Julie Herrick

Placentia
Staff in the early 2000's and later served as a volunteer running coach 

How did you become involved with KidWorks?

I was the Office Manager for Hispanic Ministry Center and KidWorks starting in 2001, where KidWorks was one of the ministries it supported.  When KidWorks became its own non-profit, I continued to stay connected with the staff and volunteers at conferences. Ten years later I served as a volunteer running coach.

Share the most meaningful experiences you’ve had at KidWorks? What made them impactful to you?

Serving as a volunteer running coach was my favorite memory - both students and parents trained together for the Long Beach Marathon. It was really fun and meaningful to see them progress in their strength, both physically and in the mental strength it takes to train for an endurance sport. I was so proud of them, and it was fun to see everyone out on the course in our matching shirts, and cheer each other on along the course and at the finish.

Can you talk about some of the biggest obstacles KidWorks' programming overcame when you were involved?

Building the Dan Donahue building was a huge milestone that radically changed KidWorks' capacity to serve the community. Prior to that, they were operating out of two small apartments on Townsend and Myrtle so a major challenge was limitations due to space. I was involved in the logistics of the fundraising event in Dan Donahue's honor that ultimately led to the building. The building allowed them to open the preschool, and grow the computer lab from a bedroom to a whole classroom, and get the admin offices on-site, and just have more space and capacity to serve in every way. And I'm excited to see they've grown even more since then.

What does KidWorks mean to you? Looking back, how did KW help to shape your life? How did KW help to influence the person you are today

I was impacted by knowing the staff at KidWorks and seeing their commitment to the kids and the community.

What are your dreams for KidWorks over the next 10, 20, or 30 years?

From day one, KidWorks has been committed to deeply investing in the community of Santa Ana. They chose to put down deep roots and built deep relationships with individuals in this community. Those deep roots are paying off to this day, and I'm confident that's exactly what was best for KidWorks. My dream for KidWorks in the next 10-30 years is that they only grow deeper relationships and impact the community and that those relationships would have a generational impact on people's lives.

Anything else you would like to share about KidWorks?

Shoutout to the early 2000s staff: Ava, David, Luis, Jennifer, Alma, Damaris, Omar, Gabi, Zajid, Heather. I so enjoyed working with all of you.