ARTS PROGRAMS
After ‘Cool: $12,230
University Partner: USC School of Dramatic Arts, Brent BlairCommunity Partner: 24th Street Theatre Company (24 STreet Theatre), Jay McAdamsWebsite: https://www.24thstreet.org/after-cool
After ‘Cool addresses the lack of arts education opportunities for K-12 students in 24th Street Theatre’s immediate North University Park/Pico-Union neighborhood and the educational and social needs of the low-income community’s youth, engaging 60 neighborhood 2nd-8th grade youth in weekly, after-school instruction and activities that develop acting and creative skills, including improvisation, character and story development.
Cochlear Implant (CI) Music Hour Collaboration: $3,550
University Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Bionic Ear Lab, Raymond Goldsworthy
Community Partner: Neighborhood Music School, Chrysa Kovach
Website: https://sites.usc.edu/bionicearlab/
The Cochlear Implant (CI) Music Hour Collaboration is a weekly music appreciation session based out of the Bionic Ear Lab at USC Keck School of Medicine that involves researchers in music, audiology, and medicine. Through Zoom meetings, a group of domestic and international CI users, faculty, and students meet to better understand the challenges of music appreciation amongst CI users and to foster social and musical engagement amongst all participants.
Kaufman Connections (KC): $9,540
University Partner: USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Tiffany Bong
Community Partner: 32nd Street/LAUSD USC Visual & Performing Arts; Los Angeles Unified School District, Nelly Cristales
Website: https://kaufman.usc.edu/collaborations/kaufman-connections/
Kaufman Connections (KC) is a 24‐week, hip hop‐oriented program that introduces students to choreographic processes and the creative field of dance, strengthens important social‐emotional learning and cognitive skills, and increases teacher aptitude for integrating dance into the curriculum. KC’s USC student Teaching Assistants receive first‐hand community leadership and engagement experience.
Leadership Academy: $10,170
University Partner: USC School of Dramatic Arts, Brent Blair
Community Partner: 24th Street Theatre Company (24 STreet Theatre), Jay McAdams
Website: https://www.24thstreet.org/teen-leadership-academy
The Leadership Academy addresses the need for extracurricular programs supporting youth pathways to college and high-paying jobs and careers in 24th Street’s low-income neighborhood with low college attainment. By annually engaging 20 high school students in 60 hours of program service over 30 weeks using theatre arts to support academic achievement, students can build and develop confidence, communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, personal goals, and encourage civic engagement.
Salud Pa Ti (Health for You) Youth Theater Project: $15,000
University Partner: USC School of Dramatic Arts, Emily Roxworthy
Community Partner: Plaza de la Raza, Tomas Benitez
Website: www.plazadelaraza.org
A partnership between USC SDA and Lincoln Heights, the Salud Pa’ Ti (Health for You) Youth Theatre Project creates an opportunity for 45-50 low-income Latinx teens to develop their academic and creative skills to reflect and present their ideas and expressions about health issues impacting their lives, their families, and community today, including post-COVID recovery, suicide, bullying, peer pressure, the impact of social media, hate crimes, and issues related to gender identity.
USC Thornton Community Engagement Programs: $32,810
University Partner: USC Thornton Community Engagement Programs (TCEP), Susan Helfter
Community Partner: Dr. Theodore T. Alexander Jr. Science Center School, Monique Mejia
Website: https://music.usc.edu/usc-thornton-outreach-allows-students-the-chance-to-give-back/
The USC Thornton Community Engagement Programs (TCEP) offer PreK-12 students and their families the benefits of music learning and engagement through their low/no-cost music-learning opportunities to students who live predominantly in the critically under-resourced communities that surround USC’s two campuses.
Youth Artists as Civic Leaders: $12,030
University Partner: USC Community & Local Government Partnerships, David Galaviz
Community Partner: LA Commons, Karen Mack
Website: www.lacommons.org
Youth Artists as Civic Leaders increases the civic leadership capacity of youth around the University Park Campus by training participants to expand their knowledge of local community issues as they relate to environmental sustainability and climate change while engaging fellow community members in the creation of a major public artwork.
