Play for Life in South LA

Central LA

South LA

City of Los Angeles

Access to open space and park facilities

Number of children enrolled in afterschool programs

Percentage of residents that feel safe in their neighborhoods

Number (and quality) of informal spaces for play (Dream Metric)

From its humble beginnings over 22 years ago, APCH has evolved from an afterschool drop-in program in the basement of a church to a community center representing 25,000 square feet, including an athletic field, commercial kitchen, garden and dance studio. We serve an annual average of 900 boys and girls from more than 100 elementary, middle and high schools in South Los Angeles.

At APCH we believe that zip code should not determine a child’s future, so we offer a comprehensive array of free programs spanning academics, athletics, the arts, and more with the goal of enriching our members’ lives and helping them become excited to learn and grow. We propose to:

Create Opportunities to Play - Our South Central neighborhood currently lacks safe places for children to play. Through our totally free programming and open membership process we create healthy avenues for activity and joy. We plan to expand the South Central Sports League, which we founded and currently facilitate. This League provides an opportunity for hundreds of youth from APCH and partner organizations to play competitive sports in a supportive environment completely free of charge. We also offer 125 enriching field trips throughout the year, including sailing camp, horseback riding, sporting events, and more.

Expand Safe Places to Play- An important part of encouraging play and community is providing safe spaces for local residents to gather. APCH has already built two community gardens, in addition to our on-site garden, and will continue to expand by building a new, even larger garden over the coming year. Our vision is for a “Green Corridor” linking APCH, the Newton Division Police Station, and Jefferson High School. We will also increase the number of community clean ups we coordinate throughout the year (currently averaging six per year), helping to create a physically pleasing neighborhood that will inspire pride and active ownership.

Engage the Community in Change- For our plans to be successful, all community members must be aware of, equipped for, and able to participate in the opportunities available. By building on our existing relationships, APCH will generate awareness and participation in community change. This will be accomplished through parental education workshops held at APCH, regular stakeholder meetings, our annual community events including the Health & Garden Expo, and the distribution of nearly $1 million in groceries, toys, books, and more.

We will monitor this proposal’s progress by tracking the number of community members taking advantage of our services and community spaces and through pre and post surveys given during the beginning and end of key projects and events. These surveys will gauge residents’ knowledge of local services and resources, satisfaction with our programs, as well as their perspectives on and involvement in the neighborhood.

All APCH youth members are also tracked through KidTrax, a performance measurement and participant management software designed specifically for youth-serving nonprofit organizations.

Money (financial capital)

Volunteers/staff (human capital)

Publicity/awareness (social capital)

Community outreach

Network/relationship support

Quality improvement research