A Place Called Home 2830 S Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90011

For information contact:

Anita Wang (626) 376-8000

anitawang@gmail.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A  PLACE  CALLED  HOME  HOSTS  12TH  ANNUAL  CINDERELLA  PROJECT  TO  GIVE  HUNDREDS  OF  

PROM  ITEMS  AWAY  WITH  KIMORA  LEE    

LOS ANGELES – May 10, 2014 – A Place Called Home (APCH) will hold its 12th annual

Cinderella Project, where more than 150 high school girls from the South Los Angeles

community will have the chance to be gifted with prom items by former American model and

fashion designer Kimora Lee.

“We understand that prom doesn’t exactly fit in the budget for many families out here,”

Executive Director Jonathan Zeichner said. “For more than 90 percent of these girls, prom was

never even an option. They deserve to be able to experience it at least once in their life.”

There will be 350 dresses and shoes, 150 handbags and nearly 400 pieces of jewelry for

the girls to choose from. After the girls choose their perfect ensemble, lunch will be served,

followed by a surprise speech by Lee.

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CINDERELLA PROJECT, 2

“Our organization welcomes and appreciates Kimora for her time and generosity, and we

know the girls will be shocked and excited to see her,” said Sarah Kimbrough, manager of

volunteer engagement. “More than 60 volunteers signed up to assist APCH’s staff members and

we are so lucky to have so many individuals help out.”

About APCH

A Place Called Home is a facility located in South Los Angeles that serves as a safe haven for

nearly 1,000 kids for over 20 years. It promotes education and a healthy lifestyle through a

variety of services and programs such as tutoring, homework help, art, nutrition and cooking

classes, sports and recreation, and more.

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STUDENTS  PICK  OUT  PROM  ITEMS  DURING  A  PLACE  CALLED  HOME’S  CINDERELLA  PROJECT  

High  school  senior  Paul  Ochoa  searches  for  the  perfect  tie  and  pair  of  shoes  for  his  prom  outfit.  He  is  one  of  the  hundreds  of  kids  taking  advantage  of  the  free  giveaways  A  Place  Called  Home’s  Cinderella  Project  offers.      

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       For  information  contact:  Anita  Wang  (626)  376-­‐8000  Anitawang@gmail.com      Note  to  editor:  High  resolution  photos  available  on              https://www.facebook.com/APCH2830        

   

A  PLACE  CALLED  HOME’S  GUEST  SPEAKER  KIMORA  LEE  ATTENDS  CINDERELLA  PROJECT  

Kimora  Lee,  former  American  model  and  fashion  designer,  speaks  with  a  group  of  young  girls  about  inner  beauty  during  A  Place  Called  Home’s  Cinderella  Project.  This  is  the  twelfth  year  that  A  Place  Called  Home  has  put  together  this  event  to  provide  thousands  of  prom  items  for  kids.      

###          For  information  contact:  Anita  Wang  (626)  376-­‐8000  Anitawang@gmail.com      Note  to  editor:  High  resolution  photos  available  on                https://www.facebook.com/APCH2830    

A Place Called Home 2830 S Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90011

For information contact:

Anita Wang (626) 376-8758

anitawang@gmail.com

A PLACE CALLED HOME HOLDS FREE HEALTH AND GARDEN EXPO FOR SOUTH LOS

ANGELES COMMUNITY What: A Place Called Home will hold a free health and garden expo for the South Los

Angeles community to help urge members of the community to make healthier choices. There will be free medical and vision screenings, fitness classes from radio and TV personality Carlos Alvarez, garden demonstrations, music, food and a kids zone.

When: Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 10 to 11 a .m. - Nutrition tips with Herbalife nutrition expert Dr. Luigi Gratton 1 to 1:30 p.m. - Workout with radio and TV personality Carlos Alvarez

Visuals: • Kids playing in the playground that includes a jumper, soccer field, face painting station, air hockey, darts and arts and crafts

• Over 15 vendors and organizations offering health services and healthy foods • Organic garden with demonstrations on how attendees can learn how to grow

their own organic garden • In-house band with kids between ages 11-15

Why: A Place Called Home understands the great need in educating the community about healthy living and strives to empower it to make better choices by providing resources to do so.

Who: A Place Called Home is a safe haven for South Angeles kids to attend after school and provides free classes ranging from art and music to English and science. It teams up with radio and TV personality Carlos Alvarez, Herbalife nutrition expert Dr. Luigi Gratton and over 15 local vendors and organizations this weekend.

Where: A Place Called Home is located at 2830 S Central Ave. Los Angeles 90011, two blocks south of the 10 freeway. Take 10W, exit Central and make left. Drive half a mile and the facility will be on the left. For parking, make a left on 29th street after exiting. Parking is free. Go to front office and ask for the public relations director.

