The Price Family Charitable Fund grant screening committee approved grants to the following organizations at its January meeting:

Horn of Africa
A grant to support the hiring of a case manager at the Horn of Africa. The case manager will help women obtain a license to operate a home-based day care center. The target population is refugee women who’ve lived in the U.S. more than five years. The program will generate income for the day care provider, create trusted child care for refugee families working or attending school, and integrates a Readiness for Kindergarten program to help children reach proficiency standards for kindergarten. The Horn of Africa is based in City Heights and focuses on the Somali community.

ACLU Foundation of San Diego County
A grant of general support to the ACLU Foundation of San Diego County.  The Foundation works to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. The San Diego office serves San Diego County and Imperial County residents.

Volunteers In Probation, Inc.
A grant of general support to Volunteers In Probation (VIP), Inc.  VIP assists low income probationers to become law abiding citizens. Assistance may include bus passes to go to school and/or work, clothes for job interviews, glasses, educational scholarships, and other temporary assistance.

The YMCA of San Diego County has announced it will rename the Copley Family YMCA to the Copley-Price Family YMCA when construction is completed at its new site at Fairmount and El Cajon Boulevard. The current facility on Landis Street was constructed in 1956 and has served the community well. The new facility will serve twice as many people, offer modern amenities and stand in a prominent location, bounded by City Heights, Talmadge, and Kensington. The land for the new facility will be donated by Price Charities. Construction is expected to begin in early 2013 and be completed in mid 2014.

The Copley Family YMCA is actively engaged in a Capital Campaign to raise the funds to complete the project. Gifts to the Copley-Price Family YMCA’s Together, We Make a Difference Capital Campaign will be gratefully received. Gifts may be made over a three to five year period to accommodate charitable giving plans.  There are many naming opportunities available.

For more information please contact:
Leticia Leos, Executive Director- Copley Family YMCA
3901 Landis Street- San Diego-CA- 92105
(619)283-2251
lleos@ymca.org

The Price Family Charitable Fund (PFCF) Screening Committee approved a handful of grants at its last meeting of 2011.

San Diego State University Research Foundation
Sustained an Environmental Specialist at Hoover High School to provide custodial service above and beyond what’s provided by the school district. Originally funded by the PFCF in October 2010, the position administered a “Clean Campus Classroom” campaign uniting students, teachers, and custodians in a mutual effort to keep the campus clean. The campaign resulted in a 20% trash decline. The position was also effective in reducing graffiti, maintaining cleaner bathrooms, and improving the overall campus appearance.

International Rescue Committee
Funded an Urban Farmkeeper to provide maintenance and assistance to community gardeners at three City Heights urban farms. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) will train the farmkeeper to establish a pilot research study to develop high-quality compost materials and teach City Heights residents to cultivate their own garden. The project will measure outcomes to reduce waste, increase compost quality and quantity, and increase the number of educational program participants.

La Maestra Family Clinic
Sustained two part-time jobs at the Elaine Springer Health and Wellness Center on the Central Elementary School campus. The Medical Assistant assists with vaccinations, refers patients to health education, and helps with clinic operations. The Patient Services Representative provides administrative support and covers the reception desk. In the past year, 550 patients have been served by these La Maestra clinic staff.

San Diego Family Care (Mid City Clinic)
Sustained one full-time job at the Elaine Springer Health and Wellness Center on the Central Elementary School campus. The Outreach Worker “Promotora”, disseminates outreach materials about available medical and behavior health programs. The Promotora was successful in the past year at reaching 3,000 new community members and increasing clinic clients by 5%.

Community Resource Center
Approved a grant to support the Community Resource Center’s Food Programs. The Community Resource Center is a non-profit social services agency serving residents in the North County, based in Encinitas. The Food Programs include an emergency food pantry for clients with immediate needs; weekly food distributions to low-income households; a Holiday Basket Program to provide fresh poultry, staple foods, and other household essentials during the holidays; and a food stamp outreach program to enroll qualified families in the food stamp program. The combined programs serve approximately 9,000 each year.

