Think Together Awarded $317,128 Grant from LA84 Foundation for Youth Sports Programs Across Southern California

Think Together receives $317,128 in grant funding from The LA84 Foundation to provide afterschool sports programs to 88 schools throughout Southern California

Santa Ana, Calif. (January 27, 2021) Think Together, California’s leading nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning and school improvement programs, today announced the award of a $317,128 grant from the LA84 Foundation, a nationally recognized leader of youth sport programs focused on positive youth development. This grant will allow more students from under-resourced communities to participate in free team sports opportunities.

Think Together’s funding from the LA84 Foundation previously covered sports for 3,240 students at 81 public schools across Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. This year, the funding is much more extensive, allowing 7,040 students at 88 schools across Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties to gain access to sports programs. The expansion includes schools in Think Together’s newest region, Palm Springs.

“Think Together and the LA84 Foundation are aligned in wanting to promote equity for kids. For Think Together that’s in the classroom, and for the LA84 Foundation it’s supporting positive youth development through sport and play,” said Randy Barth, founder and CEO of Think Together. “The communities we serve are often under-resourced, and we have seen the value of making sure students are exposed to sports and activity for their physical and mental health.”

Depending on state and county health guidelines, Think Together will provide in-person sports programs with three 10-week rotations: basketball program for boys and girls in the winter; boys and girls soccer program in the spring; and flag football and volleyball programs in the fall, each with culminating tournaments.

Sports programming is a crucial element of students’ education and will help them develop socio-emotional skills and identity development. In addition to competitive sports, Think Together will provide Skillastics, an evidence-based curriculum, with in-person modules in martial arts, STEM and sports, yoga, mindfulness and more. If needed, Think Together can also provide the Skillastics curriculum in a virtual environment to engage students in physical activity while teaching them sports skills.

“Sports and play programs have never been more important to help kids learn, connect with each other and add joy to their lives in a healthy environment,” said Nolan Ortiz, Director, Grants & Programs of the LA84 Foundation. “Think Together continues to expand their sports programming to reach more youth. We thank Think Together for their partnership and commitment to closing the Play Equity gap across the region.”

Research from the USC Keck School of Medicine found that children were less physically active and much more sedentary in the early phases of the pandemic. Based on the study, the highest risk group includes low-income and minority students. Regular exercise and sports programs helps student social and emotional development as they learn to work as a team and practice strategy and collaborative thinking skills. In addition, regular exercise helps students focus better while in the classroom.

Think Together and the LA84 Foundation have partnered since 2008, and have since served approximately 50,000 students with sports programming, alongside sports and healthy living partners like the LA Dodgers Foundation, US Soccer Foundation and Kaiser Permanente.

Private philanthropic grants are pivotal to Think Together’s expanded learning programs and provide students with equitable access to academic and enrichment programs many youth may not otherwise receive.

Think Together’s afterschool expanded learning programs are funded in part by After School Education and Safety (ASES) grants awarded by the California Department of Education and 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants secured from the U.S. Department of Education. In 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, committed a record $5 billion investment by 2025 for afterschool programs as part of his historic $123 billion funding bill to support K-12 schools.

About Think Together

Think Together partners with schools and communities to pursue educational equity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements, and scales academic solutions that change the odds for hundreds of thousands of California students. Think Together’s program areas include early learning, afterschool, school support services and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit www.thinktogether.org.

About the LA84 FoundationThe LA84 Foundation is a nationally recognized leader in support of youth sport programs and public education about the role of sports in positive youth development. The foundation has supported thousands of Southern California youth sports organizations through grant making and funding facilities and fields of play, while also training coaches, commissioning research, convening conferences and acting as a national thought leader on important issues in the youth sports industry. LA84 levels the playing field to ensure all youth have access and opportunity despite economics, gender or ability, while elevating the field of youth sports as an integral pathway to lifelong well-being. To learn more, visit www.la84.org and @LA84Foundation on Twitter and Instagram. For more information, visit www.la84.org.

