Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be donating $1 million to charities across the United States to celebrate reaching the one million follower mark on Instagram. The Dale Jr. Foundation has identified a charity located in each of the top 10 cities where Earnhardt’s Instagram followers reside, with each organization receiving $100,000. Heart of Los Angeles is honored to be one of these grantees. Thank you to the Dale Jr. Foundation for recognizing our work alongside wonderful organizations like Regional Food Bank of NE Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Fletcher Place Community Center (Indianapolis), Armer Foundation For Kids LLC (Phoenix), Kids' Meals, Inc. (Houston), Nashville Angels (Nashville, Tenn.), New York Common Pantry (New York), Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, Ohio), Hope of Mooresville HOMe (Mooresville, N.C.), and Classroom Central (Charlotte, N.C.).

Our partnership with the Los Angeles Children's Chorus (LACC) is providing free, high-quality music education to our community by offering children access to LACC's renowned choral training programs. The initiative addresses the critical need for accessible arts education, particularly in communities where resources are limited. As we integrate LACC's curriculum into its extensive arts education offerings, we're providing the youth in our community a new avenue through which to nurture musical talent and creativity. Our first concert together just happened on HOLA's central campus! These students not only received expert instruction from LACC's faculty throughout the year, they got to develop essential skills such as teamwork, discipline, and confidence. By combining HOLA's community outreach with LACC's musical excellence, this program aspires to create lasting impacts on children's lives, fostering a love for music and opening doors to future opportunities in the arts. Read more about the collaboration between LACC and HOLA in a Pasadena Star News article here: https://lnkd.in/gQnn763y

Thank you, Voyage LA Magazine, for the wonderful feature on Heart of LA CEO Tony Brown! Read it below and hear Tony talk about everything from his Junior Olympian swimmer roots to where he sees HOLA going next.

Our brilliant Eisner Intergenerational Orchestra was just featured in the PBS documentary series A Brief History of The Future! While exploring what makes us human, the PBS crew stopped by the HOLA campus to hear how we've created a space with The Eisner Foundation for the community to come together, make connections, share wisdom, and empower one another regardless of age or income. “Those of us that are providing youth services realize that it’s so critically important for young people to have caring adults in their lives.” -CEO Tony Brown in the episode (watch it below!)

Our SciArts program offers new and exciting classes each session, covering topics from cosplay sword creation to robotics and Rube Goldberg machines. Through these projects, students learn not just the subject matter but also how to learn, ask questions, experiment, and create. Hannah, one of HOLA's SciArts students, spent her last session in a digital animation class. Inspired by her new skills, she went home and created this ladybug on her own time!

Happy #AfterschoolProfessionalsAppreciationWeek! Today, we're celebrating LEAL Program Coordinator Katherine! Miss Katherine guides high school juniors and seniors through their college plans. She has been with HOLA for 4 years supporting our students through one of the most difficult times in their educational journeys. This week, we are full of gratitude for staff like Katherine, who make HOLA the special, safe place it is for the many students and family members who call it home. Thank you for being an Afterschool Professional!

Happy #AfterschoolProfessionalsAppreciationWeek! Today we're celebrating SmartStart teacher, Amy Ramos! Miss Amy teaches a Geography and Reading & Writing class this session. She has been with HOLA for almost 3 years. She is currently enrolled in a single-subject credential program at Cal State University, Northridge, and doing her student teaching at Vaughn International Studies Academy. She graduates this year and looks forward to working for LAUSD as a history teacher. We celebrate her this week and recognize her efforts to provide a positive learning experience to our HOLA students by creating fun engaging lessons and bringing her knowledge and passion for teaching into the after-school classroom setting.

Who can volunteer for a better LA? YOU can! 🥳 In tandem with #LA2050GrantsChallenge voting from April 2nd to May 8th, we’re spotlighting 24 volunteer activations across the Los Angeles region. If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to make a difference, look no further. You can browse the schedule of events at LA2050.org/volunteer and sign up for one (or two, or more!) now. And, as the events take place, we’ll be keeping track on this LA2050 Volunteer Activation Bingo Card. 🖍 So far, we’ve completed seven of 24! We invite you to play along. #WhoCanYouCan #LA2050GrantsChallenge

Amazing interview with Tony Brown! Thank you, ABC7 Los Angeles, for stopping by!

AXS TV and Charter Communications' Spectrum unit will award ten $10,000 grants to music education programs as part of the ongoing AXS TV Band Together For Music Education initiative. Heart of Los Angeles is honored to receive the first grant of 2024 today! Thank you for recognizing the importance of providing access to arts education.