Trivia Night

Fernandomania!

Last Friday, America SCORES LA high school alumni got the chance to go to a Dodgers game to watch the boys in blue take on the Washington Nationals. Before the game, the kids got to go onto the field to watch batting practice and meet baseball legend Fernando Valenzuela as part of the Amigos de Fernando program.

Meeting at the field at 5:00, the kids all got Fernando Valenzuela t-shirts and then filed onto the field to watch players from both the Dodgers and Nationals warm up at batting practice. During that time, Fernando Valenzuela came over and talked to the kids. They asked tons of questions ranging from "Who was the toughest competition you faced?" (Tony Gwynn and Keith Hernandez) to "What's your favorite Mexican League soccer team?" (Cruz Azul). He talked about being a professional athlete, advising them to "take it one game at a time, and don't be too hard on yourself if you mess up." After the Q&A, Valenzuela signed autographs for everyone and then the kids left to find their seats to watch the game.

The Nationals got an early lead of 6-0 in the 2nd inning. Although the Dodgers were able to make up some runs in the 4th inning with a two-run homer by Andre Ethier and an RBI to left from Casey Blake, they were ultimately defeated 6-3.

Fernando Valenzuela pitched for the Dodgers from 1980-1990. Born in Navojoa, Mexico, Valenzuela became an icon for the Los Angeles Latino community and drew large crowds to the field whenever he pitched. In 1981, Valenzuela became the only player in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger, and the Cy Young award in the same year. He is also known for his unique windup: throwing his head back and looking straight up before pitching. At the end of his 17 year Major League career, he had an ERA of 3.54 and 2,074 strikeouts.
(Source: Wikipedia)

America SCORES LA would like to thank Fernando Valenzuela, Ron Sittler, and Noel Pallais for such a great opportunity!

Best Buy's @15 Results Are In

Best Buy's @15 Campaign finished last Friday, July 30th, and the results are in. America SCORES, one of four national organizations selected to participate in this round of the campaign, will receive 26% of $250,000 (totaling $65,000).

With its @15 Campaign, Best Buy pledged $250,000 to be divided among four national nonprofit organizations, and let teens ages 13-18 be the ones to decide how much each organization received. Teens logged onto the website and earned points, which they later dolled out to their organization of choice. With the help of friends, supporters, volunteers, and even alumni from SCORES sites all over the country, America SCORES was able to earn a total of 150,188 points, enough to get an impressive 26% of the total amount. Thanks to everyone who voted!

Other organizations in the campaign include Truth, YMCA and Room to Read. To see the results of the campaign, check out the @15 Website.

Camps for Kids at the Home Depot Center

This summer, the Home Depot Center Foundation invited ten elementary school students from LA SCORES to participate in their "Camps for Kids" program. Camps for Kids is a three-hour summer camp where about 150 kids ages 7-10 get to practice soccer and learn about health and fitness at the Home Depot Center. The kids were split into groups that rotated through different stations: drill stations (passing, shooting, and dribbling), a scrimmage station, and a health station where the kids learned about making healthy choices (and they also got to jump rope, hula hoop, and jump on a large trampoline!)











At the end of the camp, each kid got a boxed lunch and a gift bag from the Home Depot Center which included a brand new soccer ball.