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A PLACE CALLED HOME FACT SHEET

Mission To provide a nurturing and positive safe haven for underserved youth

where they can build skills and take ownership of the direction of their lives through programs in education, arts and health.

History A Place Called Home (APCH) was founded in 1993 by Debrah

Constance, who at the time witnessed much civil unrest and violence in the streets of South Central Los Angeles. She wanted to give underprivileged youth a safe place to go and started the organization at the basement of a church with 12 youths. By 1996, membership had grown to 400 youths and now provides for more than 1,000 youths.

Accomplishments • 1994 –  Debrah Constance awarded "Woman of the Year" by State of

California and invited by President Clinton to White House • 1997 –  Counseling center opens and music studio built • 2000 –  Receives CA Community Foundation's "Unsung Heroes Award" • 2003 –  Receives "America's Promise Safe Haven Award" • 2007 –  First APCH student attends Berklee Music School in Boston • 2012 –  APCH Shaheen Scholarship sends 70 students to college

Services/Programs • Literacy, homework help and tutoring

• L.I.F.E Mentoring Program • APCH/LAUSD dropout recovery partnership • Athletics and recreation

Headquarters A Place Called Home

2830 S. Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90011 (323) 232-7653

Website www.apch.org Media Contact Scott Culbertson

(323) 232-7653 scott@apch.org

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Programs and Services  

Literacy,  homework  help  and  tutoring   To  improve  and  promote  reading  and  literacy  through  reading  aloud,  book  clubs,  poetry  writing  classes  and  gifting  books  to  every  APCH  member.  Every  week  hundreds  of  students  from  elementary  grades  through  high  school  receive  individual  and  group  homework  assistance  that  covers  math,  science  and  English.      

L.I.F.E  Mentoring  Program   Lead.  Influence.  Foster.  Empower.    Presents  opportunities  for  enrichment,  exposure,  support  and  guidance  through  supervised  one-­‐to-­‐one  relationships  between  members  and  caring  adults.  The  goal  is  to  empower  mentees  to  develop  into  contributing  members  of  the  community,  who  will  find  ways  to  give  back  when  they  are  in  the  position  to  do  so.      

APCH/LAUSD  dropout  recovery  partnership   Offers  another  chance  for  many  young  people  who  have  dropped  out  or  been  kicked  out  of  regular  schools  and/or  have  been  incarcerated  or  caught  up  in  the  Juvenile  Justice  system.  APCH  works  closely  with  several  high  schools  in  the  South  Angeles  community  to  do  the  following:  • Keep  teens  safe  • Support  their  development  into  well  adjusted  adults  

• Guide  them  toward  higher  education  and  fulfilling  work  

 Athletics  and  recreation   To  inspire  members  and  their  families  to  

experience  the  benefits  of  regular  exercise  by  introducing  them  to  yoga,  swimming,  hiking,  running,  obstacle  courses  and  warm-­‐ups.  Organized  sports  leagues  include  basketball,  flag  football  and  soccer,  which  teach  values  of  teamwork  and  good  sportsmanship.  

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Debrah Constance Founder of A Place Called Home

Debrah Constance is the founder of A Place Called Home, a nonprofit organization started in 1993 to give South Central Los Angeles youth exposed to violence and disadvantages a safe haven to go to after school. Constance’s passion for improving lives and her love for children helped build and now sustains A Place Called Home (APCH) as she devotes her time to foster positivity for hundreds of children in need.

It all started in 1988 after she read a Los Angeles Times feature on Roland Ganges, a teacher from Jefferson High School, who was recognized as one of the many gifted teachers in Los Angeles. At the time, she was vice president of the Jon Douglas Realty Company, where she was also the marketing and advertising director in charge of giving Jon Douglas funding to local schools and charities. She came up with the idea to move funding from rich children to a teacher (Ganges) in the inner-city to help children who were in more need.

Ganges refused the money Constance offered and instead asked her for her time. The next five years of involvement with inner-city children moved her to start her own organization. Constance then resigned from the realty company she had worked at for 15 years and was given $50,000 and the blessing from her former boss to start her organization.

Constance was a high school dropout and didn’t believe she was capable of building an organization that comprised of only 12 youths to now more than a thousand youths and families. In 1994, she was awarded “Woman of the Year” by State of California and was invited by President Clinton to the White House.

It has been more than 20 years since the organization started. Constance is now working on a movie about her life, studying African spiritualism, taking time to enjoy her life and supporting the executives at APCH as they work on expanding the organization to helping more older children.

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