University of Southern California (USC)
A grant to name the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and establish an endowment to create the USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation. The grant honors the life of Sol Price, who obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from USC. Sol Price’s wife, Helen, and their grandson are also graduates of USC. The Center will devote its resources for the first five years to the San Diego community of City Heights, expanding to include an additional Southern California neighborhood for the following 15 years,  and adding a third neighborhood in year 20 and beyond. The Fund is excited to add a close working relationship with the faculty and students at USC but is equally committed to its relationship with San Diego State University, a long-time partner.

Jobs Initiative
Sustained six jobs at San Diego Canyonlands and created three jobs at the San Diego Future’s Foundation. Including these nine jobs, the Fund has financed 60 jobs in City Heights since the Jobs Initiative Program began in 2010. The jobs have provided meaningful employment and in most cases brought about environmental improvements to the community. Of the 60 jobs, 50 were filled by City Heights residents.  

Voices for Children
A grant to support Voices for Children’s CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program, which serves abused and neglected children in San Diego County. The CASA Program trains and supervises adult volunteers to serve as advocates for youth going through the foster care system. Voices for Children is in the midst of a fundraising campaign to raise sufficient resources to triple the number of CASAs by 2014.

San Diego Central Public Library
A five year grant to support the construction of the central library in downtown San Diego. When completed in mid 2013, the library will be more than twice the size of the existing library and house a charter school. The library will contain an art gallery, auditorium, special events room, and garden courtyard.

Oceanside Museum of Art
A four year grant to support the Oceanside Museum of Art’s education program for Oceanside Unified School District fifth graders. The standards-based curriculum is intended to educate students about art, enhance educational attainment, and enrich student outlook and imagination. The Museum hosts more than 15 modern and contemporary art exhibits each year in addition to concerts, films, culinary events, and parties.

San Diego Natural History Museum
Support for the San Diego Natural History Museum to develop a new core exhibition, Habitat Journey, which will reveal the extraordinary biodiversity of San Diego’s natural places. From the ocean to the shore to the chaparral, mountains, and desert, this region is a patchwork of habitats that are home to an amazing diversity of life. By encountering real specimens, immersive environments, and multisensory experiences, museum visitors will get to know the animals and plants that make this place unique and learn how we can live alongside them in ways that are healthy for us all. Habitat Journey is planned to open in 2014.

The Price Family Charitable Fund (PFCF) Board of Directors Approved the following major grants at its board meeting in August:

Helen Price Music Fund
The purchase of 102 string instruments for the San Diego city schools music programs. San Diego State University's Campanile Foundation will be responsible for the care and maintenance of the instruments. Each instrument will be inscribed with the words, "In memory of Helen Price."

Guardian Scholars Fund
The Board approved funding to support 10 emancipated foster youth attending San Diego State University for the 2011-12 school year. The students are part of San Diego State University's Guardian Scholars Program, which is designed to make it possible for former foster youth to attend SDSU.

City Heights Public Schools
Grants were given to six City Heights schools, five elementary and one middle school, to support counseling, parent training, and academic support with the goal of improving student achievement.

Vista Community Clinic
A grant was approved for the Vista Community Clinic to purchase furnishings and equipment for the newly constructed women's center.

Toussaint Youth Villages
A grant was approved to support the Toussaint Youth Villages After Care Program, which provides long-term residential care and a continuum of supportive services for unaccompanied homeless youth. Services are provided until they graduate college, join a military service or have a good job.

Pricing for the 92 apartment units at City Heights Square has been set. One bedroom units will be offered in the range of $1,000; two bedroom units in the range of $1,200; and three bedroom units in the range of $1,450. Pricing includes basic cable and a washer and dryer in each unit. The actual price of each unit may vary due to location, balcony size, and other attributes. Fourteen units have been set aside under the affordable housing program.

The application process will begin in August, with move in dates scheduled around the middle of October. Applications will be processed on a first come, first serve basis. To join the interest list, submit your information on the internet at www.cityheightssquare.com or call Marlyn at 619-795-2003.

