OCCTAC News - January 2021
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021!
Wishing all our students, families, and OCCTAC friends and community partners a healthy and safe 2021! As we continue to provide remote programs to the community, we also send our loving thoughts and prayers to anyone that has lost a family member or friend in 2020. May this New Year be the beginning of renewed energy, health, peace, love and abundance! Wishing you all the best of 2021!
Dr. Ana Jimenez-Hami, Founder and Executive Director
THANK YOU UNIVISION AND AMAZON!
On Wednesday, January 13, OCCTAC welcomed Univision television to OCCTAC for an interview with Edith Garcia, mother to our beloved student Justin Salgado, who passed in 2018 from a brain tumor. Edith and her family turned their grief into action and started a scholarship fund for violin students at OCCTAC, but during the pandemic it became very difficult to continue to raise funds for the scholarship. Edith wrote a letter to the editors at Univision in 2020, and they began a nearly year-long dialog about Justin’s story and legacy. What Edith did not know is that Univision worked behind the scenes to secure a very generous donation to the scholarship fund. After interviewing Edith and Dr. Ana Jimenez-Hami that day, the producers and crew surprised Edith and OCCTAC with a $10,000 check to the Justin Salgado Scholarship Fund at OCCTAC! The story was aired nationally on Univision in 2 parts, January 15 & 18 on their popular Despierta America show with Maria Antonieta Collins. If you missed the show, you can view it here:
Special thanks to Univision producer Cynthia Oviedo and Despierta America host Maria Antonieta Collins in Miami, the Los Angeles Univision film crew who filmed Edith’s story, and Amazon for your generous donation. Mil gracias!
OCCTAC Families Celebrate
Día de los Reyes
Students and families from our Family Mentoring Program celebrated Dia de los Reyes, or Three Kings Day, a little differently this year with a COVID-safe celebration at our center. Toys and groceries were distributed to families with special needs students, thanks to the generous donations from Yorba Linda Friends Church, Vineyard Church and Congressman Lou Correa. Thank you to these partners and to our volunteers for bringing joy to so many deserving families!
Preparatory Arts Academy 2021
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
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
OCCTAC’s Youth Employment Program is accepting applications! Santa Ana youth between the ages of 16-24 years old interested in gaining paid work experience, job training, and educational assistance are welcome to apply. For more information about the program and requirements please call the OCCTAC at (714)547-5468 and ask to speak with a Youth Employment Program staff member. Meetings are currently taking place by appointment only.
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.
