long beach blast 2014-15 annual report
TRANSCRIPT
ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
MISSION AND VISIONMISSION STATEMENTThe mission of Long Beach BLAST is to improve success for at-risk students through collaboration and innovative approaches to mentoring and learning.
VISION STATEMENTEvery student: inspired to succeed academically and personally.
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As Long Beach BLAST’s Board President, Icouldn’t be more excited to continue towork with such a talented group ofprofessionals and volunteers.
From the incredibly talented andhard-working office staff and programleadership, to our energetic and inspiringcollege mentors, BLAST has been awonderful place to call home.
This year, BLAST matched its 8,000th
2014-2015 Annual ReportFrom the Board President
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college mentor since its inception in 2000. Perhaps more importantly, it provided services to its 12,000th at-risk student in Long Beach.
2015-2016 promises to be a banner year for the program. We’re launching a new evaluation program that will underscore the important work we do in the community. This will not only help us to improve our outcomes, but will help us as we continue our robust grant program, which accounts for more than 50% of our funding.
Thank you to our board members, donors, and program partners for all you do to make this work possible.
Phil BondBoard PresidentLong Beach BLAST
2014-15 Program Highlights:
Served 650 students across 18 program partner sites
525 college student volunteers mentored students in grades K-12
10,406 service hours provided by our college student
Get AMPed!!Academic Mentoring Program
AMP matched its 8,000th
college student mentor and provided services to its 12,000th student this year!
• 99% youth reported that their academic mentor listened to them, understood them, and/or could trust their mentor.
• 100% of youth served by a BLAST academic mentor reported they plan to graduate from high school.
• 95% of youth reported that they believe their academic mentor helped them in reading, writing, or math.
The Academic Mentoring Program(AMP) matches college students withyouth, and provides one‐on‐onesupport for a child’s academics, futurethinking, and character development.Each year, more than 500 local collegestudent volunteers serve as mentors toat‐risk youth in Long Beach.
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“I absolutely love BLAST! Through my mentoring experiences
thus far, I have come to an understanding how important it
is to engage with youth and inspire them to reach their full
potential. Samantha and I have developed a friendship and I
genuinely care about her and want the best for her in her
future school years.”
‐Jessica Martinez, BLAST Academic Mentor
Jessica Martinez (pictured left), aLong Beach City College studentmajoring in child development, hasbeen a BLAST academic mentorsince spring 2014. Jessica and hermentee, Samantha (also picturedleft), have developed a friendshipthat continues to flourish.
Jessica kept their mentoringsessions structured and offeredSamantha support and motivationwhen completing school work.Together they worked on mathproblems, practiced spelling, read,and completed journal entries.
Jessica’s open communication and active listening skills have allowed her tounderstand the adversities that Samantha and other youth face on a regularbasis. Jessica and Samantha both want to teach and care for children in theirfuture. Samantha aspires to be a school teacher and Jessica plans to open andoperate her own daycare in the future.
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The Bridge to Success Program (B2S)assists high school students enrolled ina credit recovery program to create apositive vision for their future towardhigher education and/or a career. Theprogram utilizes team leaders, guestspeakers, and field trips to encourageand inspire students to set and achievegoals.
Building Bridges, Reaching DreamsBridge to Success Program
324 high school students served at Reid and Beach High School!
2014-15 Program Highlights:
160+ financial aid applications completed
16 guest speakers presented to students
8 field trips to local colleges and businesses
• 91% of B2S students reported they will go to college.
• 99% of the 2015 graduating class at Reid High School were served by this program.
• The number of students who wrote a resume increased by 51.42%.
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“What I loved most about BLAST is that the team leaders are
determined to help students succeed and show them the
right path to success. They are not quitters, especially Ms.
Karena. No matter what, she was always there to help me
and guide me. “
‐Martin A., Bridge to Success Student
Similar to many of our students,Anthony (pictured left) was creditdeficient and had not passed hisCAHSEE tests. Anthony was veryhesitant to be part of Bridge andvocally expressed his desire to dropout of high school to find a part‐timejob. Anthony never saw himself as acollege student.
One day our team leader, Karina(also pictured left), asked him “Doyou know what you’re going to doafter graduating high school?” Hewas stumped. He expressed that hehad never officially thought about hisfuture plans because he did not thinkhe would graduate high school.
Karina offered him a spot in the Bridge program and they both agreed to work onCAHSEE prep for the remainder of the semester, and he passed! Karina continuedto mentor him throughout the remainder of the school year. They worked on hisresume, his college and financial aid applications and assessment testing. On June18th, Anthony graduated from Beach High School as an honor student.
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Our Funds, Our FutureFinancials
Grant funding accounts for over 50% of BLAST’s revenue
Program expenses account for over 75% of all costs
BLAST has started the process of reviewing our technology costs to identify potential savings to the organization
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Exceeding $2,500Angels Baseball Foundation
Employees Community Fund of Boeing CA
City of Long BeachWorkforce Investment Act
Deluxe Corporation Foundation
Steve & Lori Doty
Freeman E. Fairfield Foundation
John Fielder & Donita Van Horik
Keesal, Young, & Logan
Long Beach Community Foundation
Lumina Foundation
Pacific Life Foundation
Park Bixby Tower
John W. Porter Trust
Secure Transportation
Staples Foundation2 Million & Change Initiative
Waste Management
Windes, Inc.
2014-2015 DonorsExceeding $10,000Communities Advocating for
Resident Empowerment (C.A.R.E.)
Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
The Green Foundation
Josephine S. GumbinerFoundation
Long Beach Unified School District
The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation
The Earl B. and Loraine H. Miller Foundation
Rudolph J. and Daphne A. Munzer Foundation
NRG Energy
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
Christie Peck
Ruth Peck
Will J. Reid Foundation
Southern California Edison
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Team WorkBoard of Directors and Staff
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Officers
Honorary Members
Members
Staff
Phil Bond, President Mark Taylor, Vice President
Scott Dionne, Treasurer Lori Doty, Secretary
Holly Carpenter John Fielder Mark Garlington, DDS
Marquita Grenot‐Scheyer Ph.D. Chief Robert Luna Jon Meyer
Susan Rivard Bobbi Villalobos, Ed.D. Catherine Walsh
Noly GuardamondoExecutive Director
Kehau FujikamiAssociate Director
Yesenia RamirezAdministrative Assistant
Leslie KeeneyProgramManager
Hailey BarkerVolunteer Program Coordinator
Lucero ChairezVolunteer Program Coordinator
Rachel BakerProgram Director
Karena AgisProgram Supervisor
Christina BoontanondTeam Leader
Danyelle CaruthersTeam Leader
Laura HernandezTeam Leader
Janine LorenzoTeam Leader
Nansi MartinezTeam Leader
Arielle NealTeam Leader
Christian RodriguezTeam Leader
Nancy Foster Sheriff Jim McDonnell
Eloy Oakley Chris Steinhauser
Founder
Jean Egan
THANK YOUThank you for making all of this possible this year! We couldn’t do it without your support.
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