Kathy Ursini, our July 2022 “Volunteer of the Month,” is deeply inspired by a famous quote from John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach:

“Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

Kathy is a natural leader who inspires by example. As Event Chair of our successful 2022 Women’s Pickleball Tournament, she led a team that exceeded their fundraising goal by generating $50,000 net and involved even more partners.

Our Volunteer of the Month is quick to thank her pickleball committee members for all of their work to make the event such a winner.

“The committee was wonderful and made it much easier to reach our fundraising goal,” Kathy says. “Everyone did what they said they would do; they were really fantastic!”

She adds, “Planning next year’s tournament will be even easier because most the committee members want to and are able to be part of the pickleball event once again.”

Kathy has been described as a “get-it-done” and “behind the scenes” person.

Kyle Team, a member of the KidWorks’ Board of Directors and Chair of our Women’s Committee, describes Kathy this way:

“Kathy is proactive, organized and fun. She gave structure and leadership to what was already a great group of women.”

Adds Kyle, “Kathy is goal-oriented and organized but always makes sure we have fun and remember the ‘purpose behind the pickleball’.”

Kathy says she remains inspired by the advice of a maintenance worker at the high school her children attended. “He always said, ‘There are no problems, only solutions.’ He was such a positive force and I’ve tried to adopt his attitude,” Kathy says. 

She adds, “I’m detail-oriented and don’t like surprises, so I tend to over plan. But come the day of the pickleball event, if something doesn’t go as planned for some unexpected reason, that’s when I remember his wise words.”

Kathy has been part of our pickleball tournament since its inception in 2020. “I played in the first tournament, served on the committee the following year and chaired the 2022 event,” Kathy says.

Kyle says Kathy is already at work with ideas and plans to improve the 2023 tournament, set for next April.

In addition to her pickleball involvement, Kathy has agreed to be part of the Founding Leadership Team for the KidWorks’ Women’s Committee.

Kyle describes the women’s group as being focused on helping KidWorks’ students excel through the group’s “fun, faith and philanthropy” philosophy.

Kathy and her husband, John, have supported KidWorks financially for years

John owns Newport Rib Company and they participated for the first time in our Festival of Orange County Chefs fundraiser held July 17. She’s also helped assemble care packages for KidWorks students heading off to a college or university.

Having enjoyed a career as a teacher, Kathy now devotes a lot of her time perfecting her pickleball game and helping KidWorks and those we serve.

“As a first generation American whose parents immigrated from Germany and Austria, I see KidWorks as a vehicle to help continue making the American Dream a reality,” Kathy says. 

She adds, “We are one of the few nations where an immigrant’s children have the opportunity to go to college and change the trajectory of their family tree.”

“I’m honored to partner with KidWorks because they do God’s work by teaching kids ‘how to fish’; they  teach instead of just give—and that changes lives generationally,” Kathy says.

Kathy and John live in Newport Beach and are the parents of Allie, 26; Angelo, 23 and Nicholas, 23.

Kathy and John also enjoy time with their dog, Bailey (“She’s a golden retriever who doesn’t retrieve,” Kathy says and a tortoise (who Kathy describes as “the easiest pet on the planet.”).

We are so grateful that Kathy and John have partnered with KidWorks for so many years. And we’re blessed that our July Volunteer of the Month’s “get-it-done” approach has made the Women’s Pickleball Tournament one of our most popular and successful events.

By Glenn Leibowitz, volunteer writer

A perfect example is Floresita Sanchez-Garcia, our June 2022 “Volunteer of the Month.”

Floresita, 22-years-old, volunteered at KidWorks from March through June, as part of the University of California, Irvine’s service hours graduation requirement. (In June, Floresita earned two separate Bachelor of Arts degrees from UCI, one in education sciences and the other in psychological sciences.)

She’s the first in her family to graduate from a university.

While at KidWorks, Floresita was up for any and every task requested of her as she assisted in the Volunteer and College & Career departments.

