Mar Vista Family Center

Programs: Youth programlow-income community youth, ages 13-21 (77 youth) took part inleadership and job skills development training workshops and activitiesaimed at teaching transferable job skills, including personalresponsibility, problem-solving, communications and goal-setting. Theseyouth, in turn, organized and supervised year-round educational andenriching activities for the younger youth, ages 5-12, which included asix-week summer camp (over 108 children, youth and volunteers),after-school tutoring and computer lab, pre-teen boys and girls groups(35 youth). Art, music, exercise and dance classes (over 80 youth), andholiday events for more than 200 children. The youth who participated in the leadership program also received college preparation counselingto facilitate their access to community colleges and universities, andthey also organized and led the by youth for youth annual conference,which brought together nearly 150 youth leaders from localorganizations who presented their programs and shared common problemsand possible solutions. In addition, approximately 203 children ages 6to 12 received 3 hours of academic after school tutoring from local college students who participated as volunteer tutors.

early childhood education programthe ece program has two components: (1) baby and me classes for infants0-3 (67) and their mothers and/or caregivers (67), leading to positivelearning experiences that will serve as the foundation for social,emotional and cognitive development. (2) the two-year parentparticipation preschool enrolled 34 children from low-income andpoverty-level families, and is based on mvfcs philosophy that parentsmust be empowered to be partners in their childrens education. In lieuof tuition, parents participated six hours per week as assistants. The early childhood education for the preschool children included art,dramatic play, music and storytelling - all of which allowed thechildren to achieve age-appropriate physical, cognitive, literacy,social and emotional competencies and to be fully ready for elementary school. Parents served as assistent teachers, which allowed them not only to assist the preschool staff,but also to develop and practice important parenting and life skills.

community programmvfc involves the community in the administration of its programs andprovides opportunities for local residents to personally grow anddevelop life skills. At monthly meetings, parents identified problemsin the community and explored ways to advocate for their needs withlocal officials, schools and legislators. Senior citizens ran their ownprograms, including computer, cooking, nutrition and art classes. Acommunity cafe provided evening meals in its community kitchen to over100 local children and youth. More than 500 local residentsparticipated in mvfcs community activities, including a sportsprogram, exercise classes, senior activities, family festivals, community garden and street clean-up days.