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Stone Avenue Elementary Site Coordinator Darlene Castruita has been an instrumental part of Think Together’s Jurupa Valley team, Riverside Region and the entire organization. No matter what challenge is in front of her, Darlene keeps a positive mindset and understanding that what she does is essential to the development of our students. Her resourcefulness, creative thinking, kindness, guidance and encouraging nature makes her a strong leader who cultivates an amazing team connected to Think Together’s mission. We are excited to share a little more about her with you.

What’s your “why” for working at Think Together?  
My “why” is to be able to provide a quality program to my community. I know that my staff and I are making an impact in our student’s lives when past students who are now in high school want to come back and be part of the program as mentors to our younger students. That is what pushes me to continue with my work at Think Together.​​​​​

What has been one of your team’s greatest successes so far this school year? 
One of the best successes this school year has been how much our students in program have grown. Whether academically or emotionally they have made great strides to better themselves. One of our students expressed how he felt so welcomed in the program and said, “I am so happy to have someone to talk to about my day and have someone to share my bad days with as well.” Our little humans have the potential to be anything they want to be, and we are happy to be part of their lives.

What is your favorite Think Together memory since you started working here? 
One of my favorite memories is to this day receiving updates from my parents about their students, how they are doing in school and life. One of my first parents shared with me the following “Ms. Darlene I just wanted to send you a quick thank you for always pushing my son to his best in school and going after his dreams. You make him feel like he can do it.” It’s a reminder that we as a program continue to make an impact on them even after they leave us. 

Especially over the last two years, we’ve had to experience a lot of adaptability and flexibility. What is one way you’ve helped support your team and students through this time? 
I had the opportunity to be able to be part of the lesson curation team to create lessons for our students that would help with social and emotional learning. Watching these lessons come to life during virtual learning and seeing the impact these lessons had on our students was an amazing experience. Since then, my team and I have been able to adapt at a moment’s notice to better support our students and district during this time of need. 

What are you looking to accomplish during 2022? 
I’m looking forward most to being able to watch and contribute to our student’s improvement in every aspect of their lives. 

Thank you, Darlene, to you and your team for changing the odds for kids!

Meet Ethan, future structural engineer (or architect).


A brand-new year is full of possibility and Think Together is excited to share with you the bright future generation of leaders currently enrolled in our programs. Each year, we grow more impressed hearing about our students’ passions and wishes for the world. These students inspire our work and fuel our mission to continue to change the odds for kids. To kick off the new year, we want to introduce you to Ethan, a particularly inspiring student from our Riverside County region.

Ethan, who is currently a fifth grader in our afterschool program, wants to be a structural engineer or an architect. He is especially interested in designing houses from the outside in.

Ethan has been enrolled in Think Together for two years, and currently his favorite subject is math. “I like math because I just like to add up all the numbers, and sometimes it can be really easy and sometimes can be really challenging.”

Fortunately for Ethan, a path to becoming a structural engineer or architect is filled with math.

STEM is one of the core curriculum pillars Think Together adds to the expanded school day. Students like Ethan get an additional 540 hours of academic lessons and support through their attendance in our program. In addition to STEM, students participate in arts, enrichment, and physical activity.

“I think that Think Together helps me because whenever we’re finished with our homework, they always give us the daily four, which is extra problems that you can do. You can practice spelling new words, and you can also do math problems.”

When we asked Ethan what his new year’s resolution for 2022 is, he said his goal is to finish the school year with straight A’s. (And he feels confident he can achieve that goal.)

As Ethan moves on to middle school in the 2022-23 school year, he will be equipped with a firm foundation to build on for the next stages of his academic career. And Ethan is ambitious with his future, he’s hoping to be part of Stanford’s freshman class of 2029.

You are helping students like Ethan reach for their dreams through your support of Think Together. We are thrilled to announce that in our Together We Light the Way end-of-year campaign we raised $410,000! Thank you for believing in Think Together’s mission as much as we do. 2022 is going to be an exciting year, and we are so happy to have you be a part of this journey.

This has been an exciting year with funders supporting next-level academic and expanded learning support for students across California! If the last few weeks show us anything, it’s that 2022 is going to be an outstanding year of changing the odds for kids thanks to additional funding and contributions.

