What We DO
Throughout the year, the organization plans three main events: Safe Halloween, Thanksgiving Dinner, and an Educational Student Parent Conference. Every event we put on for our community is free of charge for families!
Our Safe Halloween event takes place fall quarter at Children’s Park on Picasso Rd. Isla Vista by night is not a safe environment for the kids in the neighborhood to go around trick-or-treating. For this reason, this is event is geared towards providing a safe space for children of all ages and their parents to enjoy fun and safe Halloween related activities. This is an event where many other organizations on campus can participate and create activities for the kids. These activities in the past have included face painting, pumpkin carving, mask decorations and much more.
Our Thanksgiving Dinner is in collaboration with Hermanos Unidos and also takes place during fall quarter. It is an event for Isla Vista families to feast and enjoy entertainment, prepared and hosted by the organization’s volunteers. We provide families with a full course thanksgiving dinner. We also provide daycare; kids can enjoy fun activities coordinated by LE and HU members while parents enjoy the evenings entertainment, which in past years has been a live Banda and dance.
Lastly, our annual Student Parent Conference (SPC) which takes place during spring quarter, holds multiple workshops that provide vital information to parents concerning their child’s education and available community resources. Workshops typically include information about Financial Aid, Admissions Requirements/Tips (i.e. Personal Statement) and on-campus Resources for transitioning to a university (i.e. Career and Counseling Services, EOP). We also include presentations by special Key Note Speakers, as well as a diverse student panel. Parents have the opportunity to ask any questions they may have regarding the steps they can take to help their child pursue a higher education. Transportation and lunch is provided to all families and students for FREE!
Aside from our major events, we carry on several events throughout the years where our members can fully participate in. Since we are a community service based organization we make it our priority to give back to our community as much as we can. Every other Friday we have what we call “Day with the kids” which takes place at Children’s Park. We spend time with the kids, play fun activities and form strong mentor type relationships! Moreover, we take the kids on Home Depot trips where kids do arts and crafts and after spend time at the park. We offer free tutoring services at IV elementary so our LE members can work one on one with a student and directly impact the educational development of a child! An LE member who seeks a long term commitment can become a TA and volunteer in a classroom at different schools surrounding the area. We participate in restoration projects to help keep our environment safe and beautiful! We have socials so we can become an even stronger organization and better serve our community! All of our events are free of charge to the community thanks to our fundraisers we put on every quarter! All profit from our fundraisers go towards our events.