Two LA SCORES Poets are New York Bound!

After holding auditions at all three of our LA SCORES elementary schools, two poets have been chosen! Selected because of their unique poetry, performance style and positive attitude, Kamari (Charnock, grade 5) and Jose (Palms, grade 5) will travel to New York City to celebrate the power of spoken word during National Poetry Month. They will join 24 other young poet-athletes from SCORES sites around the country to perform in front of VIP guests including Sunil Gulati, the president of the US Soccer Federation. The SLAM! will take place at the New York Stock Exchange on April 19th. We will have more details about the National Poetry SLAM! and the unique opportunities the kids will have during their stay in the weeks leading up to the event. For now, let's put the spotlight on the two participants who will be representing Los Angeles.

Karmari started with LA SCORES in 3rd grade and has been an exemplary student ever since. She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up and her passion for fashion is evident in some of the poems she has written. She was born in Brooklyn and moved to Los Angeles when she was 7 years old so for Kamari, this opportunity is her first chance to travel back to her home state. Aside from that, her excitement to travel to New York is fueled by the opportunity to do something that she loves: performing her poetry. Drawing inspiration from people such as Johnny Depp, who she says "can set his mind to anything", and Judy Blume, who is the author of her favorite book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Kamari enjoys writing poems about "feelings, life, and ordinary things."

I Am

I am fashionable, cute and hungry.
I am a horse or a zebra or a flamingo because I'm pretty on the inside.

I am fashion show day.

I'm a boot because I'm fashionable.

I'm aqua.

I'm Michael Jackson sound because my mom says I fascinate people.

I'm a circle cause I go round and round.

I'm a violin because I like the music.

I'm water.

I wish I was a fashion designer. I'll be walking down Gucci runway.

I would be french fries.
I'm fashionable, funky, and fresh.

-Kamari

Jose, more commonly referred to as 'Little Man', has also been with LA SCORES since 3rd grade. His favorite part of SCORES is playing soccer, but his poetry is just as inspiring as his soccer skills. Jose's favorite book is Bridge to Terabithia and in his own writing, he too is never afraid to let fantasy and his imagination lead him. Jose enjoys writing stories and lessons with the theme of "trying your best and following your dreams." For him, those dreams include playing in the Olympics and traveling. Jose has expressed his excitement about the opportunity to go to New York and specifically, to meet kids from all around the country.

MY HERO

My hero is a she!

Her name is Coach Karen.

But they named her Coacher.

Her power is everything.
She could save people's lives.

If a team is short,
she will help that team.

She is good at forward.

She once saved a plane from falling.

She has magic.

Once a kid forgot to bring

his soccer shoes for a soccer game

and she came with his shoes

on her hand.

She could do anything.

She is friendly to everybody.

-Jose

Charnock Elementary Celebrates Dr. Seuss

Today, in celebration of Dr. Seuss, Charnock Road Elementary hosted its 5th annual Read Across Charnock. This is an event where teachers and volunteers take time to read Dr. Seuss books to groups of students in their classrooms. LA SCORES' own David Joseph participated in this event. "Dr. Seuss bridges generational gaps. It's fun to share books that I had growing up with students and see that they continue to be exciting," says David. Volunteers were escorted to classrooms by members of the student council and read out-loud old classics like The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and You're Only Old Once. Afterward, they enjoyed snacks and refreshments with the student council. Read Across America is a nationally observed event to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday, which was on Tuesday, March 2nd.




Fun Facts About Dr. Seuss:

• He was born Theodore Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904
  
• His parents were German immigrants who owned a brewery
• In college, he was editor-in-chief of a humor magazine, but when he got caught violating rules of the prohibition, he was forced to resign. However, he continued writing for the magazine under the name "Seuss"
• During WWII he joined the US Army as commander of the Animation Department of the First Motion Picture Unit
• In response to the rising level of childhood illiteracy in 1954, an editor from Houghton Mifflin created a list of about 350 words he thought first-graders should be able to read. He challenged Dr. Seuss to pick 250 words from that list and write a book that "children can't put down" using only those words. The resulting book was called The Cat in the Hat.
• UCSD's Geisel Library is named after Dr. Seuss

Read the Wikipedia article on Dr. Seuss

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America SCORES Receives Largest Donation In Its History From Bestfoods Educational Foundation

America SCORES has been awarded the largest ever gift in our history, a $1.3 million grant from the Bestfoods Educational Foundation. The Bestfoods Educational Foundation, overseen by former Bestfoods executives, has provided gifts to non-profit educational causes for 10 years. America SCORES has had a long partnership with the Bestfoods Educational Foundation and we are so grateful that they have decided to award this grant to our organization.

