R E A C H Foundation

'We sing for better days'

6 years ago my 14 year old son, Alex, was expelled from our school district for possessing prescription pills on campus. We immediately put him in rehab and set him up with counseling to deal with the issues that led our only son to turn to dangerous drugs and alcohol and the devastation they caused. The only alternative school our district offered was a run down, poorly staffed school offering none of the classes my son needed to graduate. He was sent home on many occasions because there was no teacher available, he witnessed fights daily, it seemed the district just didn't care. After 4 weeks, I found a wonderful school outside of our district that quickly got him back on track and after 1 year he was readmitted back into our school district. He enrolled in a special class called SERVE run by an incredibly energetic, positive man who encouraged my son to push hard for his education and life's goals. That senior year Alex received straight A's. Alex also had a devoted guitar teacher who instilled in him an incredible love of music. I believe the guitar and Mr. Lopez are the reason my son is now a Junior at Cal State Fullerton working towards a business degree. He works part time and has a lovely girlfriend. When he turned 18 he was allowed to get a tattoo, it's a picture of an old school microphone and says 'we sing for better days'. Those days have arrived! I have always wanted a way to give back to that special teacher so 4 years ago when my girlfriend told me that she was starting a nonprofit education foundation for our school district I was on board. I wanted to address with the district the need for better alternatives for students who, like my son, went off track for a while and needed a safe, nourishing environment to right themselves. I am the Executive Vice President of the R.E.A.C.H. Foundation, an all volunteer non profit, serving the 34 schools and it's 26,000 students. We fund raise to provide teacher grants, to bring back after school programs that had been dropped from the district and to supplement the Arts, Athletics and Academics. My payback? A recent fundraiser was designated for Mr. Lopez, my son's SERVE teacher. We gifted him $2,800.00 to offset the costs of a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance for all his students. Mr Lopez will also use this money to fund a holiday exchange with his students and our Title I elementary and middle school kids. For his students, Mr. Lopez 'wishes to inspire growth and success in our 'at risk' middle school students as they move into their high school career. To promote humility and the value of serving others in our 'at risk' high school students.' I am proud to serve with many other dedicated, committed volunteers of the R.E.A.C.H. Foundation.