EDUCATION
Adventures Ahead After School Program: $17,340
University Partner: USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, Anna Parks
Community Partner: Redeemer Community Partnership, Lauren Tigrett
Website: www.redeemercp.org/education
Adventures Ahead is an after-school tutoring program with the mission to improve education outcomes for elementary students in the University Park neighborhood. Adventures Ahead offer an individualized reading curriculum, homework help, and academic enrichment to 30 students during the school year and an all-day academically rigorous summer program that incorporates math, science, art, and recreation.
Aspiring Entrepreneurs Program (AEP): $10,650
University Partner: USC Marshall School of Business, Glenn Fox
Community Partner: Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Estefanny Aybar
Website: www.nfte.com
The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) offers Entrepreneurship 1 (E1) to approximately 60+ students for the opportunity to practice their public-speaking skills and gain professional advice from competition judges. Students create business models and pitch in a series of class, school, regional, and national level events for the chance to earn investments and prizes. This program provides students with new opportunities that give them the skills, confidence, and know‐how to recognize opportunities, develop talents, discover potential, and chart their course.
Boyle Heights Beat: Voices/Voces of Ramona Gardens: $17,500
University Partner: USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, Willa Seidenberg
Community Partner: The Wellness Center at the Historic General Hospital, Rosa Soto
Website: https://boyleheightsbeat.com/
A community journalism and youth development training program, Boyle Heights Beat (BHB) builds capacity and leadership for youth storytellers, strengthens research, betters writing and analytical skills, and prepares youth for higher education as well as career training. The produced content fills a news vacuum that has historically isolated residents from each other and policymakers. By highlighting stories and issues in this hard-to-reach neighborhood, BHB helps create a healthier civic and community culture in one of the most marginalized areas of Boyle Heights.
C11 Strength of Character Curriculum: $3,800
University Partner: USC Price School of Public Policy, Christine Klein
Community Partner: Thrive in Joy Nick Fagnano Foundation, Mary Fagnano
Website: https://www.thriveinjoy.org/c11
Club Thrive in Joy enables students to recognize their character strengths and to apply those strengths to be of service to others. Students take on leadership roles and work as a team to implement the C11 Strength of Character framework to have a positive impact on the University Park community while building relationships with their peers.
Ednovate Schools and Problem-Based Learning: $10,390
University Partner: USC Rossier School of Education, Eugenia Mora-Flores
Community Partner: Ednovate, Kara Maguire
Website: www.ednovate.org
The collaboration between Ednovate Schools and the USC Rossier School of Education (RSOE) understands how to position students as leaders by implementing a social impact curriculum within a school context that prioritizes differentiated instruction through the use of technology, community, and building resilience and optimism as a means to enhance community and life outcomes of low-income, minority students.
Futures in Transportation: $10,000
University Partner: USC METRANS Transportation Consortium, Marlon Boarnet
Community Partner: USC Hybrid High College Prep, Sarah Batizy
Website: metrans.org
Held on the USC UPC campus once a week, 50 students enjoy Futures in Transportation: a 4‐module, integrated, multidisciplinary, and multi‐modal transportation education and career fields and pathways program designed to empower, engage, and motivate first-generation high school youth to pursue post-secondary education and training in transportation-related fields.
Inclusive Pathway to Healthcare Workforce: iPath: $20,000
University Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Physician Assistant Pipeline Program, Maria G. Maldonado
Community Partner: Community of Schools East Los Angeles, Ana Vega
Website: https://keck.usc.edu/physician-assistant-program
Through the USC Physician Assistant Pipeline Program, iPath provides a curriculum primarily focused on encouraging local middle and high school students and their families from the surrounding USC Health Science and University Park Campus communities to seek higher education and careers in health care. With the support from graduate students, faculty, and professional tutors, they will be provided with educational instruction and resources, leadership development, and life skills to help them navigate through academic challenges.
Our Stories Matter: $10,000
University Partner: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Susan Hess
Community Partner: Trauma Informed LA, Ramona Merchan
Website: traumainformedla.org
Trauma Informed LA’s Our Stories Matter podcast promotes healing and well-being by engaging the community in narrative-based discussions centered on activism, art, poetry, film, music, breath, movement, and other media. It inspires empathy, connection, activism, and community–from and by community storytellers.
Parent Engagement and College Access: $17,500
University Partner: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) & USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII), Rhonda Ortiz
Community Partner: Building Skills Partnership, Luis Sandoval
Website: https://www.buildingskills.org
The Building Skills Partnership (BSP) Parent Engagement and College Access program assists first-generation students in the financial aid application process, educates parents on the higher education process and the resources available to them and their students, and provides opportunities that promote higher education to both parents and students.
