USC Neighborhood Outreach awarded $850,000 to nearly 40 neighborhood programs at ceremonies on the University Park and Health Sciences campuses during the week of June 8.

Councilman Bernard Parks praised USC for not only partnering with local schools and community-based organizations, but for putting the money behind such programs, many of which have been cut from local schools due to budget woes.

Over the past 15 years, USC Neighborhood Outreach has distributed more than $10 million in grants to 365 university-community partnerships funded by USC Good Neighbors Campaign monies. The next USC Good Neighbors Campaign begins in October.

“After a successful 2008 campaign, Trojan Family members who generously contributed to the campaign will be happy to learn where their money is going,” said Carolina Castillo, who directs the annual fund-raising campaign at USC.

Team Robotics, which represents a partnership between the Foshay Learning Center and the USC Viterbi School of Engineeing, is one of the new programs that received funding. The $5,300 award allows Foshay students to design and create an autonomous and radio-controlled robot to compete in the FIRST Robotics competitions in 2010.

“It has always been an honor to report the fantastic opportunities that the University of Southern California has provided for the team through our USC Family of Schools partnership,” said Regina Boutte, assistant principal at Foshay. “But this specific financial support is a way to challenge other major universities across the country to do the same and try to support a local school in their inner-city communities.”

The USC DPS Explorer Program, also receiving its first USC Neighborhood Outreach grant, provides training opportunities for youth between the ages of 12 to 21 to explore careers in law enforcement and public service as well as the benefits of a higher education.

“Explorers assist with numerous campus and community events such as parades, carnivals, child fingerprinting and USC football games,” said Michelle Velasco, Explorer post adviser for the USC Department of Public Safety. “The UNO grant will help empower them as positive community members and future leaders.”

This program received nearly $8,000 and represents a partnership between 32nd Street/USC MAST, Manual Arts High School and the USC Department of Public Safety.

Also newly funded with $19,016 is the HSC Partner News newspaper, which serves the four Health Sciences Campus Partner Schools. The bilingual newspaper features positive news and events about the HSC Partner Schools, the HSC neighborhood and USC community outreach efforts.

Arts Programs

After ’Cool Theatre Program: $26,100
Community Partner: 24th Street Theatre
USC Partner: USC School of Theatre
Uses theatre as a tool for helping students focus on the importance of education. Students, taught by award-winning theatre professionals using a California standards-based curriculum, work toward creating a culminating performance.

Art in the Village: $25,991
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools
USC Partners: USC Fisher Museum of Art and University Village
USC Fisher Gallery installs art exhibitions by elementary students at the University Village food court and gallery.

Dance Included: $5,304
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools and EXPO Center
USC Partners: Dance Included and USC School of Theatre
This USC student-run organization provides children with an education in dance. USC students volunteer an hour each week to teach technique and history of a specific dance style.

USC Thornton JazzReach: $35,578
Community Partners: Various USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Thornton School of Music
Fosters the development of skills and appreciation of jazz music among high school students. Parental involvement is encouraged through an orientation and attendance at USC Thornton events. Students will participate in ensembles, workshops, private lessons and perform in a concert at USC.

USC Thornton Outreach Program: $34,880
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Thornton School of Music
Brings weekly after-school music education programs taught by USC Thornton students into local schools. Includes competitions, performances, field trips and workshops.

Safety/Socialization Programs

Kid Watch: $52,925
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools, Los Angeles School Police Department and LAPD-Southwest Division
USC Partners: USC Civic and Community Relations and USC Department of Public Safety
Kid Watch is a network of more than 1,000 residents who voluntarily watch over children as they walk to and from school and other institutions in the University Park neighborhood.

Peace Games: $30,291
Community Partner: Norwood Street Elementary School
USC Partner: USC Joint Educational Project
Peace Games is a school-wide violence prevention program that teaches students to be proactive peacemakers through interactive games and community-service projects. It also engages parents/guardians, school staff, community members and volunteers.

USC DPS Crime Prevention – McGruff Costume: $3,550
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Department of Public Safety
McGruff, the Crime Prevention Dog, assists the Department of Public Safety with its delivery of crime prevention and education programs in a fun and interactive way for the community.

