Dear Friends of Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA),

This time of year our hallways are buzzing with students eagerly counting down the end of the school year. While our students finish their last weeks of school, HOLA’s staff is gearing up our summer camp programming to ensure that our kids have a fun, active and safe summer off of the streets and in classrooms or the great outdoors. Many of our high school students will be visiting Boston, MA where they will be touring college campuses and visiting historical landmarks. This excursion is made possible by the generous of support of our donors and HOLA’s airline partner, Southwest Airlines. Most of our camps will begin in July, so it’s not too late to help support HOLA’s Send a Kid to Camp campaign by checking out our website. Thank you in advance for giving our kids a summer to remember.

Sincerely,

Tony M. Brown
Executive Director

SmartStart elementary school and Bridges middle school programs
It is graduation season at HOLA! HOLA’s graduation ceremonies have grown so much that this year we held the matriculation and recognition ceremony for our SmartStart elementary and Bridges middle school programs on June 20th at nearby Charles White School. This annual tradition began three years ago and it offers kids in the Rampart District an opportunity to showcase their accomplishments over the past year and reinforces the importance of these successful transitions. In August, HOLA will hold a send off dinner for our graduating high school seniors and their families.

ROPE high school program
On Saturday, June 7th, HOLA’s high school juniors sat for their first official SAT test. After spending twelve weeks in HOLA’s College Prep 101 and Princeton Review course, the students went into the test feeling confident and prepared. When the juniors returned to HOLA the following Monday, many of them expressed that the test was not as intimidating as they expected. With this crucial step in the college application process completed, our juniors will now start the task of figuring out which colleges they will apply to this fall.

On May 28th, HOLA rededicated the Chick Hearn Learning Center and the Lakers Reading Room. The space, which was originally built in 2002, recently underwent major improvements thanks to a re-investment by Marge Hearn and the Los Angeles Lakers. On hand to cut the ribbon and re-dedicate the room were Marge Hearn were Lakers legends Kareem Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy, and the Lakers Girls. The ceremony concluded with a special reading of Dr. Seuss’ “Hop on Pop” by HOLA’s SmartStart elementary students. The ceremony was captured by NBA Hall of Fame photographer and HOLA Board member, Andrew Bernstein and the NBA who later aired the ceremony’s highlights on TNT National Television during the Western Conference Championship game.

HOLA’s sixth annual HOLA in One! golf tournament presented by Hanover Financial was held on June 9th. Golfers from as far as Las Vegas and Phoenix came out and spent the picture perfect day at MountainGate Country Club. Kurt Hocker, Gerald Ford, Ray Cherry, and Stephen Temple from Union Bank of California took first place and Jim Schoerock, Larry Ohrt, Skip Laster, and Fred Master took second place in this year’s tournament. The event was a tremendous success and raised over $70,000 for HOLAs programs. It’s never too early to reserve your foursome and sponsorship now for next year’s June HOLA in One!

El Corazon
On June 7th, HOLA held the grand opening of the El Corazon Gallery and the opening of the Gallery’s inaugural show, “Paintings and Drawings”, by local artist and HOLA alumnus Javier Carrillo. Art patrons and HOLA supporters attended the Gallery’s opening and as part of the evening, several of the people instrumental in the Gallery, Rebecca Clark, Dan McCleary and Maria Carrillo said a few words about the significance of the new Gallery for the HOLA community. The artist then took center stage to thank everyone for supporting his show and the Gallery. Javier’s show will be on display at El Corazon through August 31st.

Summer Arts Study
This summer, 25 talented high school artists from all over Los Angeles have been accepted into HOLA’s Summer Art program. Our prestigious art program is taught by college professors and art professionals. Young artists from Hamilton, Belmont, Miguel Contreras, and John Leichty will make up the participants of this year’s exciting Summer Program. This year’s main focus will be on self portraits and a final exhibition will be held on July 26th.

Chorus
HOLA’s Children’s Chorus, lead by Director Stephanie Mowery, will be highlighted at the opening ceremony of the Levitt Pavilion in Macarthur Park’s summer series. After last year’s successful event, HOLA was invited back to perform as the opening act for this year’s ceremony. The Levitt Pavilion, in association with MacArthur Park, holds free weekly concerts at the newly renovated band shell.

The Central City Girls Basketball Association (CCGBA) season kicked-off June 6th and will play through the summer. The CCGBA is comprised of 12 teams from around the greater Los Angeles area. This season, HOLA’s team is made up of 9 girls who are all new to the league. With a win in their debut game, our team is ready to prove that they are worthy opponents of the fiercest competition. All of HOLA’s home games will be played at West Adams High School.

 

 

We encourage you to check our website for updates www.heartofla.org. Thank you for your continued support!