PUENTE’s College and Career Program: $20,000
University Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Greg Harlan
Community Partner: PUENTE Learning Center, Michele Wolfe
Website: https://www.puente.org/youth/
The College and Career Program empowers over 540 students from low-income communities of color to succeed in pre-college performance, gain acceptance to college, receive resources to succeed in college, obtain a competitive STEM degree, and contribute their gifts and skills to professional communities.
Reading Makes A Difference: $15,400
University Partner: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Joint Educational Project, Tina Koneazny
Community Partner: The Jester & Pharley Phund, Barbara Saltzman
Website: https://thejester.org/programs/literacy-and-outrea
The five-week Reading Makes A Difference (RMD) program places tutors in the USC Family of Schools to give teachers, ReadersPlus mentors, and Program Support students valuable tools and activities to make learning to read fun while also providing social-emotional learning (SEL) support. These include inspiring Phund assemblies, a Read-A-Thon to motivate students to help ill kids, lesson ideas, and appealing social-emotional learning activities.
Social Emotional Wellness and Community Care Initiative at Ramona Gardens: $21,000
University Partner: USC School of Pharmacy, David Dadiomov
Community Partner: Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley and Eastside, JR Dzubak
Website: www.wsgvbgc.org
The Boys and Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley and Eastside serve to actively support the mental and emotional wellness of the youth they serve and provide the support necessary to help families under stress with coping skills to promote the development of children in a safe and nurturing home environment as well as provide hot meals and emergency supplies to those who are experiencing food insecurity and develop resiliency in youth through kindness education.
Teen Literacy Programming: $5,030
University Partner: USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, Donnajean Ward
Community Partner: The Book Truck, Elizabeth Dragga
Website: https://thebooktruck.org/
Through Teen Literacy Programming, the Book Truck gives away free books and literacy support materials to LA County’s most underserved teens to help combat the effects of growing up in a book desert. This programming creates the intrinsic motivation to read by building competence, autonomy, and relatedness around books and reading.
The USC A-LAB Architecture Development Program: $10,500
University Partner: USC School of Architecture, Lauren Matchison
Community Partner: James A. Foshay Learning Center, Lisa Beebe
Website: https://arch.usc.edu/a-lab
The USC A-LAB Architecture Development Program is a rigorous academic experience providing students from Foshay Learning Center with on-campus, immersive instruction in architecture and design. The curriculum imparts hard and soft architectural skills and helps students prepare for college and identify career goals.
USC PressFriends: $12,600
University Partner: USC Office of the Provost, Debora Chan-Southwell
Community Partner: PressFriends, Inc., Shirley Jung
Website: facebook.com/uscpf
Founded by kids for kids in 2008, USC PressFriends is a free all-volunteer youth-led mentoring program for school newspaper writing at Title I elementary schools. By empowering children to become socially-responsible leaders and mentors, they can create compassion and understanding amongst youth from diverse backgrounds to strengthen their communities.
USC ReadersPLUS: $69,710
University Partner: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Joint Educational Project, Tina Koneazny
Community Partner: Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary School, Mercedes Pineda
Website: https://dornsife.usc.edu/joint-educational-project
USC ReadersPlus places reading and math tutors in the USC Family of Schools, inspiring academic confidence and positive learning relationships for children who are at reading or math levels below the classroom average. The after-school curriculum addresses homework help, STEM, literature, and mindfulness in children around University Park.
USC Troy Camp: $32,000
University Partner: USC Marshall School of Business, Adlai Wertman
Community Partner: Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary School, Mercedes Pineda
Website: troycamp.org
Founded in 1948, USC’s Troy Camp’s mission has been to provide mentorship and community building (and eventually, a return to the mountain summer camp) for 3rd-12th grade students in the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles. This student-run program has accomplished its mission through free programming, provided by over 200 undergraduate mentors. This program provides resources and guidance to help 3rd-12th grade students achieve their academic and personal goals at the University Park Campus.
