Intern Hall of Fame

We recently caught up with a number of our former college interns who worked with us and helped build our program over the past 3 years.  Each student, who participated through Azusa Pacific University’s LA Term program, interned for 14 hours per week for 4 months with the AFSC Los Angeles Roots for Peace program.  We are indebted to the interns and grateful to the Azusa Pacific University LA Term program for their contributions to our organization.  The interns served as mentors to youth, assisted in building urban gardens, created and edited youth videos, designed this blog and more!  Read what they had to say:

Chrissy Woo (February-May 2010)

I graduated from APU in May 2012 and I'm now (home) in Oakland, CA. I am currently a volunteer intern at GRID Alternatives Bay Area and will soon be starting a job as Office Administrator at a local church in Oakland.

Looking back now, interning at AFSC impacted me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I was an intern Spring 2010, when the community garden project in Mars Vista was just beginning. At the time I didn't know much about gardening or even about food justice issues. I just thought that the project sounded interesting and that it had a lot of potential for being a positive and transforming experience for all who were involved. Needless to say, the project did not disappoint. I saw students come together and take ownership of the project, actively transforming the space available to them. I consider myself so lucky to have been there at the beginning stages of this project and I am amazed by how it has taken off and grown in the past couple of years. Additionally, in the past year or so, I have found myself drawn into topics such as urban gardening and urban sustainability. I even wrote my thesis on urban gardens and their great potential for shaping a healthier and more sustainable urban lifestyle. The garden project with AFSC gave me the unique opportunity to see the incredible process of a group of students becoming more connected to their source of food. It is an experience that I will never forget and that will continue to inspire me for many years to come.

While I enjoyed working with the students, I have to say that the best part was actually seeing the food grow! I think we all wondered if our efforts would pay off or amount to anything and I think everyone was truly excited to see the food grow.

Youth of The Year Award

Our garden superstar Kity Southall was honored by All Peoples Community Center as this year’s "Youth of the Year".  On October 12th, 2012 Kity was recognized for his positive and caring demeanor and for his extensive volunteer work.  Kity has served as a garden mentor to young children, conducted research on local Food Access, shared research findings with community members, and  dedicated many weekends and vacation hours to help the school and community garden flourish.  Kity also serves as one of only two students chosen to sit on the board of the HeArt Project, an arts program dedicated to bringing arts to continuation high schools. We are honored to work with Kity and be a part of his involvement in the community.  Kity is looking forward to graduating from high school this year and pursuing a career in the Arts.  Kity we look forward to seeing you reach your goals. We know you will thrive!