TCCDC Blog

Multi Generational Impact: The Mijia Family's Story

Empowering Lives Dinner 2023 Recap

2023 is quickly approaching, and before we talk about goals for next year, at Templo Calvario Community Development Corporation (TCCDC) we want to reflect on the big and small successes of 2022 because we know none of it would have been possible without supporters like you. The true success of our programs and services is not in the number of people we serve, but in the impact we have on each individual who walks through our doors. There are so many stories to share, and we are pleased to tell you Diana G.’s story. Diana recently completed our Santa Ana Parent Project (SAPP), a highly effective peer-to-peer educational program designed to help parents raise healthy, highly capable, and responsible children. TCCDC was proud to relaunch SAPP this year with additional curriculum and in new sites in Santa Ana Unified School District to meet the growing needs of our community. To say that SAPP transformed Diana’s life would be an understatement because not only is Diana’s life changed forever, but her children’s lives are as well. Diana is a mother of three, and two of her children currently attend TCCDC’s Edward B. Cole Sr. Academy (EBC) and TCCDC’s Empowered Scholars Afterschool Program. Diana grew up in Santa Ana and unfortunately, lost a brother with whom she was very close to gang violence. When Diana’s youngest child turned one, Diana decided that she wanted to turn her life around not just for herself, but for her children. She started by stepping away from her group of friends who were a negative influence on her life, going back to school to earn her GED, and getting involved in her children’s lives at school. During one of the SAPP Family Fun nights at EBC, TCCDC’s Family Program Coordinator met Diana and encouraged her to sign up for the next session of SAPP. Since Nicole started SAPP, she showed incredible dedication. She didn’t miss a single class, and frequently volunteered to share her story and experiences with the rest of the group. Diana expressed that before SAPP, she was not even aware that there was another way to parent her children. “I am grateful to TCCDC because I was given the opportunity to be part of a wonderful class where I could grow and learn to be a better parent and learn from other parents and their experiences. Thank you for all the support and wonderful things we were taught in this class. We bonded and shared many things. Thank you for all this beautiful experience and the new family.” We are in awe of the progress that Diana made in such a short time, and we are excited to continue supporting her and her family. Diana expressed an interest in continuing her education and our Family Program Coordinator is assisting her with registering for classes at Santa Ana College. In addition, Diana will be participating in our next SAPP Parent Leader training where she will continue to share her story as she helps other families like hers change their lives. We are grateful to supporters like you who helped make stories like this possible. Connect with us to learn more about our work and how to volunteer and/or make a donation to support our core programs. Thank you, Rev. Lee de León President & CEO

Being of service to others is at the heart of what we do every day at Templo Calvario Community Development Corporation (TCCDC) and we could not do it without the network of supporters who play a critical role in supporting and sustaining our programs. As we work to advance our vision of Transforming Lives, Transforming Communities we are incredibly grateful for the dedication and support of our volunteers who play a critical role in creating meaningful change for those we serve, whether they serve as Banking on Our Youth (BOY) mentors and instructors, Edward B. Cole Sr. Academy and Empowered Scholars Afterschool Program volunteers, Seguro Financial instructors, or generous donors of the organization. One of these volunteers is Randy B., who has dedicated four years to mentoring students in our BOY program, a highly effective financial literacy and entrepreneurship program that provides high school juniors and seniors in Santa Ana a long-term solution to the systemic challenges of poverty, equity, and economic mobility. Having tutored and mentored within the Santa Ana community for nearly 20 years, Randy was first introduced to TCCDC by a friend and immediately impressed by TCCDC’s holistic approach to educating and empowering families in his community. Randy shared, “I believe in education and TCCDC is providing many different education opportunities for the residents of Santa Ana to be able to achieve their potential.” As a BOY mentor, Randy shares his experiences as a Santa Ana native, business and marketing student, and sales and marketing manager. Randy tries his best to be a servant leader to help others succeed and he does this by helping TCCDC create a safe place for the highly motivated and talented BOY participants to see what is possible beyond high school and college. When asked what piece of advice he would give to others looking to volunteer in their community, Randy shared, “show up and stay positive even if it seems like it isn’t making a difference. It doesn’t always work or go smoothly, but that is ok. We may never know if we made a difference, it is worth the effort.” BOY program director, Michael, shared, “clearly, Randy’s techniques work well considering his groups of students have earned scholarships the past two years. Although there is not one picture of the perfect mentor, Randy sets the example of the mentor that I hope to be to students.” We invite you to join Randy and our incredible team of volunteers and supporters as we work to empower and educate residents of Santa Ana and help make generational, transformational impact in our community. Connect with us to learn more about our work and how to volunteer and/or make a donation to support our core programs. Thank you, Rev. Lee de León President & CEO 