USC DPS Explorer Program: $7,967
Community Partners: 32nd Street/USC MAST and Manual Arts High School
USC Partner: USC Department of Public Safety
This program gives training opportunities to youth between the ages of 12 to 21, who will explore careers in law enforcement and public service as well as the benefits of a higher education. Explorers participate in various on-campus safety details and attend academic, physical conditioning and experiential classes.

USC Street Law Foundation: $5,000
Community Partner: Foshay Learning Center
USC Partner: USC Gould School of Law
USC law students teach high school students about legal literacy and respect for law, and offer advice about higher education. It facilitates dialogue about juvenile justice issues among students, parents and school staff.

Health/Sports Programs

After School Sports Connection: $52,145
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Recreational Sports
Offers sports instruction in basketball, soccer, volleyball, martial arts and Saturday morning swim classes. It fills the gap between the time school ends and the time parents get home from work with safe, productive and healthy programming.

Fotonovela on Obesity: $30,600
Community Partner: Cl�nica Msr. Oscar A. Romero
USC Partner: USC School of Pharmacy
Through the use of a fotonovela, this project addresses an urgent health issue confronting the Latino community. The goal is to develop an effective health communication tool to change the course of obesity among low-income, low-literacy Latino families.

FUENTE Initiative: $7,421
Community Partners: East Los Angeles Occupational Center, East Los Angeles Skills Center and HSC Partner Schools
USC Partner: USC School of Pharmacy
Local pharmacists and student pharmacists provide specific poison prevention, appropriate drug use and self-management education. Children and parents in the local East Los Angeles community will be provided with health awareness programs, fairs and health screenings.

HSC Community Health Fair: $14,364
Community Partners: HSC Partner Schools
USC Partner: HSC Community Outreach, USC Civic and Community Relations
This event provides preventive health services and screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, mammograms, dental, vision, exercise and clinic referrals.

Kids in Sports EXPO Sports Club: $35,100
Community Partner: Kids in Sports
USC Partner: USC TRIO Programs
In conjunction with the After School Sports Connection, Kids in Sports offers parent-led, after-school and weekend sports opportunities for low-income boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 17 in the University Park area. For many, this is the only opportunity for regular physical activity and access to the neighborhood’s limited play and practice facilities.

NYSP Trojan Kids Camp: $20,700
Community Partners: Kids in Sports and USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Recreational Sports
NYSP Trojan Kids Camp is an instructional program serving boys and girls from low-income households. The program uses sports instruction and competition as a vehicle to enhance self-esteem, reinforce the importance of education and promote healthy lifestyles.

Proyecto Verde: $12,105
Community Partner: Cl�nica Msr. Oscar A. Romero
USC Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC
The Master Gardeners Association of Los Angeles, USC students, clinic staff and patients, and residents will develop a garden at the community health center in Boyle Heights to promote individual and public health principles and the benefits of green space, exercise and diet.

USC Neighborhood Mobile Dental Van Prevention Project: $32,818
Community Partners: HSC Partner Schools and USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC School of Dentistry
The mobile clinic provides preventative oral health services and referrals to school children onsite at the USC Family of Schools and HSC Partner Schools.

USC Physical Therapy Fit Families Program: $19,050
Community Partners: HSC Partner Schools
USC Partner: USC Department of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy
The program provides pro bono preventive, wellness and rehabilitative physical therapy services to underserved elementary, middle and high school-aged children in the local community who are diagnosed with or at higher risk for diabetes and conditions associated with physical inactivity.

Education Programs

African Millennium Foundation Pen Pal Program: $13,613
Community Partner: African Millennium Foundation
USC Partner: USC Supplier Diversity Services
Emphasizes social development and the meaning of being a global citizen as tools to improve the student’s writing skills for SAT preparation. Using a thematic approach, the program encourages students to write about peace building to peers in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.

Education Consortium of Central Los Angeles: $24,570
Community Partner: Education Consortium of Central Los Angeles
USC Partner: USC Civic and Community Relations
This grant will enable the consortium to expand its outreach to local schools through an enhanced Web site, database development and marketing materials as well as support student scholarships and the annual teacher of the year awards.

