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When she was five years old, Julie (Juliana) Villanueva first stepped into a KidWorks’ classroom as a preschool student. Now a freshman business major at Orange Coast College, Julie overflows… Continue Reading
Eighteen years ago, Antonieta Pintor first stepped into a small apartment on Townsend Street in Santa Ana. It served as one of the first KidWorks neighborhood centers.
Nearly two decades later, our May 2024 “Volunteer of the Month” reaches out to parents in the community to encourage them to enroll their daughters and sons in our programs.
“To say that Antonieta is a tireless ambassador for KidWorks would be an understatement,” says Sonia Rios-Guzman, our Family & Community Engagement Manager.
Antonieta is especially active in our Parent Advisory Council, a group formed over six years ago to strengthen the bond between KidWorks and the families we serve.
“Antonieta is a wonderful advocate and steward for KidWorks in the central Santa Ana community,” Sonia says. “She distributes flyers and information about our programs throughout her neighborhood and at area schools.”
Sonia adds, “She is constantly on the lookout for ways to connect with other parents, telling them about the opportunities at KidWorks that would benefit their children. She doesn’t think twice about lending a hand to support her neighbors.”
This year alone, Antonieta has logged more than 50 volunteer hours at KidWorks.
In addition to serving on the Parent Advisory Council, our Volunteer of the Month also regularly lends a hand at various KidWorks events during the course of the year. This includes our Christmas store where parents can shop for holiday gifts at a greatly discounted price (where proceeds go towards a benevolence fund for families in need), distributing Thanksgiving food baskets to struggling families and our Trunk or Treat fall event in October.
Sonia has seen Antonieta emerge from her natural shyness to become proactive in sharing ideas with KidWorks’ staff and members of the Parent Advisory Council.
“I try to voice my thoughts and help other parents whenever they’re in need,” Antonieta says. “I’ve learned many good skills by being a part of the Parent Advisory Council; I try my best to implement what I’ve learned.”
One of her ideas that’s been adopted is free bus transportation between our Townsend and Dan Donahue centers for ninth through 12th grade students. This gives parents and students an added measure of safety, especially during times when it gets dark earlier and KidWorks programs for youth continue into the early evening hours.
Being an actively engaged KidWorks parent has been one of Antonieta’s key areas of focus.
“I enjoy helping my peers and connecting them with resources,” she says.
All of Antonieta’s children have been involved with KidWorks:
Daniela, Jorge and Natalia are all still enrolled in KidWorks programs.
They’ve participated in our after-school programs, as well as our spring and summer events.
Antonieta has instilled in her children the same commitment to serving others as she asks of herself.
They’ve all volunteered at KidWorks community service events such as neighborhood clean-ups and street fairs.
In her spare time, Antonieta enjoys walks with her family and their dogs. She’s also an excellent cook, often preparing dishes for the Parent Advisory Council, such as mole, which is a traditional dish made in her hometown of Guerrero, Mexico
Antonieta is representative of the many parents who volunteer at KidWorks in countless ways. She’s planted the seeds of service, academic excellence, leadership and faith in her children as well as in so many others.
Thank you, Antonieta, for all you have done on behalf of the community and KidWorks.
By Glenn Leibowitz, volunteer writer
Click below to learn more about KidWorks Family and Community Engagement Programs
Celebrate KidWorks Class of 2024 at our annual Night of the Stars. We will provide more details as the event draws closer.
For more information, contact:
analisa.camacho@kidworksoc.org
The path to college is ever-changing and can be challenging to navigate. Many KidWorks parents are helping their children prepare for college but may not have attended college themselves.
Thanks to our partnership with KidWorks board member Erika Sanchez and the support of Concordia University, we were able to send a group of KidWorks parents and students to attend their seventh annual Hispanic Leadership Conference, a forum focused on preparing 1st generation Latino students for higher education.
Concordia describes the no-cost event as “inspiring community college and high school students to pursue academic goals for a bright future. The purpose of this event is to help attendees navigate the path to college. The conference offers a toolkit of educational resources about college majors, financial aid, as well as inspiring first-generation speakers, industry professionals and a keynote.”
The conference included breakout sessions and an information fair. The university also provided, free transportation to and from the event for our parents and students.
Overall, 245 students and 30 parents attended from throughout Southern California. The conference was open to all high school and community college students, along with parents.
The event aligns perfect with our own College & Career Success Initiative™ (C&CSI). The initiative prepares first generation college students for higher education beyond high school.
