Charles Abbott Memorial Golf Tournament

After-School Flying Program In Compton, California

Mark — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:44:14 +0000

This past week I learned about a free after-school flying program at Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum (TAM) in Compton, California. Kids as young as 6 years old are not only learning to fly, but are also being made to do their homework, clean up the airport hanger and even wash planes! The founder of this program was inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen and is giving back in Compton to teach the kids discipline, time management and all the skills to fly planes. This is the type of creative and innovative programs that our young kids need in order to compete in tomorrow’s world. And this is also the type of hope that is very needed in an area like Compton.

THINK Together has recently been talking to TAM about a partnership to enhance TAM’s education portion of their fantastic program.

Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum was also recently featured on CNN. Take a look at the video below.

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Shaq On Education

Mark — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:02:42 +0000

Wonderful op-ed piece written by 15-time NBA All-Star Shaquillle O’Neal on the importance of education. Link here to the USA Today web site: http://usat.ly/IvwhIQ.

It’s very refreshing to see such a high profile athlete walk the talk regarding education. The NBA has the “We Care” promotion that show NBA players visiting elementary schools and reading to kids. But the irony is that the majority of those athletes never finished or even go back to finish college. Shaq finished his undergraduate degree during his NBA career, then got his masters degree and has now received his doctorate.

With the success of after-school programs at THINK Together and the Boys and Girls Clubs, it is my hope that the statistic in Shaq’s quote below will not get any worse.

”Too many young kids — particularly black kids — are still dropping out of school way too early. This country will never compete globally when nearly one in four kids fails to complete high school on time.” -Shaquille O’Neal

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2012 Tournament Announced

Mark — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:45:37 +0000

UPDATE: Please see the 2012 Tournament page here.

EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! We are proud to announce the 2012 Charles Abbott Memorial Golf Tournament is to be held on Monday October 15th at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point. The Monarch Beach Golf Links is a part of the prestigious Dana Point St. Regis Resort (@StRegisMB) which is one of the most luxurious resorts in all of Southern California. With some personal connections and arm twisiting, we were able to secure some great rates for our tournament that will provide an even better tournament experience that we have been providing the last twelve years.

Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine treated us like kings for three years, but in order to continue our tradition of playing some of the other great golf courses in the Orange County area, we decided not to pass on this opportunity. We also looked at moving the tournament to Strawberry Farms in Irvine, Black Gold in Yorba Linda, as well as a few others, but landed on Monarch Beach. We hope you’ll join us on Monday October 15th for another great year.

Stay tuned for more announcements:
Like us on Facebook – www.facebook.com/charlesabbottfoundation
Follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/CAGolfTourney

Another Reason To Like THINK Together

Mark — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:24:37 +0000

Last week THINK Together (@THINK_Together) announced new members to their Board of Directors. New board members include auto legend Donnie Crevier, Smile Brands CEO Steve Bilt, technology executive Doug Antone, Ralphs Grocery Executive Kendra Doyel and THINK Alumni Paoloa Leon. What is absolutely great about these folks is simply their pedigree, their knowledge, their work experience and name recognition. With these names now associated with THINK Together, even more attention will be brought to THINK and this can only help improve THINK’s name recognition as one of the best after-school programs in the nation.

Read the full article in the Sacramento Bee here:

http://bit.ly/Ia7V36

PIMCO Volunteers

Mark — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:04:51 +0000

This is a fantastic blog post showing what a difference volunteering makes. Kudos to PIMCO Patners for giving more than just their money, but giving more than 15,000 hours of volunteer time to read to kids. Last month 160 PIMCO volunteers descended on four elementary schools in Santa Ana as participants in THINK’s “Royal Reader” Program. What a fantastic way for an organization to make a difference.

http://think-together.blogspot.com/2012/02/pimco-visits-think-together-in-santa.html

The Achievement Gap

Mark — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:52:21 +0000

THINK Together created an incredible animated short that covers the achievement gap that gives statistics as to why our children are failing in schools.

Did you know that:
Only 18% of low-income child of color go to college?
Of those 18%, only 9% graduate?

Did you know that:
In California 37% of high school students dropout?
Among African American’s in California, the dropout rate is 44%?

The answer to fix these numbers are providing successful after-school programs. Watch this compelling animate short on YouTube here:

THINK Together Book Doctors

Mark — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:31:10 +0000

Here is a sequence of pictures on the OC Register web site detailing that THINK Together will get their hands dirty with all sorts of volunteer projects. In this case, THINK’s Early Literacy Program repairs damaged books that are sanitized and then redistributed to kids and families to be read at home. What a simple and thoughtful way to help kids and their family enjoy some family reading time at home.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/books-337570-program-read.html?pic=1

B&G Club Reflections

Mark — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:29:05 +0000

Director of the Los Angeles Harbor Boys and Girls Clubs, Mike Lansing, briefly reflects on his years in the B&G Club as well the current years and the wonderful success they are experiencing.

http://www.bgclah.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-biddy-to-college-bound.html

THINK’s Olympic Games

Mark — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:49:45 +0000

THINK Together put on an Olympic Games type event at the Lakeland Elementary after-school program in Santa Fe Springs. This is just one of the many things that THINK does so well… combining after-school academics with fun and healthy activities.

Read the rest of the article at the Whittier Daily News site.

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/ci_19822775?IADID=Search-www.whittierdailynews.com-www.whittierdailynews.com

Got Milk?

Mark — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:44:59 +0000

Nadia Flores, the Director of Community Outreach for THINK Together, was honored for encouraging Latino families to eat healthier and exercise more. Great article on the OC Register about her award and her work with THINK.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/flores-337514-board-milk.html