Expanding STARS: $23,850
Community Partner: Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School
USC Partner: USC School of Pharmacy
This project addresses four critical issues of science education at Francisco Bravo High School: 1) the quality and nature of science education, 2) science literacy of high school students, 3) the development of inquiry- and problem-based science and math learning and 4) development of the future generation of research scientists with a commitment to mentoring and science education in the community.

Family Science Project: $22,500
Community Partners: Foshay Learning Center, 32nd Street/USC Magnet and St. Agnes
USC Partner: USC Viterbi School of Engineering
This hands-on science program brings the thrill of science discovery to underserved students and their parents. USC undergraduate students develop and teach inquiry-based courses that consider language, cultural learning styles and parental education levels to facilitate learning.

HSC Partner News: $19,016
Community Partners: HSC Partner Schools
USC Partner: USC Civic and Community Relations
This is bilingual newspaper features positive news and events about the HSC Partner Schools, the HSC neighborhoods and USC community outreach efforts. It targets audience of parents and guardians of the students in the HSC Partner Schools and the local community.

Mission Science: $32,481; Mission Science� HSC: $18,842
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools, Griffin and Murchison elementary schools, and Variety Boys and Girls Club
USC Partner: USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Elementary and middle school students become Mission Science investigators who learn about science, engineering and technology through hands-on projects, exhibitions and simple experiments.

Science for Life Outreach Program: $11,590
Community Partner: Murchison Street Elementary School
USC Partner: Keck School of Medicine of USC, Department of Ophthalmology
This project uses the research of the Biomimetic MicroElectronic Systems Engineering Research Center to make science relevant to children. A goal this year is to increase the number of USC students who serve as mentors.

Team Robotics: $5,300
Community Partner: Foshay Learning Center
USC Partner: USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Foshay students will undertake the design and fabrication of an autonomous and radio-controlled robot to compete in the FIRST Robotics competitions in 2010. These competitions pair professionals with students to solve an engineering design problem.

University Park Family Newspaper: $47,710
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Civic and Community Relations
This bilingual, bimonthly newspaper features positive news about the USC Family of Schools and the Exposition/University Park community. It reports on community programs and USC community outreach efforts in the University Park neighborhood.

USC Community Computing Program: $27,990
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative
The computing center provides bilingual, low-to-no-cost training in the fundamentals of computer use. Graduates receive a refurbished, fully loaded PC.

USC Family of Schools In-school Facilitators: $12,500
Community Partners: Six of the USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Civic and Community Relations
Provides a part-time, on-site coordinator of USC programs at six neighborhood schools. They serve as a liaison between the school staff and USC program administrators.

USC Health and Science Expo: $14,167
Community Partner: HSC Partner Schools
USC Partner: HSC Community Outreach, USC Civic and Community Relations
This program introduces children to basic science and health principles, and potential careers in those areas. The children work with HSC students to develop science projects and participate in a science fair competition at HSC.

USC NAI Saturday Academy: $27,720
Community Partners: Manual Arts High School and Foshay Learning Center
USC Partner: USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative
Offers pre-collegiate Saturday classes on the USC campus with the help of USC staff and students in addition to Los Angeles Unified School District teachers, parents and volunteers.

USC Neighborhood Debate League: $16,645
Community Partners: USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Annenberg School for Communication
This program creates opportunities to encourage critical thinking, analytic and logical reasoning, and applied research skills. It also introduces students to methods of dispute resolution.

USC Troy Camp: $20,700
Community Partners: Various USC Family of Schools and Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School
USC Partner: USC Student Affairs
Troy Camp continues its weeklong program with academic, leadership, teamwork and skill-building events.

USC ReadersPlus: $44,235
Community Partners: Five of the USC Family of Schools
USC Partner: USC Joint Educational Project
USC students provide thousands of hours of literacy and math assistance per year.

USC Sea Grant Parent – Child Education Program: $12,095
Community Partner: EXPO Center
USC Partner: USC Sea Grant
Provides students and their parents with a hands-on curriculum on marine and environmental science.

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