For the second year in a row, The Boeing Company has kicked off our end of year giving campaign with a $100,000 grant towards STEM programming in our Southeast Los Angeles County region supporting Bellflower, Lynwood, Compton and Ingenium Charter Schools. STEM is an increasingly important talent in the modern world, with the core skills of problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork being translatable into any future career a student desires.

Then on Giving Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and Think Together surprised 50 Think Together students at Werner Elementary School in Rialto with a visit from Los Angeles Dodgers Third Base Coach Dino Ebel.

Students received books, swag and listened to Ebel read “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year” by Larry Harper as part of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation LA Reads program. You can read more about this event in the story covered by the San Bernardino Sun and the Inland Empire Business Journal.

The following week, Kaiser Permanente Riverside County employees and physicians pulled together gifts and donated them to students in Moreno Valley Unified School District and Val Verde Unified School District. These students were incredibly grateful for the gifts, and we know that they will remember opening those presents for years to come.

Just 72 hours later, the Agua Caliente Clippers basketball team passed out toys not only to Think Together students but to the entire school of 397 students in Ontario. The toys ranged from STEM kits to art activities with all students also receiving fun Clippers swag items.

Think Together is always thrilled to bring students an extra bit of joy during the holidays, but we also know that the best gift is a robust education. It’s through the relationships we build with our corporate and community partners that Think Together helps truly light the way for our students.

If you are interested in becoming a partner in 2022, visit https://thinktogether.org/corporate-support/ for more information.

Dodgers volunteers spread kindness, gifting bags to local students.

Every student has ambition, we help them achieve it.

Paolo Leon has served on Think Together’s Board of Directors for the last nine years and serves as a chairman for our Friends of Shalimar committee. He graduated from USC and went on to become an architect. Before all of this, he was a student in Think Together’s Shalimar Learning Center in Costa Mesa.   For almost 25 years, Think Together has been there for students like Paolo and helped them go on to college and pursue their ambitions.   “Think Together has had a tremendous impact on my life. It’s altered the course of my life for the better and I know my family and my children will be better off because of my involvement with Think Together,” says Paolo. “I am personally invested in making sure that the same opportunities are available to more kids like me.”  

Think Together has helped students attend universities like Harvard, Columbia, UCLA and more with alumni going on to become doctors, Emmy-winning reporters, architects, engineers, teachers, and leaders within their community.

We help students overcome barriers and connect them to resources that help them on their college and career path. Whether you’ve been a supporter for years, months, or only discovered Think Together recently, you are part of our story, and you are helping us light the way for students across the state.

Support students this holiday season, because the best gift you can give them is the opportunity to succeed.   “I’m lighting the way by doing everything I can to help connect as many students to opportunity as I can. Opportunity made a huge difference in my life and I’m confident that it will do the same for other students in my community,” says Paolo.    

Smiling student in a red mask radiates hope and confidence.

We would like to introduce you to Mariah. She is a fourth-grader who has been enrolled in Think Together since kindergarten. She is one of the students Think Together has impacted over the last 24 years. Her story, like many of our students, is that Think Together has become a second home. Especially after a year of disruptions, she is excited to be back and make more memories during this school year.

“Last year was kind of tough,” Mariah says. “I couldn’t hang out with my friends or do much, and I didn’t leave the house.”

Currently, Mariah’s favorite subjects in school are science and reading. She’s grateful for Think Together to help her bring her grades back up and have a place to play games and reconnect with friends and classmates.

This school year has already been packed with fun supplemental lessons, arts, enrichment, and homework support so students can get back on track with their learning and have opportunities for success. Through Think Together, students like Mariah will receive an additional 540 hours of academics and social-emotional development each school year.

Five years in Think Together is a long time, and when Mariah was asked what her favorite memory is, she immediately said, “My favorite memory is the time I met my site coordinator and program leaders for the first time. I knew this was going to be a good program where I would have friends, be supported, and have fun.”

