A Message from our Executive Director

Dear South Central LAMP Community,

It has been a few months since we sent out a newsletter, so get ready to learn about some incredible new people and programs I’m excited to share with you! First, I would like to tell you that a month ago, our landlord and community partner, Victory Baptist Church, lost their church due to fire. A huge part of history here in South Central disappeared overnight. However, the Victory Baptist congregation has decided to rebuild and, eventually, a new church will emerge from the ashes! 

As South Central LAMP approaches its 30^th anniversary, it gives me great pride to see how far we have come. Our intention has always been to grow — responsibly, in accordance with our mission — to serve more families. This meant we had to lay the foundation to expand our programs, our infrastructure, and our ability to not only create programming, but quality programming, because quality is what our community deserves. Lastly, it has meant that our values needed to extend to our staff. Putting the right systems in place and finding the right funding has taken time but has been well worth the wait. I am in awe of what South Central LAMP has been able to accomplish with limited resources, all because we have put our mission at the center of all we do.

It has been an extremely busy time for us here at South Central LAMP. For those who might not know, South Central LAMP on average serves 300 people a year, with a tiny full-time staff of five and a total staff of eighteen. That is some incredible multi-tasking! Our full-time staff wear various hats, as so many of us do in nonprofits, and work extremely hard. However, to meet the needs of our community and respond to our Strategic Plan, we recognized that we cannot continue this pattern. So, we have started expanding programs and expanding our staff as well!

Recently South Central LAMP was awarded $100,000 from L.A. City Council District 9 to do just that! The grant allowed us to hire a full-time Adult Education Programs Manager (you will meet Jessie below) and start a virtual English Community Parenting class. We will be working on a Kinship program as well. But that is not all! Thanks to a few amazing donors, we will officially start an Afterschool STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) program in January! New funding also allowed us to hire an Afterschool Coordinator to ensure that our already-taxed staff did not have to add more to their roles, and eventually we will hire three more staff for the afterschool program. We are so excited that our team is growing!

As agents of our community, we are trusted to add stability and security through the programs we provide, and to ensure they not only reflect the need, but also are long lasting and dependable. We cannot do either without the right funding and the right Strategic Plan — one that considers our community, our staff and of course our mission a priority. I am beyond excited to see our work evolve in a way that respects all three, knowing there is still so much more to come. This is absolutely the beginning of another phase for South Central LAMP. Thank you to everyone who has stood with us all these years knowing that, while we are not a huge agency, we continue have a huge impact on those we serve. We appreciate your support and love for a more just world.

Diana Z. Pinto

Executive Director

Meet Jessie Hernandez, Adult Education and Programs Manager

Jessie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and our new Adult Education and Programs Manager at South Central LAMP. She received her undergraduate degree in Sociology at California State University, Northridge and a master’s degree in social work at California State University, Long Beach. Jessie has over 15 years of experience working with parents, children, and at-risk youth in the community.

In her previous position as a Social Worker, she connected with and provided collaborative guidance to families involved in the child welfare system. Through her compassion and insight, Jessie provided direct in-home case management, family preservation assessment services, and facilitated parenting classes at a local non-profit agency in South Los Angeles. In 2014, she completed her internship hours at South Central LAMP as part of her field education requirement for her master’s degree.

Jessie worked under the supervision of Helen Santillan, our previous Family Advocate and brought new perspectives, energy, and skill sets to the Family Literacy Program. During her eight year career with the State of California Employment Development Department, Jessie oversaw and mentored youth in the Youth Employment Opportunity Program. Shemotivated at-risk youth to achieve their education and vocational goals through a variety of specialized services.  

Jessie is excited to continue her work and passion to strengthen women and their families at South Central LAMP. As the daughter of Mexican immigrant parents and first of her siblings born in the United States, she witnessed many of the challenges and struggles her parents encountered as they carved their own path in a new country without any guidance. For Jessie, South Central LAMP is a safe place where women and families can be supported, nurtured, and healed. The combination of her personal attributes, life experience, and academic and professional training makes Jessie exceptional at providing services that honor and support the journey the families we serve make. 

Meet our new Development Director,

Nicole Cosand Burcham

Nicole is so thrilled to have joined South Central LAMP! She has been working in Development for the past 23 years, first at the University of San Francisco in Corporate and Foundation Relations and then at a very small high school in Marin County – The Marin School – where she spearheaded their first Development office. After eight years, Nicole moved back to Southern California to be near family, and landed at Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena as their Director of Annual Giving and Alum Relations. It was at Mayfield where Nicole was introduced to South Central LAMP.