America SCORES will use the gift to dramatically improve the delivery of our innovative after-school programs that combine soccer, poetry, and service learning to fight obesity, improve literacy, and increase motivation among youth in 200 public schools in 14 cities. Enhanced communication and operations among the national and affiliate offices will allow us to provide more and better opportunities to empower children across the country to succeed in school and live healthy lives.

From Norma Barquet, our CEO: "This gift will enable America SCORES to reach new heights in its mission to inspire urban youth through creativity and teamwork. We are extremely grateful to the Board and the Bestfoods Educational Foundation for its generosity and belief in our organization to provide educational opportunities to deserving children. America SCORES is honored and privileged to be the recipient of such an extraordinary gift."

Click Here to view the full press release

On behalf of our poet-athletes here in Los Angeles, the America SCORES LA team says Thank You to the Bestfoods Educational Foundation.

Earn Money For LA SCORES While Grocery Shopping

Do you shop at Ralph's? Do you already have a Rewards Card? If so, you can sign up online to have Ralph's donate a percentage of what you spend on groceries to LA SCORES. Here's how:

Step 1. Register your Ralph's card online. Click Here

OR

If you have already registered online, sign in


Step 2. Click on "My Account"

Step 3. Click on "Edit Community Contribution Program Information"

Step 4. Enter your Rewards Card number (if necessary)

Step 5. Search for LA Scores OR
enter our NPO number: 90692

Step 6. Select LA SCORES and save

Step 7. Use your rewards card next time you go grocery shopping and earn money for LA SCORES!

What Does Poverty Really Mean?

So if you're like me, you've heard people talk about poverty in a variety of different contexts and although you may have the general idea on how to use the word, you don't have a deep understanding of it's meaning. So what is poverty? Where did it come from and who does it affect?

What is poverty?

Absolute poverty is "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to social services" (United Nations, Copenhagen Declaration, 1995).
Relative poverty refers to deprivation that is relative to the standard of living enjoyed by other members of society. Even if basic needs are met, a segment of the population may still be considered "poor" if they possess fewer resources, opportunities or goods than other citizens

What is the history of the term?

1962: President Kennedy asks Council of Economic Advisors to gather statistics on poverty. Makes defining and measuring poverty a goal of his administration.
January 1963: Mollie Orshansky publishes paper that proposes method for determining the number of poor. Her method proposes poverty thresholds that are based on the most austere food plans set forth by the USDA.
January 1964: After President Johnson declares war on poverty, the Council of Economic Advisors cite Orshansky's paper in a report to the President.
August 1964: Congress creates the Office of Economic Opportunity
May 1965: The Office of Economic Opportunity uses Orshansky's poverty threshold for determining eligibility.
1969: After other federal agencies follow the OEO's lead in using Orshansky's method, the White House adopts it as the official poverty measure. It becomes known as the "poverty threshold."

Orshansky's Poverty Threshold

$3.60 x 3 x 365 = $3,942

$3.60 represents the cheapest USDA Food Plan per day for a family of 4, 3 comes from 1950's studies that showed families spent 1/3 of their income on food, 365 is for the days in a calendar year, and you are left with a poverty threshold: any family of 4 living on less than this amount was considered poor.

Poverty Threshold today

Who is Affected?

If you google poverty you will see images of developing countries and initiatives to reduce poverty internationally. But don't let that mislead you. According to the US Census Bureau, 35.9 million people live below the poverty line in America, including 12.9 million children. Poverty is all around us. Besides a lack of financial resources, people in poverty have a lack of emotional and mental resources, leading them to engage in self-destructive behaviors and make poor decisions. They also lack social capital and role models that most people use as a knowledge base available for them to access in times of need. With information about poverty, it's assessment and it's impact, LA SCORES attempts to do our part in breaking the cycle of poverty and providing resources and opportunities to our student-athletes that can help them make a difference in their own life and in their community.