As the pews filled up at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach this past weekend, over 1,200 worshipers were in for a delightful surprise. They were about to enjoy a Sunday concert and Sunday worship service featuring students from KidWorks’ Avanti program, who joined with Brandon Muchow, St. Andrew’s Minister of Modern Worship & Production, and several other professional studio musicians. It all came together thanks to the efforts of KidWorks’ volunteer Joe Cristina, who began a KidWorks music program in 2012 called Avanti Music.  In Joe, the students learn from a profe ..read more

On Friday, June 10th, we celebrated our annual Noche De Las Estrellas (Night of the Stars). Noche De Las Estrellas is an evening to celebrate our graduating seniors and this year was one for the books!  We are so proud to be sending our students into the world better equipped for college, the workforce, relationships, volunteerism, and community building! But our job doesn't end here, we are committed to doing life with these rock stars for the long haul.  Help us congratulate the KidWorks Class of 2016 ..read more

Editor’s note:  We are so proud of our graduating high school students, who later this year will begin attending colleges and universities. “A Tale of Two Santa Anas” is our latest blog series, where the seniors tell their personal story in their own words. I’m an optimistic person.  Maybe I got that way because I’ve seen difficult situations and learned the importance of making wise decisions. For about 10 of my 17 years, my family and I have lived in an apartment where the neighborhood confronts the bad that comes from gangs, drugs, violence and poverty. When my family first ..read more

“If you want something done, ask a busy person.” No one knows for sure who first said these wise words, but the quote is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin. The KidWorks team might suggest another version of the quote: “If you want something done, ask Jared Pacheco.” This ninth grader at Valley High School is our April 2022 “Volunteer of the Month.” Not only has he been active in a variety of our programs since fourth grade, Jared has also been volunteering at KidWorks for almost a year. Jared helps tutor grades kindergarten through fifth during our afterschool programs, does administratio ..read more

Jair Betanzos remembers the day in sixth grade when his KidWorks teachers made a presentation about the importance of a college education. Now a high school senior, Jair remembers that at first he wasn’t exactly tuned in to that day’s message. Meet the KidWorks Class of 2021 “My sixth grade buddies and I were goofing around and not taking it seriously at all,” Jair recalls. “Then, the presentation evolved into a talk by some older students who shared about how having a college or university degree would change our lives. Suddenly, I started paying attention. From that day on, I knew college w ..read more

For high school senior Delilah Vaca, one semester interning at our Dan Donahue Center just wasn’t enough time to fully take in all the joy she felt seeing our students grow academically.   So, she’s renewed her internship with KidWorks four times serving 160 hours over 18 months both in-person and via Zoom interactive platform. While Delilah will be the first to tell you that KidWorks’ mission is serious, being part of the journey is lots of fun. She shares that, “Volunteering at KidWorks is different than what I anticipated because I thought we had to be serious ..read more

Leadership isn’t limited to adults. In fact, KidWorks believes that leadership development is a lifelong process that begins when you are young.  That’s why we are so enthused about the launch of the “Leader in Me” program that we integrated into our preschool through 12th grade programs in late 2019. KidWorks is the first after school program in the nation to be selected by “Leader in Me” creator, the highly regarded Franklin Covey organization, to pilot the Leader in Me curriculum at our center.  Franklin Covey is known for their “7 Habits of High ..read more

They danced, sang Karaoke, engaged in deep discussion, prayed, ate a lot of chocolate, played sports and competed in video games—and did it all over the course of 12 hours without a wink of sleep.  Of course, KidWorks teens are resilient, so sleep is optional! It was all part of “Youth Lock-in,” the traditional annual kick-off of KidWorks’ youth programs, held this year on Friday and Saturday, January 17-18, at our Dan Donahue Center.  This year’s theme was “Candy Land,” inspired by the legacy game and a salute to the sweet focus of the night. Tying into the theme was ..read more

Leadership isn’t limited to adults. In fact, KidWorks believes that leadership development is a lifelong process that begins when you are young.  That’s why we are so enthused about the launch of the “Leader in Me” program that we integrated into our preschool through 12th grade programs in late 2019. KidWorks is the first after school program in the nation to be selected by “Leader in Me” creator, the highly regarded Franklin Covey organization, to pilot the Leader in Me curriculum at our center.  Franklin Covey is known for their “7 Habits of High ..read more

Even as a fourth grader, Yosely Ocampo had a grateful heart and the desire to give back. Now a 16-year-old junior, our September “Volunteer of the Month” recalls how at nine years old she expressed thanks to her KidWorks teachers, who have worked with her since she joined us as a preschool student. “I brought the female teachers brightly colored, plastic $1 earrings, which I was so sure they’d love since they were my favorite at that age,” Yosely recalls.  “The very next day, my teachers were wearing their earrings, which was their way of letting me know that it wasn’t the price of ..read more