Students like Mariah need support from people like you, so they can continue to have this safe space and access to all that Think Together has to offer. This Giving Tuesday we ask you to help us light the way to a future full of opportunities for students all across California. Together, we can make a huge difference and change the odds for kids.

Site Coordinator Vanessa Negrete has been a part of Think Together’s LA Metro team for the last two years but has been an afterschool professional for the last six years. She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of the Arts degree in psychology. Vanessa is someone who is always willing to lend a helping hand to her cohort whenever someone on her team is in need. Vanessa takes initiative and is always ready to share a best practice that may support another colleague’s site. We truly appreciate Vanessa and her “can do” attitude in completing any task that might come her way!

​​​Why did you want to work in afterschool?

I love working with children and feel that I make a difference in their lives. I was very fortunate to have some amazing experiences as a kid and for me, I’ve always wanted to give back to the community that helped shape who I am today. 

What is the moment that you felt the most connected to Think Together’s mission?

The moment I felt most connected with Think Together’s mission was when we entered the stay-at-home order and literally within a matter of weeks, LA Metro was the first region to launch distance learning. We showed our kids that anything is possible and we weren’t going to let anything get in the way of connecting with our families.

Do you have a favorite Think Together student story?

My favorite stories are the unexpected ones. As a site coordinator, you’re in charge and talk to many students but one student who stood out to me approached me on his last day of program as a middle schooler.

He thanked me for showing him that it is okay to be scared and step out of your comfort zone but as long as you do what you love nothing else should matter. It surprised me because he mentioned how that conversation we had when he was a fifth-grader followed him throughout middle school. It’s stories like those that make me feel grateful for what I do.

What is one moment that you felt like you were really changing the odds for kids?

This past year has honestly been one of the toughest, most challenging, and most rewarding experiences of my life! Bringing afterschool to a virtual setting really pushed the meaning of changing the odds for kids to the next level. It wasn’t an easy task but added itself as yet another example to a long list of ways we are changing the odds for kids!

As we are wrapping up 2021, what do you hope to accomplish at Think Together in 2022?

We spent a good year and a half working distance learning and with now being in-person, for 2022 I hope to accomplish a thriving quality program for others to see. I want to pick up right where we left off pre-pandemic. These kids shouldn’t have to feel that they were robbed of experiences but rather create new ones.

Vanessa, thank you for all that you do for our students and for changing the odds for kids!

When students show an interest in going above and beyond, Think Together Site Coordinators often encourage students to become student leaders and help support their classmates.

Yaretzi is one of those student leaders. She’s a fifth grader and has been in Think Together’s program for three years.

“One of my favorite things to do in the program is helping out,” she says. “I always like to ask if I can help monitor or help the younger students with assignments.”

When Yaretzi grows up, she wants to turn her service-oriented heart towards helping others.

“What I want to be when I grow up, I want to make a special place for people in need. If they need help with something, if they have issues, I want to be there to help.”

Until then, Yaretzi is enjoying her time being a kid and being a part of Think Together.

“My favorite part about Think Together is being able to hang out with my friends. I’m an only child so I like to be around other kids,” she says.

Last year, she found school a lot more difficult and missed seeing her friends in the program. When Orange Unified School District came back in person, she said it didn’t feel the same interacting with friends while socially distanced.

This year she said feels a lot more normal. She’s been enjoying hanging out with old friends and making new ones. Her days have been packed with additional academic lessons, enrichment, physical activity, homework support, and having fun. “Think Together is way more fun in person than online!”

One of Think Together’s primary focuses has been on academic recovery and social-emotional learning. We don’t know how dramatic the academic impact of the pandemic will be, but students like Yaretzi are getting back on track thanks to support from Think Together.

Yoselin Martin has worked for Think Together for 2 years currently as the lead program leader at Vineland Elementary in our San Gabriel Valley Region. Yoselin is an outstanding person and loves to work with children. She comes to work with a can-do attitude and always sets goals to be more successful. When a difficult situation arises, she never backs down and always pushes through. Yoselin shows that together we can be strong role models while supporting our students.