Virtual Assisted Living And Education Program ( VALE): $21,950
University Partner: USC Viterbi School of Engineering, K-12 STEM Center, Darin Gray
Community Partner: Living Advantage, Inc ( LA, Inc. ), Pamela Clay
Website: www.livingadvantageinc.org/the-VALE-program
The Virtual Assisted Living And Education Program (VALE) utilizes innovative technology, collaboration, and media to reduce unemployment, homelessness, and incarceration for LA’s at-risk foster youth population through increased hybrid-virtual/in-person services, eWorkshops, STEM education exposure, and college preparation. VALE helps students graduate on time, provides diverse experiences, addresses individual challenges, and hosts independent living workshops.
Writing 150 and the Writers’ Room at Manual Arts High School: $16,000
University Partner: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Benjamin Pack
Community Partner: 826LA, Jamie Balboa
Website: 826la.org
Since opening its doors in 2005, 826LA has served more than 100,000 students in Los Angeles with free programs. 826LA seeks to support students improve their creative and expository writing skills and to help teachers inspire their students to write. With an innovative curriculum, intensive writing projects, and encouraging mentors, 826LA helps local high school students build their communication and literacy skills with one-on-one support from community volunteers, including USC undergraduates.
Youth Development Programming for Underserved Youth in East Los Angeles: $16,000
University Partner: USC Community & Local Government Partnerships, Dulce Acosta
Community Partner: Variety Boys & Girls Club, Patricia Siqueiros
Website: www.VBGC.org
The Variety Boys and Girls Club (VBGC) provides after-school academic enrichment, with an emphasis on college and career pathways, to approximately 800 K-12 low-income minority students. From assisting their members in high school with scholarships to attend college and financial aid applications to helping former members/young adults during college in seeking post-graduation employment opportunities, VBGC works to illuminate the pathway for their members to achieve college acceptance and a college degree.
STEM PROGRAMS
Building Opportunities with Teachers in Schools (BOTS): $27,010
University Partner: USC Viterbi School of Engineering, K-12 STEM Center, Mary Bonaparte-Saller
Community Partner: LAUSD Local District East, Craig Sipes
Website: https://viterbik12.usc.edu/bots/
The USC BOTS program’s primary goal is to impart widespread computer science (CS) and digital literacy to young students of under-represented and under-resourced backgrounds by providing elementary school teachers from East Los Angeles schools with effective long‐term professional development that empowers them to integrate CS into their classroom through coding and robotics.
Community Applying Systemic STEM Education to Schools (Community ASSETS or C-ASSETS): $38,800
University Partner: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Joint Educational Project, Dieuwertje Kast
Community Partner: Norwood Street Elementary School, Irene Worrell
Website: https://dornsife.usc.edu/joint-educational-project
C-ASSETS students engage in authentic STEM experiences both in-class and after school, reflecting what scientists and engineers do in the real world. Building off the success of the Young Scientist Program (YSP) and adding the Medical STEM Program (MSP), C-ASSETS delivers scientific labs directly to students and their teachers with the goal of supplementing science instruction, strengthening science literacy, and promoting interest in scientific careers in children in the University Park area.
Expanding STARs/EHA Program: $39,500
University Partner: USC School of Pharmacy, Terry Church
Community Partner: Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, Luis Lopez
Website: http://pharmweb.usc.edu/USCSTAR/
The STARs/EHA Program introduces high school students around the Health Sciences Campus to the relationship between engineering and medical sciences, it helps students achieve proficiency in college-level science courses and prepares students to succeed in rigorous post-secondary science and engineering education pathways. Third-year EHA students train for placement in research labs at USC as part of the capstone course.
Language, Culture, & STEM – Youth Empowerment & Mentorship Program: $9,920
University Partner: USC Dornsife College and Letters, Arts and Sciences, Society for the Advancement of Chicano/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), Gwen Noda
Community Partner: Sacred Heart Elementary School, Adriana Bronzina
Website: www.sacredheartla.org
The Language, Culture & STEM – Youth Empowerment & Mentorship Program at Sacred Heart Elementary develops students’ love of math and science and helps them to see a reflection of themselves in their USC Hispanic student mentors. The program also provides a comprehensive English-Spanish Dual Language immersion program.
Mission Science: $32,650
University Partner: USC Viterbi School of Engineering, K-12 STEM Center, Jennifer Kolbauer
Community Partner: Gates Avenue Elementary School, Jennifer Barraza
Website: https://viterbik12.usc.edu/missionscience/
Mission Science (MS) takes place at 7 USC neighborhood elementary schools, providing 3rd-5th-grade students with hands-on, inquiry-based science and engineering activities and experiences. USC undergraduate and graduate students majoring in STEM teach and engage these local youth with STEM activities with the support and guidance of a teacher liaison.