The Price Family Charitable Fund board of directors screening committee recently approved grants to support the following organizations:

• Job creation at Monroe Clark Middle School to hire two City Heights residents to provide academic support to students "at risk" for dropping out of school
• General assistance to the Girl Scouts, Neighborhood House, and Alzheimer's Association
• Facility improvements for the Elementary Institute of Science
• A new blood storage refrigeration system at the San Diego Blood Bank, in partnership with the Hervey Family Fund

City Heights Square will soon be announcing pricing. This photo was taken from the Fairmount Avenue facing side of the complex on July 1, 2011. Visit www.cityheightssquare.com to join the interest list.

The Price Family Charitable Fund recently approved the following grants:

Jobs in City Heights
The City Heights Community Development Corporation (CHCDC) will receive a grant to hire five City Heights residents to support its Residents Self Sufficiency Program (RSS), which provides assistance to 700 low income families in City Heights through technology support, job search assistance, career counseling, tutoring, and financial literacy training. Two jobs will be funded at Adams Elementary and Franklin Elementary, both part of the Hoover feeder pattern, which will employ counselors to work with children and their families. The counselors remove barriers to the educational process by addressing emotional, social, and behavioral concerns.

Operations and Support
The Fund approved a grant to help 60 low-income San Diego youth (30 from Hoover High) break the cycle of poverty by getting on track to attend a four year university. Juma Ventures recruits low-income high school sophomores and enrolls them in a workforce development and college attainment program. The students are employed year round and receive academic support, job training, and financial counseling. Juma works with students through college graduation.

Other grants approved by the board include: an aftercare program for San Diego homeless teens administered by Toussaint Youth Villages; a Kids’ Turn San Diego counseling program to help transition previously deployed military members back into the family; a community education and self-sufficiency program to promote non-violence amongst Middle Eastern refugees; increased refrigeration capacity for Feeding America-San Diego to increase the availability of fresh produce, dairy, and meat to low-income residents; and grant funding to St Paul’s Episcopal Home to establish a second PACE center in San Diego County to help seniors remain in their homes through wrap around services.

The Price Family Charitable Fund Board of Directors approved grants totaling almost $252,000 to fund 11 jobs at seven nonprofit organizations. All 11 jobs will be filled by San Diego residents working and/or living in City Heights.

The jobs include two positions at San Diego Canyonlands to clean and restore City Heights canyons, three positions at the La Maestra Family Clinic and one will work as a tax preparer and site coordinator for Home Start.

Wilson Middle School will use grants to employ two bilingual student advocates and one parent education coordinator to increase parent involvement in the education process. Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) San Diego will employ an additional assistant to enhance the Dad’s Club at six City Heights schools and a program coordinator to assist with the Success for Life program.

In total the Board has approved grants to create or maintain 23 jobs at City Heights nonprofit organizations this year.

City Heights Square 43rd and University

The City Heights Square facade is coming to life and locals are getting a vision of the completed look. An interest list for potential residents is growing. Pricing has not been established.

The Price Family Charitable Fund recently awarded the Consensus Organizing Center at San Diego State University a grant to fund a two year safety initiative to reduce crime in the Fairmount Village neighborhood of City Heights.

The City Heights neighborhood of Fairmount Village has been selected by Price Charities and the to participate in a two year community safety initiative to reduce crime.

The initiative's program director is in the process of recruiting home and business owners to enroll and complete a six month workshop to learn about community consensus building and problem oriented policing. The workshops will also include law enforcement, city leaders, and other neighborhood stakeholders.

After the workshop the volunteers will implement sustainable long term objectives and measures that will carry on long after the two year initiative is completed. The goal is to reduce crime and increase resident's perception of safety, encouraging them to enjoy time outside their homes without fear of victimization.

City Heights Square facing University Avenue

The City Heights Square project remains on schedule to open in October 2011. Current activities include the construction of the exterior of the building, which will include stucco, brick, hardie panel siding, limestone base, and completion of the roofing. Negotiations are in process to fill the remaining 11,000 square feet of retail space with needed community services. Walgreens has already signed a lease for 10,000 square feet of ground level space and expects to be in operation by the middle of November.

In response to San Diego's continued high rate of unemployment, the Price Family Charitable Fund (Fund) board of directors has approved funding for the creation of 12 new jobs in City Heights. The jobs will provide employment opportunities for City Heights residents and improve the health and well-being of the community.

