty’s Pizza
Sea Landing
Smooth’s Barbershop
Steve Thomas BMW
StorHouse Storage Center
Whale’s Tail
Wheel Fun Rentals
Wild Card Boxing Club