Project Scientist STEM Club: $35,000
University Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Graduate Women in Science – Los Angeles Chapter, Ite Offringa Ph.D
Community Partner: Project Scientist, Sandy Marshall
Website: https://projectscientist.org/stem-club
Project Scientist provides a virtual after-school STEM Club to elementary school girls in the USC Family of Schools, giving under‐resourced girls access to high‐quality, standards‐aligned, teacher‐guided STEM experiences to broaden their horizons, engage them in active learning via home‐delivered hands‐on activities, and spark a lifelong love for STEM. Members of the Graduate Women in Science at USC provide girls with role models in STEM fields. This exposure is key to dismantling gender stereotypes in STEM.
Science in Visual Narratives: An Elementary School STEAM Program: $10,430
University Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Tea Jashashvili
Community Partner: Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District East, Craig Sipes
Website: https://malabar.schoolloop.com/
The Science in Visual Narratives: An Elementary School STEAM Program expands students’ knowledge of biology and comprehensive integration of imaginary/artistic and technological education in the early stages of their scientific learning by creating cartoon animations that convey their experiences with these scientific concepts.
SCience Outreach: $5,130
University Partner: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, USC SCience Outreach, Susumu Takahashi
Community Partner: 32nd Street/USC Magnet School, Nelly Cristales
Website: http://uscscienceoutreach.org
USC Science Outreach (SCout) introduces scientific curiosity to University Park elementary school students through interactive science experiments and concepts before their formal science curriculum begins in their schools. Lessons are coupled with hands‐on experiments, building upon the students’ basic knowledge of science while encouraging them to further practice the skills for scientific inquiry.
STEM After School at Legacy LA: $3,530
University Partner: USC Viterbi School of Engineering, K-12 STEM Center, Darin Gray
Community Partner: Legacy LA Youth Development Corporation, Lou Calanche
Website: https://scogs5.wixsite.com/scogsusc
STEM After-School is a partnership between USC SCOGS, Legacy LA, and the USC Viterbi STEM Educational Outreach Programs. This program introduces volunteer USC graduate students to middle school students to provide homework help, lead hands-on experiments and activities, and act as professional role models. The middle school students are from the area surrounding the Health Sciences Campus participating in the Legacy LA after-school program.
USC Med-COR (Medical Counseling, Organizing and Recruiting): $35,700
University Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Med-COR Program, Joyce Richey
Community Partner: Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, Millicent Dypiangco
Website: https://medcor.usc.edu/
The USC Medical Counseling, Organizing, and Recruiting program (Med‐COR) increase the pool of local high school BIPOC students committed to the pursuit of health professional careers and supports students from diverse backgrounds in becoming academically competitive for admission to colleges and universities nationwide by offering comprehensive curricular and co‐curricular training.
Using STEAM to Alter History: Integrating History, Science, Math, and Art: $15,150
University Partner: USC Rossier School of Education, Angela (Laila) Hasan
Community Partner: Western Avenue T.E.C.H. Magnet, Johnny Rivera
Through a collaborative effort between USC Rossier and Western Ave T.E.C.H Magnet School, they created the Using STEAM to Alter History: Integrating History, Science, Math, and Art Program to explore events in history and present outcomes that are different from the historical record using VR/AR technologies. This program addresses the social-emotional support needed for students in underserved schools and allows students to acquire skills in VR/AR concepts and tools, scientific research methods-processes, and mathematics reasoning and problem-solving.
Young Researchers Program: $8,370
University Partner: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Naomi Levine
Community Partner: Manual Arts High School, Natalie Beck
Website: https://www.youngresearchers.usc.edu/
The Young Researchers Program (YRP) is a 6‐week summer program that provides under‐represented, low-income high school students from neighboring USC communities exposure to university‐level scientific research. High school students are mentored 1‐on‐1 by USC Ph.D. students who provide the support and skills needed to conduct a successful research project. Starting with experimental design and data collection, their work culminates in a poster symposium.