Our team has been enthusiastically preparing to do this year’s 5th Annual Empowering Lives Dinner in-person, and join you and all our partners in celebrating. However, as the Delta Variant surges in Santa Ana, and OC hospitalizations have increased, we have been monitoring circumstances closely. This month, as our students return to Edward B. Cole Academy, we experienced a significant number of absences due to both students and staff testing positive for COVID-19. At the same time, we are also seeing an increase in requests for material and financial assistance from families in Santa Ana. It appears that our city is experiencing additional challenges due to the resurgence of COVID-19. We are here for the safety and support of our community, and given the rise in cases, we cannot in full conscious carry on with a large in-person event at this time. We have prayerfully considered the situation and sought the advice of trusted partners and community leaders and have concluded that shifting the Empowering Lives Dinner to a virtual event would be in the best interest of Santa Ana. To allow sufficient time to adapt the program to a virtual format, we are postponing the event to Friday, November 12 . We're sure you share our disappointment that we will not be able to convene in-person to celebrate our commemorative 5 th Annual Empowering Lives Dinner and learn more about the work of TCCDC in a face-to-face setting. However, we believe caution is the best approach in light of how hard Santa Ana has been hit by COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, as we have faced many difficult decisions to pivot our organization in order to best serve our community, we are constantly reminded how important the work is and how much the Santa Ana community needs our support. We are committed to our community in providing additional resources and assistance wherever possible as we stand together during this pandemic. To that end, if you feel so led, we encourage you to provide a donation towards our COVID-19 relief fund, which will support families with an acute need for food and other critical resources. Please be watching for additional communications as we prepare for the virtual event, which will be released on November 12. Thank you for your continued support! Yanet Gonzalez Chief Operations Officer Templo Calvario Community Development Corporation

Little Stephanie was born a happy, healthy baby in early February. Her parents, asylum refugees, immigrated to the U.S. nearly a year ago. When the pandemic hit, her father, a landscaper, lost his income. With no family to rely on and no income, these new parents could not afford to purchase diapers for their newborn or food for themselves. In the midst of the pandemic, with an infant at home, they reached out to Templo Calvario for help. Thanks to generosity of our community, and our COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, we have been able to provide this family temporary assistance for diapers and grocery gift cards. Sadly, there are hundreds, if not thousands of families just like Stephanie’s, struggling every day in our community. Like many nonprofits, the impact of the coronavirus has been deeply felt by our organization and those we serve. While we have seen first-hand the devastation of this pandemic including educational disruptions, job losses, lack of income, and even death, we have also been witness to tremendous strength and perseverance within our community. Every day, the families we serve remain vigilant in their pursuit of better lives and a better future. And it has been an honor to serve and stand with our community through this crisis. More than a decade ago, Templo Calvario Community Development Corporation made a commitment to transforming lives, transforming our community. And while the delivery of our mission has evolved in response to the challenges our families are facing in the midst of the pandemic, our dedication to this vision not waivered. We continue to focus our efforts on supporting and empowering those we are so fortunate to serve. Over the past several months we have been called to step up and step in to support our community—living out our mission in new ways every day.

Templo Calvario CDC is more essential than ever before. Thanks to wonderful partners that believe in our work, a dedicated team and the guidance of our Board of Directors, we have not only been able to continue doing our work, but we are growing as an organization and engaging with the communities that we serve in very meaningful ways.

The team at Templo Calvario CDC held its first ever Day of G ratitude just before the Thanksgiving Holiday. Many of the families we serve are facing extreme economic challenges. To support these families over the long weekend, our team purchased essential food items along with some Thanksgiving favorites and delivered boxes of food to nearly a dozen families in need. Each team member wrote a personal note of gratitude and encouragement to the family which also included a $50 Northgate Market gift card! The families we helped were incredibly grateful for the support, but the true blessing was ours—it is our honor to serve the community!

Friends of Templo Calvario CDC,  As we near the end of 2020, We are immensely grateful for the support of our community. This past year presented challenge after challenge. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic called on us to transform how we interact with one another, how our children learn, and how we come together as a community to support each other. Thankfully, at Templo Calvario CDC, transformation is part of our DNA—deeply rooted in the core of our organization’s mission and vision.