Seven jobs will be created at the Urban Corps of San Diego to administer the "Price Charities City Heights Clean and Safe Program."The program will operate five days a week to beautify the northwestern neighborhoods of City Heights. Corps members will remove trash, debris, graffiti and report safety hazards and maintenance issues to the City. All positions will be filled by City Heights residents and receive education and job skills assistance.

Three jobs will be created at the International Rescue Committee (IRC). An immigration case worker will provide outreach services to refugees, an urban composting worker will focus on creating a community compost to serve two local community farms, and an urban composting outreach assistant will educate residents on the benefits of composting.

La Maestra Family Clinic will hire a full-time Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) to provide mental health services to underinsured, uninsured, and undocumented students at Hoover High. The LCSW will also supervise a social worker (MSW) and MSW interns.

The City Heights Business Association was granted funds to hire a full-time Safety and Security Officer to mobilize local residents and businesses to address safety and security issues. The officer will implement and expand the established Community Builder's safety initiatives in the City Heights Business District. The creation of 12 new positions in 2011 follows the 19 new jobs created in 2010.

Aprender y Crecer and PriceSmart received the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) 2010 Community Contribution Award in the area of Education. This award is a recognition given annually to those business members of AmCham who have one or more programs focused on improving the quality of life of community neighbors where the businesses operate. The programs considered are in the social, environmental and/or educational areas.

With the purpose of improving the educational opportunities of our students, Aprender y Crecer and PriceSmart work together to improve education in Costa Rica and other countries in the region. Aprender y Crecer works jointly with the sponsored schools, providing school supplies for the students, materials for the teachers, educational materials and hygiene and cleaning supplies for the schools. In exchange, the students, parents, teachers and administrative staff commit to improve and innovate in the teaching and learning process, maintain a clean and safe school environment, support the students at home, be creative in their lessons and focus on new school projects. During 2010 Aprender y Crecer sponsored 8,000 students and more than 470 teachers and equipped near 300 classrooms in 17 schools in Costa Rica.

For more information on Aprender y Crecer visit our website www.aprenderycrecer.org.

City Heights Square construction remains on schedule. Concrete on the podium level (first story above ground level) at the northwest quadrant of the project will be poured on November 19.

The current major activities are rough framing, electrical and plumbing, which will continue for several more months. The next major activity will be constructing the exterior skin (ground floor storefront, stucco, brick, and board) and roofing.

City Heights Square facing North

Podium level foundation in process
Construction workers are busy laying the City Heights Square podium level (first story above ground level).

View of City Heights Square from University and 43rd

The podium level is scheduled to be completed in November and will support the four residential stories above it. The post tension cables (red cables in photo) will be tightened to strengthen the concrete. Residential framing is scheduled to begin after its completion.

Stephen Effron and Dorothy and Joe Goldberg Scholarships were awarded to 13 Hoover High School graduating seniors. The Effron Scholarships were established to honor the memory of Robert Price's cousin, Stephen Effron, a 1959 graduate of Hoover High School. The Dorothy and Joe Goldberg Scholarships were established to honor the memory of the Goldbergs, friends of Sol Price.

Nine of the scholarship recipients will be attending four year universities and will each receive up to $20,000 in scholarship funds. Four recipients will be attending community colleges and receive $4,000 each.

The month of August marks the introduction of Aprender y Crecer (Learning and Growing) in the Dominican Republic, the first Caribbean country to participate in the program.

Nearly 2,500 children at four public elementary schools in the cities of Santo Domingo and Santiago will receive a package of supplies including everything they need for the school year like notebooks, pencils, pencil sharpeners, scissors, glue, tempera paints, geometry sets, and dictionaries, among others.

In addition to supplies for the students, each of the 69 teachers at these schools receive materials for use in the classroom, with everything from dry-erase markers and copy paper to construction paper and paint refills. Each school also receives an assortment of cleaning items like bleach, disinfectant, toilet paper, and hand soap.

Founded by Price Charities in 2006, the mission of Aprender y Crecer is to improve educational and life opportunities for students by forming partnerships with public elementary schools so that principals, teachers, parents and students can focus on quality teaching and learning. Aprender y Crecer currently serves more than 27,000 students and more than 1,100 teachers at 57 elementary schools in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Price Charities is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and believes it has a social obligation to provide opportunities for the poor. For more information about Aprender y Crecer please visit www.aprenderycrecer.org.