HEALTH PROGRAMS
Early Intervention & Community Wellness/USC Internship Program: $20,000
University Partner: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Ruth Supranovich
Community Partner: Wellnest, Jenna Haelflinger-Kurtz
Website: http://bit.ly/EICWprogram
The Wellnest/USC partnership’s mission is to improve the mental health and nutrition outcomes for 500 children, their families, and caregivers living in the University Park area of South Los Angeles. The Wellnest’s Early Intervention & Community Wellness (EICW) program helps address and treat early signs of mental and emotional illness in vulnerable children to improve their long‐term chances of leading healthy lives.
Expanding the Network of Grief Support for Children in the USC Neighborhood: $30,400
University Partner: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Maria Hu
Community Partner: OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center, Lauren Schneider
Website: www.ourhouse-grief.org/school-based-groups
The OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center School Program provides free grief support groups for bereaved elementary, middle, and high school students who have experienced the death of a family member or close friend within the past 2-36 months. During the school day, groups of 8-12 students are led by one clinically supervised OUR HOUSE volunteer to follow a trauma-informed and research-based curriculum to achieve high-impact results within ten weeks to guarantee quality control across more than 60 groups.
FEAST Family Feeding Program: $10,000
University Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Kayla de la Haye
Community Partner: FEAST, Amy Vu
Website: www.feastforall.org
To fulfill the missions of increasing health and wellness in communities surrounding USC’s University Park and Health Sciences campuses, FEAST’s eight 8‐week Family Feeding groups aim to reduce the negative impacts of stress, depression, and anxiety by providing social support for parents, and prevent childhood obesity through healthy food access and nutrition education.
Get It Straight – Mindfulness & Drug Prevention (GIS MDP): $17,500
University Partner: USC Educational Partnerships, Patricia Alarcon
Community Partner: Hollenbeck Police Activities League, Lorraine Garcia
Website: https://lapdhollenbeckpal.org/
The Get It Straight – Mindfulness and Drug Prevention program (GIS MDP) created two workshops series for Sheridan Elementary School and Wilson High School to increase the ability of youth to make healthier decisions leading to their future wellbeing, to help elementary school students understand the correlation between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and to aid middle/high school students learn necessary critical thinking skills and tools to live a drug-free lifestyle.
Nutrition for Health and Longevity Community Program: $19,080
University Partner: Keck Medicine of USC, USC Transplant Institute, Susan Kim
Community Partner: Vouchers 4 Veggies – SF General Hospital Foundation, Cissie Bonini
Website: https://www.instagram.com/eat4longevity/
The Nutrition for Health and Longevity Community Program equips and empowers participants with the knowledge, skills, resources, and a positive attitude to make healthier dietary choices to improve their health status. Participants learn the correlations between a healthy lifestyle and the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases over a 10-week program both online and at the USC Keck Medical Center.
USC Dental Screening Initiative for Foster Children: $23,850
University Partner: Pediatric Dental Clinic at LAC+USC Medical Center, Thanh Tam Ton
Community Partner: Violence Intervention Program, Astrid Heger
Website: https://violenceinterventionprogram.org
The USC Dental Screening Initiative for Foster Children establishes a dental home for foster children in the Violence Intervention Program (VIP). A dental team of assistants, pediatric dentists, dental students, dental assisting students, and social work interns provide dental health services in-person and virtually such as oral health screenings, dietary counseling, oral health education, and emotional support to the foster children and their caregivers in the neighborhoods surrounding the Health Science Campus.
USC Neighborhood Mobile Dental Van Prevention Program: $22,800
University Partner: Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, Carlos Sanchez
Community Partner: St. Agnes Parish School, Will Summer
Website: https://dentistry.usc.edu/community/mobile-dental-clinics/
The USC Neighborhood Mobile Dental Van Prevention Program (NMDVPP) is the only school-based mobile provider for preventive oral health care and education in Los Angeles. This program improves the quality of TK-12 oral health education and the quality of life for children and their families by providing the children in need with access to free preventive oral health care and education. As a leader in providing school-based oral health preventive services, the NMDVPP expects to successfully screen and treat each consented child in the USC Partner schools that require oral health care services, as well as to promote oral health education at various community outreach events.