The only reason Floresita is unable continue volunteering (something she says she grew to love) is that the drive is too far now that she’s working at her family-owned uniform clothing business in Pomona, where Floresita does embroidery and pressing.

“My time at KidWorks strengthened my decision to work with children,” Floresita says. “I wanted to be a teacher when I was younger but decided that it was going to be too difficult to work with kids.

“However, at KidWorks I saw the kids in a different light. I saw children that reminded me of my family and that made me realize that I would love to work with kids throughout my career.”

Floresita says that instead of feeling like “work,” her volunteering experience was quite the opposite.

“Once I started, I realized that being at KidWorks  was actually a stress reliever,” Floresita says. “I’d walk through the front doors and leave everything about home and school behind.”

Adds Floresita, “I focused on the kids and the programs. I was determined to make sure my time was used well and to immerse in the programs.”

Floresita says her volunteer experience provided many opportunities for fun and laughter with our students.

“One of my favorite experiences was a Fun Friday, where students from all the centers joined together at the Dan Donahue Center,” Floresita remembers.

“I helped lead the hibiscus flower craft project where students glued a hibiscus flower to paper and painted it. The reason it was so touching to me was because this was the first time that I had the chance to really get to know students since the activity was so laid back.”

Adds Floresita, “I was super excited when a student who asked me name earlier in the day came back and called me by my name. I meant enough to her for her to remember my name!”
The Volunteer and College & Career teams are some of Floresita’s biggest fans.

“Floresita is an encourager,” says Rachel Cervantes, our Volunteer Coordinator. “She is so selfless, hardworking, humble and caring.”

Rachel says Floresita supported the Volunteer Department with a variety of tasks.

“She helped make beautiful, informative flyers that we post on our Better Impact database for all volunteers to access,” Rachel says. “Floresita also supported us by planning and researching different outings for our student volunteers at the end of the year.”

Rachel also thanks Floresita  for her Volunteer Appreciation Week support, decorating our entire Innovation Center for our multi-cultural youth night and her time as an after school programs volunteer with our younger students.

Clarisa Vargas, our College & Career Coordinator, says Floresita was a go-to star that the team could always count on.

“Floresita put her full effort and creativity behind all her work, making each experience meaningful for our students,” Clarisa says. “We could not have gotten everything done if it wasn’t for her.”

Floresita assisted with curriculum planning for the KidWorks University summer session and created a template for a life-size monopoly game to teach the middle school students about financial literacy. 

“For our Noche de las Estrellas graduation event, Floresita translated our invitation into Spanish and helped decorate the center,” Clarisa says. “She also designed table tent cards on canvas for each graduating high school senior and their family and created over 20 KidWorks souvenir pins.”

Floresita also reached out to students getting ready to attend a college or a university, making sure they received their care packages.

Encouraged by her KidWorks experience and having earned to two Bachelors of Arts degrees, Floresita is now considering several potential career paths.

“My professional goal is to participate in bringing positive change,” Floresita says. “Some possibilities include a career as a social worker, youth counselor, teacher, or in the future, becoming a pediatrician.”

Floresita is very family oriented.

“My mom’s name is Maria Guadalupe (Lupe); my dad’s is Jose (Pepe or Apa),” Floresita says. “I am the youngest of seven kids, first, two boys and then five girls.”

In her spare time, Floresita loves time with family  cooking for others and caring for a variety of family pets, including dogs, tortoises, a rabbit and budgies (parakeets).

Floresita doesn’t hesitate when asked whether she would encourage students to volunteer at KidWorks.

“Volunteering at KidWorks is such a fulfilling experience,” she says. “Students should definitely volunteer here if they are looking for a meaningful experience and an opportunity to not only create a community for students, but also to find one where you can find support from others.”

We are grateful that Floresita, our #1 Encourager, spent those meaningful months with us. She should know that she touched the lives of our staff, students, families and volunteers in truly remarkable ways.

By Glenn Leibowitz, volunteer writer 

We invite high school and college/university students to learn more about how KidWorks can provide you with opportunities to earn service hours, intern and volunteer