“This Place”
Jackie Richmond, Director, Scott Child Development Center
Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena
The Boys & Girls Club is a place where children from pre-school to high school engage in enriching activities and are encouraged in their education and development. Richmond, herself a working mom, understands the need for working parents to know their kids are being nurtured and cared for, particularly when society presumes that some children are more likely to become felons than college grads.

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“Saved”
Christy Zamani, Executive Director
Day One
Starting a new job at Day One in the summer of 2007, Zamani was shocked and saddened by the death of Ebony Huell, an African American teen who died in a gang shootout. Hearing youth express hopelessness about the violence and community discussions leading nowhere, Zamani was determined that Day One would make a difference in the teenagers’ lives. The organization has now doubled the numbers of young people it serves.

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“Not What You Thought”
Nicole Bernard, student
Day One
Growing up in Northwest Pasadena, Bernard started to hang out with the wrong crowd. She was ‘angry, unruly, dejected and careless.’ But through her involvement with Day One, she began to turn her life around. Today, Bernard uses adjectives like ‘ambitious, hardworking, confident and joyful’ to describe the transformed young woman she has now become.

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“It Takes a Village”
Gloria Davis, Executive Director
H.O.P.E. Now
The African American proverb, ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ holds special meaning for Davis, who says, “The village took care of me.” Seeing that troubled youth in her own neighborhoods needed help, she chose service in Northwest Pasadena over a Peace Corps post. Davis has worked with local youth for more than 20 years and started the nonprofit, H.O.P.E. Now, which sponsors roundtable rap sessions and cultural outings for young people.

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“Good in Da Hood”
Brandon Lamar, student
H.O.P.E. NOW
“When I walk outside will I get shot?” asks Lamar, with the resigned knowledge that wearing the wrong color T-shirt in the wrong neighborhood could be fatal. Of all the problems that youth face today, he says, the main one is gang violence. Lamar praises H.O.P.E. Now’s Study Café, which has given him a positive outlook on his future. His advice to young people who are crying out for help: “Don’t let anyone say you can’t do something. Do you.”

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“I Believe in Butterflies”
Lori O’Neal, Administrative Assistant
Mustangs on the Move
O’Neal’s grandmother was a mentor and role model, who gave O’Neal the courage to spread her wings and fly. Today, O’Neal gives back in turn by working for the Mustangs on the Move after-school program and mentoring students at John Muir High School. Following her grandmother’s example, she helps a new generation achieve their dreams.

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“My Library”
Diane Walker, Librarian II-Branch Manager
Pasadena Public Library-La Pintoresca Branch
As a young girl in Arkansas, Walker was teased for being tall and skinny. Her safe haven was a country creek and books that she borrowed from a library book mobile. Today, she’s a librarian and is reminded each day how libraries provide sanctuary and hope. La Pintoresca, with its books, skate park, playground and technology center, is a haven for the Northwest community, and Walker is proud to hear people call it, “My library.”

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“The Reason I SMILE”
Debra A. Johnson
SMILE LaDy (Support, Motivate, Invest, Love, Educate)
Johnson didn’t have a lot to smile about when she was growing up, the eldest of five children in a single parent household. So she has devoted her life to bringing joy to young people. Johnson helps kids discover their talents; for example, arranging a visit to a lab for an aspiring young scientist. She tells each child, “This world would not be the same without you. We were all born to smile.”

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“Baby! Let’s Wait!”
Julie Parker, Founder/Administrative Director
Teen Futures
It was a magical moment for Parker, a high school counselor, when she learned about a new way to deter teen pregnancies—an infant simulator. The lifelike doll is fitted with an electronic recorder and programmed to cry at random. This vinyl baby gave birth to a teen parenthood prevention program. That was 13 years ago, and today, Parker’s nonprofit organization, Teen Futures, serves 300 teens a year, and teen pregnancies have plummeted.

 

Photo: Ralph Williams