USC PT Fit Families: $11,800
University Partner: USC Division of Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy, Cheryl Resnik
Community Partner: Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, Luis Lopez
Website: https://www.facebook.com/uscfitfamilies
The USC Fit Families program promotes positive long-term lifestyle and behavioral changes in children to prevent problems associated with obesity and physical inactivity. Rotated weekly between Bravo High School, the Ramona Gardens Boys and Girls Club, and 1 in south LA, underserved children and their families will go through face-to-face fitness sessions and educational content created by USC Physical Therapy students.
Food Access
Garden Gateway Nutrition Education Project: $24,880
University Partner: USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, Francois Bar
Community Partner: Community Services Unlimited Inc., Heather Fenney
Website: http://csuinc.org/programs/garden-gateway/
The Garden Gateway program serves to increase the consumption of fresh, locally-grown, organic fruits and vegetables among residents in South Central Los Angeles to combat obesity and diabetes as well as improve overall community health. It also provides increased physical activity and mental health through gardening, leadership capacity among community residents (including local youth), and household and community resiliency and self-sufficiency in the face of climate change, pandemics, and future uncertainties.
Neighborhood Market Farm Stands: $17,500
University Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Kayla de la Haye
Community Partner: Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Christine Tran
Website: goodfoodla.org/healthyneighborhoodmarketnetwork
The Neighborhood Market Farm Stands program serves to increase healthy food access to resident and non-resident community members surrounding the local corner store, Village Mart & Deli, while also investing in the local supply chain in the USC community. This program also serves the families of nearby Woodrow Wilson High School and Multnomah Elementary School and reaches the non-resident community members who work in the area, including employees of the LA Unified School District office and the USC Sciences Campus.
SERVICES FOR THE UNHOUSED
Back on Track: $24,500
University Partner: USC Marshall School of Business, Hank Wasiak
Community Partner: School on Wheels, Inc., Catherine Meek
Website: www.schoolonwheels.org
School on Wheels ensures educational opportunities for children who are experiencing homelessness from kindergarten through twelfth grade by providing hardware such as Chromebooks, important access to high-speed internet services, and their very own volunteer tutor who will meet with them every week to reduce the gaps in their remote learning experience.
Justice-Involved Reentry: $7,500
University Partner: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Susan Hess
Community Partner: Alcott Center for Mental Health Services, Ashley McGullam
Website: www.alcottcenter.org
Fisher Place, a supportive housing project that utilizes trauma-informed property management for people navigating mental health challenges, was created by the Alcott Center for Mental Health Services to provide an opportunity to stabilize 43 community members who are navigating justice-involved re-entry while in interim housing.
Share a Meal: $17,500
University Partner: USC Office of Religious Life, Jim Burklo
Community Partner: Khalsa Peace Corps, Alec Vandenberg
Website: https://www.shareameal.net/
Share A Meal’s mission is to build caring communities through mobile kitchens selflessly sharing meals and basic necessities with the local unhoused community. This program operates a mobile food truck that annually distributes thousands of fresh burritos to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, serving any community member who might experience food insecurity on any given night.
The Rise Student Navigator Network (SNN): $21,000
University Partner: USC Student Affairs, Student Basic Needs, Ally Delacruz Hong
Community Partner: Rise Education Fund, LIz Conn
Website: www.risefree.org/snn-at-usc/
The Rise Student Navigator Network (SNN) provides peer-to-peer case management referral services to Los Angeles area college students. These services include – but are not limited to – CalFresh, general relief benefits, unemployment insurance, medical, wifi, and technology services.
Trojan Shelter: $6,300
University Partner: USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, Alex Graddy-Reed
Community Partner: Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Eric Shafer
Website: trojanshelter.org
Trojan Shelter aims to advocate for and provide the necessary resources to serve the overlooked population of college students experiencing homelessness. This student-run organization provides free-of-charge housing and meals while also promoting long-term solutions.
Turning Point SAFE Reentry Transitional Housing: $25,000
University Partner: USC Community & Local Government Partnerships, Stephen Wesson
Community Partner: Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Education Program Inc., Michelle Perkins
Website: https://turningpointaod.com/re-entry-housing/
Turning Point and their SAFE women’s transitional reentry housing program fulfills the basic needs for housing, clothing, food, and hygiene products, while also addressing urgent and essential health care, mental health, behavioral health, employment, and family needs for women exiting prison in L.A. County.