KidWorks thanks the staff and leadership at Concordia for producing such an impactful conference. We also express our gratitude to Erika Sanchez, Project Director of Hispanic Serving Institutions at the university. She is a KidWorks alumnus and former team member.
One of the event panelists was David Benavides, KidWorks’ Chief Executive Officer. He spoke about his own journey and the important role education played in his life and career.
The event also featured a discussion that included four KidWorks parents as panelists. They shared their experiences as parents of college students/graduates. Attendees said their comments provided meaningful insight, encouragement and guidance.
Both our parents and students expressed how valuable they found the event to be.
Gloria Servin, parent: “It was helpful having a conference geared towards preparing 1st generation Latino students for college. The workshops left us thinking about our children’s future and well-being. Yasmin is my oldest daughter and I want her to attend college someday. These types of opportunities have really helped me believe that college is part of my children’s future. I thank everybody who made this conference possible.”
Liliana Flores: parent: “I’m very glad I had the opportunity to attend the conference because I learned about ways I can support my children as they get ready to go off to college or a university. These types of talks and opportunities make going to college more attainable and reachable for our children. Thank you very much for these types of events and opportunities.”
KidWorks 10th grader Santiago gave the event high marks: “Attending the Concordia conference helped me see that Latinos can change the world.”
We are confident that many successful higher education careers will be launched thanks to Concordia University’s Hispanic Leadership Conference. KidWorks congratulate them on such a successful and meaningful event.
By Glenn Leibowitz, volunteer writer
Our monthly meeting for parents provides important updates about KidWorks programs, family services and other information. Parents meetings are free and we encourage all families to have one member attend.
Questions:
E-mail sonia.rios@kidworksoc.org
KidWorks rocks–literally. Each Saturday, up to 14 mothers of KidWorks students gather at our Dan Donahue Center for our recently re-launched Zumba classes.
It’s a mix of fitness, fun and friendship that supports our goal to serve parents as well as students enrolled in our programs.
The moms have been gathering each Saturday at 8 a.m. since September for an hourlong fitness workout led by volunteer Hortencia Plascencia, who has led Zumba classes for eight years.
“The idea to offer Zumba classes came directly from the moms when we surveyed parents this summer about the workshops and activities they’d like to see,” says Patty Nava, our Family and Community Engagement Program Assistant. “We immediately started working on their request.”
One of the surprising—and welcome—benefits of the classes is how they’ve gotten word out about KidWorks within the central Santa Ana community.
“Moms who may not have heard about KidWorks now know about the opportunities we offer their sons and daughters,” says Sonia Rios-Guzman, our Family and Community Engagement Manager.
The moms are thrilled that KidWorks offers Zumba.
“I started attending Zumba because I wanted to further improve my health,” says Veronica Catalan, whose 10thgrade daughter, Sophia, is enrolled in our programs. “I really enjoy Zumba and getting to meet other parents.”
Veronica adds, “It feels good to come on Saturdays and exercise. I feel good about myself. The ambiance is great and I can see moms that are happy and relieved from stress!”
“I like coming to Zumba because it’s relaxing, you get to build new friendships and the overall goal for all of us is to build a better, healthier lifestyle,” says Yadira Mora, mom to fifth grader, Amy, and ninth grader, Leslie, who are both enrolled in our programs.
Yadira adds, “I know change is not going to happen overnight but exercising and trying to make a change for the better good of my health is what keeps me going. Zumba gives me motivation and it makes me take things step by step.”
Each class is filled with music ranging from Selena Quintanilla’s cumbia songs (a Latin American genre) to Jennifer Lopez’s hip hop tunes.
“There are a lot of spatial movements as well as jumping and hand movements,” Patty says. “Many participants have brought their moms, neighbors, daughters and sisters. When the class ends, the moms help put the room back in place so it’s ready for the students.”
Zumba is representative of how KidWorks engages parents in programs specifically designed to support their needs. Other examples are ways to help their children academically, accessing resources offered by the city and county, plus opportunities to volunteer at KidWorks and in community improvement and safety projects, to name just a few.
Moms interested in signing up for Zumba classes or finding out more about Zumba can call Patty Nava, Family & Community Engagement Program Assistant at (714) 834-9400, ext. 127 or email her at patricia.nava@kidworksoc.org.
By Glenn Leibowitz, volunteer writer
Our annual monthly townhall gathering for parents who have students enrolled in KidWorks to get the latest program updates, resources and connect with KidWorks staff.