Two 2010 Hoover High students participating in the Cardinal Interact Program operated by Price Charities, received Gates Millennium scholarships. Both students have GPA's exceeding 4.0 and one is the class valedictorian. Only 1,000 students nationwide are selected for the scholarships each year.

The 2010 Hoover Salutatorian is also a Cardinal Interact Program participant and received scholarships from Cox Communications and the San Diego Chargers. Each student completing the Cardinal Interact Program receives a $1,500 scholarship to attend a university or $1,000 to attend community college. In total, the Cardinal Interact class of 2010 received $313,900 in scholarships.

Cardinal Interact participants learn about engineering

The Cardinal Interact Program is operated by Price Charities with the goal of improving academic performance. Each year 40 incoming Hoover sophomores are selected to participate in the three year program which provides after school academic support, job shadowing, mentoring, and monthly programs to businesses, government or nonprofits.

The iconic Pearson Ford dealership that stood at the corner of Fairmount and El Cajon Boulevard for 43 years is now just a dirt lot and parking structure. Price Charities bought the five acre property in 2009 with the intention of making it a community asset for Talmadge, Kensington, and City Heights. The property sits in a unique location and serves as a gateway to the three communities depending on which way you're headed.

Price Charities appreciates the community's input over the past year and continues to welcome ideas. Up to this point the needs most identified are for retail, a food market, housing, and community space.

During the first week of August, three architectural design firms presented design concepts for a mixed use development incorporating these elements. Each firm offered unique ideas and spurred conversations.

In the future Price Charities will hold formal community meetings to gather more input and help Price Charities continue its mission of improving the lives of families living in urban communities. The goal for this project is to create a space all three communities will be drawn to. For more information please contact Matthew Hervey at mhervey@pricecharities.com.

The City Heights Square project is on schedule to open by October 1, 2011. The latest addition to the Urban Village will contain 21,000 square feet of retail space, 92 rental living units, and three levels of covered parking.

City Heights Square as of August 19, 2010

The Price Charities project is the continuation of Sol Price's vision to improve the lives of residents living in City Heights. The 92 apartments will be one, two, and three bedroom units ranging in size from 915 to 1,276 square feet. Each unit will come equipped with washers and dryers, covered balconies or patios, covered parking, and ceiling fans. The design incorporates a 10,000 square foot courtyard in the middle of the facility, creating natural light and outside entertaining options. The top floor will have an outdoor barbecue and seating area. The third floor will contain a 600 square foot sundeck. On the second floor a 2,600 square foot activity room will house a learning kitchen for cooking lessons and games for youth.

Artist's rendering of City Heights Square
as viewed from University Avenue looking north.

The retail center on the ground floor will be anchored by a 10,000 square foot Walgreens, the only non-free standing Walgreens in Southern California. Price Charities is currently pursuing tenants for the rest of the retail space which could contain as many as eight additional businesses.

The development will also be home to a community park which should open in the spring of 2012.

For more information please contact
Commercial: John Pedroarena @ 619-501-8654.
Residential: Pat Calloway @ 619-795-2018

This year marks the fourth anniversary of the Aprender y Crecer (Learning & Growing) program. A new web site (www.aprenderycrecer.org) was recently launched to offer more information about the program.

Presented in Spanish and English, site visitors can learn how the program began, where it operates, and stay updated on recent events through our News and Events page. The site also features a portal of activities for teachers at schools participating in the Aprender y Crecer program. The portal allows teachers to share ideas for using the materials donated by the program to create innovative learning activities.

At a cost of $50 per student per year, Aprender y Crecer donates a package of school supplies to each student at selected public schools in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Each teacher also receives a package of materials for use in the classroom and each school receives an assortment of cleaning and paper products. In exchange for the donation participating schools commit to utilizing the supplies to improve five key areas: student engagement, parent participation, teacher collaboration and innovation, school leadership, and school cleanliness and safety.