How would you sum up your experience working for Think Together since you started working here? 
Since I started working for Think Together, I’ve developed a lot of experience with working with students in all age groups and helping them develop and be successful.

What is your “why” for working at Think Together?
My “why” is just like Think Together’s mission, changing the odds for kids and helping them be successful. Also, I’ve enjoyed seeing the students grow up and develop. 

What is one of your favorite memories working at Think Together?
Just remembering how far I’ve come since starting as a substitute program leader to now taking over my supervisor’s position and owning it. I still remember the time my site coordinator, Susie Jaimes, asked me if I wanted to be the lead for Vineland Elementary and I said yes. I’m now able to deal and overcome different situations and I have learned so much this whole year of being lead program leader. 

Can you tell us what it’s been like for students adjusting back to in-person learning this school year? What are some of the challenges you are seeing and how are you helping to support them?
They are having a difficult time coming back to the in-person environment and adjusting to it. They also did not have the resources when they were at home, which made it more challenging for us to redirect them with systems, routines, and having their materials. The main thing is keeping masks on and keeping their distance. Acknowledging the students that follow the systems and routines, praising them daily, having them understand the why behind it. 

What are your goals for this school year?
I’m looking forward to getting more experience as a leader and making a difference with the children in my classroom.

Thank you for changing the odds for kids Yoselin!​​​​​​

Think Together is proud to provide robust STEM programs for California students through partnerships with organizations like Edison International.

Students who would not otherwise have access to this specialized curriculum during a typical school-day environment are exposed to coding and robotics as a way to open up new experiences and opportunities.

Currently, there are over 72,000 open computing jobs in California with an average salary of $115K—but only 7,311 computer science graduates, and only 47% of high schools teach a foundational course.

“At Edison, we know that a STEM education has the power to change lives and communities,” said Alejandro Esparza, SCE Principal Manager of Corporate Philanthropy and Community Engagement. “We are so proud of our partnership with Think Together and our shared commitment to engaging students through impactful STEM programs.”

Even for students who do not pursue STEM careers, the skills required in coding are important to building foundational problem-solving and 21st-century skills, challenging student grit, inviting creativity, and encouraging curiosity.

During the 2019-2020 school year, Think Together implemented Coding and Robotics clubs at 10 middle schools in Rialto, Lake Elsinore, and Val Verde school districts. Over 1,700 students participated in high-quality lessons, hands-on learning opportunities and gained exposure to STEM careers.

“I love running the Edison STEM Robotics Club, seeing the smiles and excitement from the students when they build the robots is priceless. Some kids have never built a robot when they come to robotics and by the end, they feel like they have achieved so much,” said Think Together Program Leader Ron Webb.

Think Together’s Coding and Robotics Program utilized the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 curriculum to teach students the fundamentals of coding and robotic design. The first unit of the program was focused on renewable energy. Students engaged in lessons about energy transfer, wind energy, solar energy, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles.

In a culminating project, students built, programmed, and tested their own windmill to demonstrate their knowledge of wind turbines. After the renewable energy unit, students continued to learn about key coding terms, application of the design engineering process, building and programming their own bots.

“I like making new things from Legos. It’s challenging and I learn about science in a fun way. Robotics will help me in the future by making new things and helping others,” said one of our 6th grade students.

Through this partnership, Think Together students have gained interest in exploring STEM majors and careers. Not only that, but through STEM curriculum, students are learning vital skills in troubleshooting, problem-solving, and teamwork as they complete these robotics lessons.

“I’ve never seen my students so engaged as I did with them learning about robotics. They worked in groups to complete a group goal and worked together to accomplish the same outcome. They enjoyed learning something different and building something new!” said Site Coordinator Kimberly Martinez. “The students gave it their all and saw it to the end! They truly enjoyed learning about robotics!”

“My daughter comes home daily talking about what she was able to do in Robotics and was super excited to show me her progress,” said one of our parents.

We are so appreciative to work with corporate and foundation partners to help us provide students with quality programming that sets them up for success in the future. Thank you Edison International for partnering with us to change the odds for kids!

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