2011 YEAR-END LETTER

11/01 - Please read our year-end letter from the Board of Directors here

     4TH ANNUAL SOCAL CHARITY BOWL

11/01 - Epic Church is participating in the 4th Annual SoCal Charity Bowl on Sat., 11/19. They will be fighting for JOYA in Women's Flag Football. Support them by donating to JOYA  at our Contribute page or be there in person to cheer Epic Church on!  Their goal is to raise $2000!

     2011-2012 MENTOR PROGRAM HAS BEGUN!

9/7 & 9/14 - Our program kickoff commenced, beginning our 3rd year inspiring high school students in the Garnet District.  We're looking forward to watching our students excel this year in their academic journeys.  Thanks to all of our Mentors, Parents, Advisory Team and Staff for planning a great school year.

     100 CAMPAIGN CELEBRATION SUCCESS!

5/1 -  JOYA Scholars celebrates the 100 Campaign (100 People, 100 Dollars)

Great things are happening in the Garnet neighborhood of east Fullerton, thanks to the many supporters who participated in the 100 Campaign for the local non-profit JOYA Scholars.

The 100 Campaign, which was active from March 1st to April 30th, was implemented as JOYA Scholars' annual fundraiser. The goal was to invite one hundred people to donate one hundred dollars each. Each contribution goes directly towards their one-on-one mentoring program, college preparation seminars and campus tours, advanced tutoring, and the future hopes of creating a learning center in the neighborhood.

A closing reception for the 100 Campaign was held on April 30th at PÄS Gallery in Downtown Fullerton. At the reception, Kevin Doi, co-founder, welcomed the attendees with an introduction to JOYA Scholars, it's Program Director Bianca Peña , and JOYA's first university bound student Valeria Sosa who will be attending Chapman University shared her experience in the Mentor Program. The night comprised of a video screening, savory and delectable treats served all night, a presentation, silent auction and drawing for an iPad2.

Many local businesses and artists donated goods to the silent auction. Donors included local artists John M. Sollom and Sarah Carter; New York photographer Ito; local businesses VeryTotemo.com, Ruche, OTTO Shop, Roadkill Boutique, Hibbleton Gallery, Bookmachine, El Cholo Restaurant, Cat & the Custard Cup Restaurant, Max Bloom's Cafe Noir, Stamp It Up, and Tranquil Tea Lounge.

At the end of the night, the 100 Campaign tallied an amazing $14,000 for the programs in the Garnet neighborhood.The gallery was filled with great vibes, many people mingling in the name of a great cause over some great food. With JOYA Scholars only being a couple years old, this is only the beginning and the future is looking very bright for the Garnet neighborhood!

Check our Flickr photos from the event here.

Thanks to all of our supporters!

     100 CELEBRATION 4/30 AT PÄS GALLERY

4/17 - 100 Campaign Event Invitation Flyer

BLOGGED ABOUT IN AAM

12/08 - Our benefit concert this Friday was highlighted in the popular "Angry Asian Man" blog. Click here to check out the blog! Our thanks to the blogger for his support of our mentoring program.  

FULLERTON OBSERVER ARTICLE

11/13 - A few weeks ago JOYA Scholars was featured in the "Fullerton Observer", the local Fullerton newspaper. Click here to see the short article.

TYPES OF COLLEGES & TRANSFERRING

10/26 - After an exciting rain free tour of CSUF last week, we will be meeting tomorrow night for our second student workshop of the school year!  We have the pleasure of having Jessica Parris lead this workshop on the different types of colleges and transfer process. Thank you so much for all your support Jessica. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow! 

COLLEGE VISIT TO CSUF 

10/20 - Although the weather might not be ideal for a campus tour, we are excited for our first college visit of the year to Cal State Fullerton! Rain of shine, the show must go on! 

COLLEGE READY PLANS

10/06 - At our 1st Mentoring Session of the year, students were presented with "College Ready Plans". The plans provide each student with the specific steps they should take, based on their grade level, to get on track for graduation and college admissions.

This is a new strategy JOYA is taking in order to motivate the students to take control of their education and receive as much mentoring as possible.

HOW IT WORKS: 

1. At each Mentoring Session, every student reviews their College Ready Plan with their mentor.  
2. With their mentor's input, each student chooses a "college ready" step that they will take and decides when they will fulfill the step.
3. Then, with their mentor's help, the student logs the step in their "College Ready Log" and "College Ready Calendar".
4. The mentors follow up with their mentees about their "college ready" steps, ensuring that they move forward with their plans.  

Our thanks to our mentors who provide the accountability, encouragement and pointed advice the students need to be inspired to succeed.

JOYA'S NEW YEAR!

 9/22 - We will be starting our 2010-2011 school year tomorrow and JOYA is very excited and please to be working with our mentors: Bethany Anderson, Melanie Baggao, Stephanie Cueller, Sandra Franco, Christine Goedhart, Mike Itagaki, Amy Leo, Jake Martinson, Art Pang, Leona Suegay, Brian Sung, Patience Thompson, Kong Tran and Wilson Yee. We appreciate the time and resources they will be contributing towards the students throughout the year.

SPECIAL THANKS TO FLAME BROILER!

9/14 - The owners of a local Flame Broiler have donated food for our kick-off event tomorrow night!  We appreciate their generosity and we are excited for a great start of our 2nd year! 

JOYA KICKS OFF NEXT WEEK!

9/8 - We will be having our second annual kick-off event for the start of our new year! Students and parents will be attending the event as we discuss our plans for the 2010-2011 school year.   

BIANCA GOT MARRIED!

Our beloved program director was wed to Cole Ng at a beautiful ceremony and celebration on Sunday, Aug. 22nd.  Congrats and best wishes to Bianca and Cole!

OFF TO COLLEGE!

Our 3 inaugural seniors - Briana, Viviana, and Jeanette - from the program last school year started college this week!!  Have a great first semester! Study hard.  We're proud of you!

NEW STUDENTS

We are excited to announce that currently we have 28 potential students, twelve who are new to the program for this upcoming year!  Special thanks to Solidarity for referring us to several students.

END OF YEAR CELEBRATION

Thank you to all who have participated in our program for this past year.  Special thanks to Solidarity for allowing us to use the Solid House last Wednesday, 6/9/2010.  We had celebration dinner for the end of our first year, and the mentors and students were given the opportunity to appreciate each other.  Each senior shared about their experiences in high school and expectations for college.  It was an emotional night yet full of fun and excitement.  We are excited to see what the future holds for JOYA in this upcoming school year. 

YEAH JEANETTE!

We are excited to announce that one of our high school seniors, Jeanette Gonzalez, received financial aid to cover tuition and books for her first year in college!  Congrats Jeanette, we're so proud of you!

SPRING BENEFIT THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us last Sunday at our JOYA Spring Benefit! Your presence and generosity were a great encouragement to our students and team.  Special thanks to all our corporate and table sponsors for making the evening possible, congrats to our auction prize winners, and special gratitude to our current and new donors.  Each of your participation and involvement makes it possible for students from Garnet to enroll in our program for the 2010-2011 school year and receive benefits from long-term mentoring, college workshops, and college tours.  We are overwhelmed by your response.  On behalf of the JOYA team and students...thank you!

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