Aprender y Crecer began in 2006 with 6 schools in Costa Rica, comprising around 2,200 students. In 2010 the program will operate in 6 countries at 55 schools, serving over 27,000 students and 1,100 teachers. For more information please visit our web site www.aprenderycrecer.org

By Leslie Berestein
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. September 10, 2009

Garrett Low, who recently graduated from high school in Carlsbad and will attend UC Davis this fall, is a volunteer at the New Roots Community Farm in City Heights. Immigrants and refugees from many countries tend plots there.

(Sean M. Haffey / Union-Tribune)

SAN DIEGO - On a city-owned lot in San Diego's Chollas Creek neighborhood, urban farmers from around the world are re-connecting with the agrarian roots they left behind.

Yesterday afternoon, Lucia Lokoyen tended to her small plot of chard, spinach, kale, amaranth, tomatoes and onions on one of the 80 plots making up the recently opened New Roots Community Farm. It felt good to have her hands in the soil, said Lokoyen, a lifelong farmer who arrived from from Uganda 10 months ago.

"I'm so happy here," said Lokoyen, 33, who lives with her family in a City Heights apartment. "I come here and see all these greens, and I feel like I'm home."

It took about three years for the farm to take root in this community where several modest neighborhoods converge at 54th Street. The farm is a project of the International Rescue Committee, an international organization that provides assistance, including relocation aid, to refugees fleeing violent conflict.

The process began when the committee was trying to address nutrition needs among recent refugees from Somalia, said Ellee Igoe, an official with the organization in San Diego. Former farmers who grew only enough for their families were navigating modern grocery stores, where they didn't recognize much of the produce. Payment methods only added to the mystery.

"Imagine coming to the United States for the first time, and you're a subsistence farmer," Igoe said. "You walk into a grocery store and you have to learn how to shop. It's a whole different foodscape."

The committee gathered comments from Somali Bantu refugees, members of a minority, largely agrarian ethnic group. Suggestions also were solicited from Asian and Latino members of City Heights' polyglot mix of residents.

The arduous permitting process took about two years and included biological studies mandated because the vacant 2.3-acre parcel sits next to a creek.

Igoe estimates the farm has cost about $120,000 to set up. It was paid for with a combination of private and public funding, she said. A grand opening ceremony is scheduled for this afternoon.

After ground was broken on the farm last fall, farmers from Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Mexico and Guatemala began preparing the soil. Planting began in June. Starting mostly from seeds, they planted corn, tomatoes, basil, squash, chiles and other crops.

The bounty is a testament to the community farm's international nature. Lemongrass and basil, planted by farmers from Southeast Asia, grows next to amaranth and kunde , an edible green, planted by farmers from Somalia. Corn, popular around the world, grows throughout the farm.

The plot farmed by Bilali Muya, a Bantu refugee who also serves as the committee's farm educator, is surrounded by plots farmed by immigrants from Cambodia, Guatemala and Mexico. Muya has learned that in Spanish, the corn he grows is called maiz , the sunflowers girasoles .

"It brings people together," said Muya, who has been in the United States five years and, born without a birth certificate, estimates he is in his mid-20s. "We learn a lot from each other."

Union-Tribune
Leslie Berestein: (619) 542-4579

As reported by the music coach, Brian Cameron at Hoover High School, the Hoover Choir and Advanced Band went on its annual spring trip to Universal Studios in Hollywood. We performed at nearby Burbank High School in the morning before spending the day having fun at the park, and we are happy to announce the results.

This performance was a competitive festival just like our earlier one and the rating system was the same (lowest to highest: poor, fair, good, excellent and superior). The Choir received a rating of "Excellent" and the Advanced Band kept their rating the same as the previous competitive performance, which was a unanimous "Superior". In addition, the company that puts on the competition gives out an award at each festival called the "Espirit de Corps" award, which is given to a school (whether or not they had one group or multiple groups) that displayed the best teamwork, professionalism, character, and "intangibles" outside of the musical performance. The recipient of this award is decided on by the company's coordinator, the host school's director, student volunteers, parent volunteers, and the competition judges. We won that, too.

This festival concluded the Music Department's competitive season for 2009, and we could not be happier for the honors our students achieved. Hoover is on its way to becoming one of San Diego County's premier music programs.