AHA! Hero Assemblies Uplift and Connect
AHA! Hero Assemblies, our newest program for students and educators, cultivate positive leadership qualities, build essential connections between social groups, and inspire each student and adult to find the power within themselves to make a true contribution to their school, family, and extended community. 
Assemblies feature short videos where celebrities, leaders, and everyday heroes share diverse visions of what makes a hero, along with two, small skillfully facilitated breakout groups where students and educators talk about what it means to be emotionally brave and to join with others to create a culture of caring, respect, and empathy. In the fall, we served over 3,000 and we have a full season of assemblies scheduled for the spring!

At AHA!, we believe that there is a seed of heroism in every person that blossoms in brave spaces of love, courage and purpose.
Thanks to a grant from Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, AHA! After-School participants are being inspired by a series of videos created for them by working artists. This initiative launched the building of a content-rich (AHA!) visiting artists video-library that can be used for years to come. Artists share samples of their work, discuss their creative processes, and add personal anecdotes about how and why they chose their path. Participating artists include singer/songwriter Miriam Dance; sound technician and sound healer Izumi Asura Serra; artist and "Love Letters" founder Sondra Weiss; Native storyteller Alan Salazar; music and youth educator David Rojas; and musician/storyteller Sio Tepper.
Your support helps fund AHA! programs such as…
AHA!'s LITTLEST LITTLE FARM
Harvest time: In addition to providing teen participants with a bounty of fresh, organic vegetables that they themselves have nurtured and harvested, AHA! has been able to donate a significant amount of produce to food-insecure community members via The Unity Shoppe. Current crops include lettuces, spinach, arugula, collard greens, kale, beets, carrots, peas, celery, radishes, broccoli, fennel, cabbage, onion, chard, dill, and cilantro.
SPRING AFTER-SCHOOL GROUPS
AHA! launched spring programs on February 1. We will continue to hold groups on Zoom until we can safely meet in person. Thanks to the creativity and skill of AHA! facilitators, these groups are meaningful, connecting, and FUN!
Social-Emotional Intelligence (SEL) empowers individuals to relate to anyone and everyone and to listen thoughtfully with openness and curiosity to viewpoints different from their own. In 22 years of dedicated service, AHA! has established a cutting-edge model for incorporating SEL into classrooms and communities.
Our programs happen ONLY with your support!