OCCTAC News - August 2022
Thank You, Union Bank!
Pictured here L-R: Mark Dimalanta, OCCTAC; Eileen Long, B&G Club of Huntington Valley; Ryan Brenes - B&G Club of Huntington Valley; Lisa Roberts, Head of Community Banking;Robbin Narike Preciado, Regional President, Greater Orange County; Brenda Hale, Regional Manager, Orange County North; Sang Lee, Vice President, Project and Analytics Specialist;Mark Migrino. Branch Manager of La Habra; Steve Schaefer, Director, Retail Programs;Minhthy Vu, Branch Manager of Irvine; Nam Hoang, Regional Manager, Orange County Coastal;Erika Gary, B&C of Greater Anaheim-Cypress; Anne Hertz-Mallari, B&C of Greater Anaheim-Cypress. Photo courtesy of Union Bank.
Thank you to Union Bank and OCCTAC Board of Directors member Rossina Gallegos for providing 100 backpacks for our Back-to-School event this month! On Saturday, August 20, OCCTAC hosted a Back-to-School outreach event at our center with the help of Union Bank, Abrazar, and a grant from the Vaccinate All 58 Neighborhood Partnership Program through RHA, Inc. Union Bank hosted a team-building event in July where community partners helped stuff the backpacks with school supplies. This effort strengthened our OCCTAC outreach by providing school supplies coupled with COVID education and PPE, and COVID vaccinations through Abrazar. Our event was attended by over 200, and included the backpack giveaway, a Prep Arts Open House and art supplies giveaways, art activities, a diaper giveaway, a COVID vaccine clinic, education from our Mental Wellness and EISOA programs, and a food truck!
Mark Dimalanta, OCCTAC’s Visual Arts Coordinator, had this to say about the Union Bank donations: “Through the generous efforts of Union Bank, their team building event on July 21, 2022, successfully provided community engagement to supply much-needed school supplies for the children of our community. Robin Narike Preciado, Regional President of Orange County spearheaded an amazing team effort to create 750 backpack packs for three blessed recipients including OCCTAC. Each organization participated in successfully completing the event, along with the executive teams representing Union Bank to work fast and exceed their initial goal. Together we surpassed the mark of 750 by creating well over 1000 backpacks, for our respective organizations. Teamwork makes the dream work!”
Pictured here: Bella & Johannes Zarate receiving their backpacks. Photo courtesy of Mark Dimalanta.
Pictured here: Senior adult receiving COVID vaccination & education. Photo courtesy of Mark Dimalanta.
Thank You, Impact Giving!
Pictured here L-R: Mark Dimalanta with OCCTAC Board Members Kim Kaston & Melody Winter Head. Photo courtesy of Mark Dimalanta.
OCCTAC recently received $3,113.73 from Impact Giving as one of their grant finalists! Impact Giving is a women’s collective giving organization dedicated to effecting positive social change and transforming lives in our communities, our nation, and around the world. During the summer, they hosted their annual raise the paddle event to raise funds for non-profit organizations that made it to the final stages of their grant process. OCCTAC is one of the organizations that benefitted from their generosity. Thank you, Impact Giving!
OCCTAC Staff Retreat 2022
On August 26 we held our annual OCCTAC Staff Retreat, a great day for teamwork, networking, learning, and fun! We are grateful to all the wonderful presenters, including Dr. Anaida Colon-Muniz, Kirk Andrew, Ana Ruth, Christine Deelo, and Yvette Nunez.
Back To School With Early Start and PreK!
Pictured L-R: Zahir and Olivia enjoy playing at OCCTAC. Photos courtesy of Claudia Maravilla Mora & Tere Heras.
Our Early Start and PreKinder classes have started for the school year 2022-23, and we have openings available for interested families. This program serves very young children to pre-kindergarteners with and without special needs and their parents. These early intervention programs aim at educating parents and their young children together, in a natural community environment that enhances students’ cognitive, language, motor, and socio-emotional development. It helps children improve their developmental skills in a fun, creative, and learning environment. Parents find that their children progress both developmentally and socially in our programs. “Initially, Zahir had a hard time focusing,” says Zahir's mom. "Early Start gave him the opportunity to socialize with other children. Now, he can sit through most of circle time. I noticed a strong interest in circle time, specifically in the dancing and singing part!”
Mom Tere Heras says, “Olivia loves arts and crafts rotation. Anything that involves getting her hands dirty, she’s up for it! She definitely takes advantage and goes all out in Early Start. She loves to get creative with new activities, for example, learning how glue works, feeling the texture of shaving foam, and using manual dexterity with certain items like play dough. As a parent, I love it because it helps her develop fine motor skills and embraces her curiosity and willingness. She’s learning without even knowing it.”
Fall Registration for our Early Start and PreK programs is open now!
For more information on the early childhood education programs at OCCTAC, visit https://www.occtac.org/early-start-pre-kinder
NEW! Mommy & Me Classes at OCCTAC
REGISTER FOR FALL CLASSES!
CLASSES START AUGUST 22ND
Classes for our amazing Preparatory Arts Academy are open for registration now! Studio Arts, Dance, Music, Media Arts and more! Call us or visit our website for more information on how your students can be part of the OCCTAC dream!
OCCTAC: 714.547.5468
https://www.occtac.org/after-school-arts-program
Need A Vaccine?
WE ARE SCHEDULING VACCINE APPOINTMENTS FOR
ORANGE COUNTY RESIDENTS
You Can Help OCCTAC Today!
BECOME A DONOR
Did you know that when you donate, you are improving your own health as well? A study by the University of Oregon found that donating activates the pleasure center in your brain. Voluntary donations are especially pleasurable and improve your happiness, joy, and contentment! OCCTAC is forever grateful to our Supporters and Community Partners! Their donations and support continue to help our Arts Center grow and bring opportunities to our families and community, and you can be part of this as well!
Please help OCCTAC by sharing our Social Media links, liking our page, sharing our events and donating to our center! Find out how by clicking on the link below:
Donate with Amazon Smile!
You can help OCCTAC today by donating money, choosing to donate on a recurring basis, or by designating “Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center” as your charity when purchasing through Amazon via their Amazon Smile program at www.smile.amazon.com. Here are the simple steps to designate OCCTAC as your charitable organization to receive a portion of the purchase price:
On your first visit to AmazonSmile smile.amazon.com, you need to select “Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts” to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation.
If you already use Amazon Smile for another charity, you can change your charity to "Orange County Therapeutic Arts" on your Amazon Smile home page.
We appreciate you and your continued support of OCCTAC’s mission to provide innovative, artistic, educational and therapeutic programs that inspire and transform children, at-risk youth, adults and their families to fulfill their highest potential.