Meeting Diana, Claudia and the rest of the welcoming staff and teachers four years ago is where she discovered the exceptional work South Central LAMP does empowering the mothers and children of South Central Los Angeles. When the Development Director position opened up last spring, Nicole jumped at the chance to work for such an inspiring organization. She knew it was an opportunity for her to make a difference in the lives of the families of South Central, and she looks forward to working with the Los Angeles and surrounding communities to do so.

Nicole feels so incredibly blessed and honored to be at South Central LAMP, and if you would like a tour of our site or more information about supporting our transformational programs, please do not hesitate to reach out to her at nburcham@southcentrallamp.org or 323-234-1471 Ext 101. And, if you are one of our current partners, Nicole looks forward to continuing to work together to strengthen the families of South Central Los Angeles.

Back to School at South Central LAMP!

Update from Claudia Garcia,

Children's Education and Program Director

So far this year we are off to a great start! We're fully enrolled, something that has been hard to do for the past couple of years due to COVID. Our students have been attending on site classes regularly and we are back to our typical days of learning at South Central LAMP! Our preschoolers are currently focusing on getting to know one another and their classroom routines.

We also held our first Resource Fair a few weeks ago which included a COVID clinic and other health resources for the community. Next up, we are getting ready for trick or treating for books at the Harvest Festival on October 31st! Click here to see our Amazon Wishlist!

Family Literacy Program Update from Jessie Hernandez

Women in the Family Literacy Program at South Central LAMP kicked-off the program year with warmth and self-discovery. Mothers learned about the power of sharing their stories and supporting each other to feel connected, grounded, and supported. The women’s empowerment class led mothers in an exploration of their personal values to identify their motivations, set healthy boundaries and make important life decisions. Many of the women were able to see commonalities in their values and stories which helped them feel accepted in their group. Discussions in the parenting class invited the women to reflect on their own childhood, youth, and adulthood experiences with respect to parenting. Mothers are being introduced to the anatomy and development of the brain and learning how their daily interactions with their children shape their brains.  

Women in our Level 1/2 English as a Second Language class are focusing on basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. For many of the women, this is the first time they are in a classroom setting. Through interactions with the teacher and other students, the women are gaining skills in collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking as well as classroom etiquette. Women attending our Level 3 English as Second Language with more advance English skills are working on grammar, vocabulary and reading skills. Mothers are being equipped with the basic skills needed to interact in social and cultural situations.

Summertime at CAMP LAMP!

Every year we pick an emphasis for our summer program - CAMP LAMP. This year, since so many of us were eager to get back to being around others and being outdoors, our emphasis was on Social Emotional Wellbeing and Physical Health. Our families went on field trips, a wonderful privilege that many experienced for the first time. We visited Underwood Family Farms which our families absolutely loved, and we also hiked in Eaton Canyon. Our adult participants took self-care classes like yoga, mindfulness workshops, and exercise and nutrition classes. Classroom activities for the children included group science experiments and hands on slimy activities that they participated in together in a safe environment. The kids were also able to play outside on our great jungle gym every day too. By the end of CAMP LAMP, we all almost forgot we were in the midst of a pandemic!

Volunteer Update

Media.Monks Celebrate Back to School at South Central LAMP!

Many thanks to Cultura Monks, the Latin club from digital-first marketing and advertising services company Media.Monks, who came to campus in August and donated Back to School backpacks filled with pencils, crayons, markers, scissors and paper for our pre-K students (and items for our teachers as well!)! Those attending also stopped by our mother's class on their tour and shared their stories. We're so very excited to have you as one of our partners!

 Upcoming Ways you can Support South Central LAMP

• Visit our Amazon Wish List to support our Harvest Festival which will help our children "Trick or Treat" for books on October 31st! Books are due to LAMP by October 21st.

• LA Big 5K - We're looking for 40 runners/walkers to join us on March 18, 2023 - contact Nicole Cosand Burcham for more details and to sign-up!

• Save the Date - South Central LAMP's 30^th Anniversary Brunch - Saturday, May 20, 2023 - more details to follow.

To learn more about our programs and how you can make a difference in the lives of those we serve, please visit our website at: www.southcentrallamp.org

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