Water Drop LA: $16,720
University Partner: USC Dornsife School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Emily Artiano
Community Partner: Water Drop LA, Aria Catano
Website: https://waterdropla.org
Founded at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic by USC students and alumni, Water Drop LA is a 100% volunteer-run mutual aid organization whose mission is to address the urgent need for clean water until safe and dignified permanent water infrastructure can be installed for the unhoused populations in Los Angeles.
COMMUNITY SAFETY PROGRAMS
University Park Slow Jams: $25,000
University Partner: USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, David Sloane
Community Partner: Public Matters, Reanne Estrada
Website: https://tinyurl.com/upsj2021 (evolving)
At its heart, University Park Slow Jams (UPSJ) is about neighbors making safe, people-friendly streets around the University Park Campus. UPSJ is a creative call to action for safer streets that combines art, education, and capacity building with creative acts to elevate community perspectives, build awareness of street safety issues, map local conditions, and shape future changes to local infrastructure.
Violence Prevention/Social-Emotional Learning: $21,600
University Partner: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Joint Educational Project, Susan Harris
Community Partner: SOLA Community Peace Center, Susan Stouffer
Website: www.solacommunitypeacecenter.org
This in-school program seeks to develop vital peacemaking and social-emotional skills (VP/SEL) to local kids and families around University Park Campus. The youth in the programs learn through experiential and fun learning activities such as role play, crafts, and small group activities, and learn the practices of gratitude and positivity.
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PROGRAMS
Co-operative Education and Development with System Impacted Community Members: $24,000
University Partner: USC Marshall School of Business, Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab, Christina Fialho
Community Partner: Collective REMAKE, Mary Sutton
Website: collectiveremake.com
Collective REMAKE and its USC partners have created Co-operative Education and Development Programming (CEAD) for people impacted by incarceration and living in the USC neighborhood by developing an ongoing mentorship program with USC students in the Marshall School of Business and program participants.
South Central Growers and Harvesters Network: $8,000
University Partner: USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, Francois Bar
Community Partner: Community Services Unlimited Inc., Heather Fenney
Website: http://csuinc.org/programs/south-central-growers-a
The South Central Growers and Harvesters Network (SCGHN) supports South Central residents in hopes that they will utilize the land that they have access to in order to create urban agriculture micro-enterprises that will increase their economic security and mobility and enhance access to high-quality, organic, and culturally appropriate produce for residents. SCGHN also assists in developing solutions that build community resiliency in response to trends in climate change, increased economic disparities, and economic development that do not serve current residents.
WORKFORCE TRAINING
Career Success Training for Youth: $6,400
University Partner: USC Marshall School of Business, Lindsey Bier
Community Partner: Youth Business Alliance, Betsy Blanchard
Website: www.youthbizalliance.org
The Youth Business Alliance (YBA) was established to introduce local high school students in low‐income neighborhoods to business and career skills and to connect them to career pathways and professionals from a variety of industries. By introducing LMI youth to career options, and illuminating the soft skills needed to succeed, YBA sets students on a pathway to success. The program serves students living in the University Park neighborhood.
Empowerment for Independent Living: $17,420
University Partner: USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Maria Henke
Community Partner: Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment, Johnson Ng
Website: www.pacela.org
Empowerment for Independent Living, a partnership between Pacific Asian Consortium Employment (PACE) and the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, trains 40 individuals from the University Park Campus (UPC) Service Area to become certified and registered home care providers to serve LA’s growing senior community.
Jazz Hands Virtual Academy: $28,500
University Partner: USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, Nicole Esparza
Community Partner: Jazz Hands for Autism, Ifunanya Nweke
Website: https://www.jazzhandsforautism.org/
Jazz Hands for Autism serves a growing population of adults with autism in a world where services disproportionately focus on school-aged children. The program helps participants build career goals that match their interests and serves individuals living in the University Park neighborhood.
Promotores de Salud: Community Health Training Program: $17,500
University Partner: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Susan Hess
Community Partner: Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, Gabriela Gonzales
Website: https://www.esperanzacommunityhousing.org/
Every year, the Esperanza Community Housing Corporation trains 25 community members to become a part of the Promotores de Salud: Community Health Training Program. After an intensive 6-month training, the Promotores can then provide culturally accessible health education, primary prevention, and advocacy to families and children. Through positive outcomes from our health programs, Esperanza has been able to advance city-wide and national policies on housing, habitability, code enforcement, workforce development, and asthma home visitation.