OCCTAC News - February 2022
Thank You to Helping Hands of OC!
Recurring donors like Helping Hands of Orange County are crucial to keeping our mission alive. This month, Helping Hands of Orange County donated $450.To date, they have donated over $5,000 plus program supplies to help support the various programs at OCCTAC, including the Early Start and Pre-Kinder Arts program, Crises Counseling, and Family Mentoring.
A decade ago, Revathy Ravi and her friends were looking for people that they could help in Orange County on a regular basis. As believers in the healing arts, they have been great supporters of OCCTAC since 2018.Helping Hands of OC began in 2012 by cooking meals for a local women’s shelter once a month. When the pandemic hit in 2020, they had to refrain from in-person donations, including dropping off supplies to OCCTAC and other groups they usually donated to. Instead, they began donating money. “It is our pleasure and honor to support and be a part of all the worthy causes that are run by your organization,” said Revathy. OCCTAC is very grateful to Revathy and her friends at Helping Hands of Orange County for their kindness and support throughout the years. Thank you for being such a great community partner, for your generosity, and for your beautiful hearts. We continue to be inspired by you!
If you would like to become a monthly recurring donor, contact us today and we can help you set that up. It is easy, safe, and every bit helps our programs to deliver the life-changing healing power of the arts to our community! www.occtac.org/donate
Donations from Helping Hands of OC help fund programs like our Early Start & PreKinder programs where proud graduates thrive!
Thank You Emily Ramos!
Emily Ramos has been a volunteer and friend to OCCTAC since 2018, and recently donated $2,500 to OCCTAC. Emily came to us as a volunteer in 2018, working with both our Ballet program and helping us coordinate everything behind-the-scenes at our events. She has stayed in touch and continues to bless us with her support and encouragement. We spoke with Emily recently and she described what drew her to OCCTAC and why she continues to support our mission: “I moved to California from New Jersey in fall of 2018. I was missing my family and culture and I was looking for a nonprofit to devote my time and make California more of a home – and that is exactly what I found with OCCTAC… it's a community, a beautiful family of wonderful people connecting through the arts and culture. I believe the arts can be one of the most amazing ways to express and celebrate our culture. Providing an affordable and accessible way for kids to do so is extremely important and that’s why I give. I was a teaching assistant in the ballet/Folklorico class, as well as the stage technical director for our shows. I eventually moved to LA in 2020 and with COVID/distance, it made it harder to volunteer. But OCCTAC is always in my heart and I give to support the amazing programming they have and so that they are able to welcome and support more and more kids in the community.” Thank you, Emily, for blessing us with your volunteerism and financial support. We are so very grateful to you, Emily! Mil gracias!
Emily Ramos with OCCTAC dancers at opening night of “El Puente”, an E360/SAUSD & OCCTAC student art exhibition at El Consulado de México en Santa Ana, April 24, 2019
Our PreK Student Flourishes In Kindergarten
Nothing pleases a parent more than hearing the positive news that their child is thriving and hitting all the educational milestones for their age level. What’s even more pleasing is when they exceed expectations. Our daughter Lileana is presently excelling and outperforming the average Kindergarten performance of her peers.
Her current Kindergarten teacher remarked that our daughter performs at an upper-grade level regarding vocabulary, comprehension, and social skills. She mentioned that our child was very thoughtful, takes initiative, and possessed a vocabulary range that she sees in students much older. We attribute this mastery to the engaging opportunities she experienced while attending the "Early Start" Program at Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts, coordinated by Claudia Mora. The program incorporates a "Reggio Emilia” styled interactive and immersive playroom where kids experienced self-guided play and social interaction. Parents are invited to participate, and families bond while children learn with self-guided initiative. The program also offers studio arts immersion that aids in the development of divergent minds that strengthens their problem-solving. The abundance of art immersion at OCCTAC has fortified critical thinking skills that strengthened her ability to exceed comprehension milestones at a rapid rate.
The most engaging aspect was the multi-lingual environment. Our daughter was immersed in over 3-4 differing languages, with English as the mode of instruction. The Early Start and PreK programs offer a bilingual approach that capitalizes on the plasticity of the language center of a child's brain. The benefits of OCCTAC’s programming are visibly seen in the performance foundation built upon with each successive day of learning.
Thank you OCCTAC! -- By Mark and Maria Dimalanta
Parental involvement and immersive role-playing are key components of OCCTAC’s Early Start and PreK programs
Lileana’s first day of Kindergarten, 2021
All photos courtesy of Mark Dimalanta
Register For Early Start & PreK Today
Accepting application for in-person classes, space is limited
SAVE THE DATE!
OCCTAC's Preparatory Arts Academy Presents
Spring Recital "Bloom"
Preparatory Arts Academy 2022
Register Today for Spring Semester!
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
We Are Hiring!
Immediate Opening for Home Visitation Supervisor
If you or someone you know is interested in this position, please send resume to jennifern@occtac.org. No phone calls please. Detailed job description can be found on our website at www.occtac.org/careers
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:
www.occtac.org/donate
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.
