OnWatch TV supports SCORE, the students it serves and our communities year round. After the completion oour 2nd Annual HD Community Health Fair. I was sitting with my family playing dominoes. My wife who doesn’t play said she wanted to learn how to play the game. Of course I agreed that I would help her learn. Immediately following my statement, as I am prone to do, I thought about how I could help more students with scholarships. I told my wife that I was going to put together a domino tournament fundraiser for student scholarships. I reached out to Dennis of Cali Bones for advice on running a tournament. Once he heard about the purpose and cause of the tournament, he immediately offered his support and services to conduct the tournament. We discussed potential dates and locations. As a proud alum of Victor Valley College, I knew I wanted to host it there and expand the scholarship offering from 10th to 12th graders to include VVC students as well. Anyone who truly knows me, knows that aside from all of my college degrees, I hold VVC in high esteem as the turning point in my academic and professional career. You can read more about that here.
When I first imagined this, I knew I wanted to get the community involved. Afterall , it’s our students that these scholarships were meant to support. I envisioned a grand event in my mind and thought about a few potentially interested and influential folks that I would consider inviting on board for a collaborative effort. After some consideration, I called community collaborator Justified, knowing he honors fathers each year through his Fathers in Hip Hop Awards. As it turns out he was planning his award show to coincide with Father’s Day. We agreed that having the event the week before would allow fathers to participate while still having their celebratory events with family and friends during the actual Father’s Day weekend. Based upon a conversation we had months prior, we agreed that we wanted to also honor fathers who were returning to school at VVC. This was important to me as I was a father of three when at the age of 30, I began my academic career at VVC. I know all too well the sacrifice and determination it takes to raise a family while attending school full time. Not only was he on board immediately, but he suggested that we include Sylvia Romo, who has a talent for curating unforgettable car shows. We agreed on all accords and the idea was set.
I wanted to definitely include programs and clubs from VVC as a part of this event. For over 20 years it has been my honor to support students who planned to attend VVC or were attending VVC by conducting visits for high school students and community members, providing academic guidance, job placement, financial and moral support or whatever I could to assist them on the path to academic success. It was a no-brainer to reach out to the Outreach department at VVC as it is a part of their mission to connect with the High Desert community, and to promote higher education access. I also wanted to include the Umoja Program whose mission is similar with an emphasis and focus on African American students. After reaching out by phone in early February to both program directors and receiving confirmation that our June 7th fundraiser location was secured, the plan was set.
Like most of you reading this, my event collaborators and I usually have full calendars of events and other obligations. To ease the burden I put a week by week and monthly action plan together along with weekly online meetings to accommodate our diverse schedules. This approach was intentional as it would allow all parties to assume individual roles for our collective action. We had very productive weekly meetings. The vision was clear, the division of responsibilities was effective and essential to the plan. As hoped for, community organizations realized the mission and signed up to support our students as vendors, and participants.
Are you familiar with the phrase, Murphy’s Law? If not, there are a couple of ways to understand it, however the most common understanding of it is that, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Wouldn’t you know, with less than two weeks to go before the event, we received unsettling news that the event would not be able to take place at the college as planned. Not only was this a major blow to the whole scholarship drive, it was a threat to the reputations of all involved. Of course events at several locations have to be postponed or cancelled for one reason or another. However, when it comes to students, it’s difficult for me to envision them not having their needs met. Nevertheless, and despite the passion we all had for serving our community, this event was not going to happen at my beloved Victor Valley College.
As the coordinator, I had the unfortunate task of delivering this news to my event partners, Justified and Sylvia. None of us received the news well. We now had a very limited amount of time to find a suitable location that could accommodate a domino tournament, a full on car show, and an award ceremony along with attendees. It was a daunting task to consider for sure. After months of planning and perfect execution, this was exhausting news. However, there is no rest for the weary. We all resolved to scour our individual and collective contacts in an attempt to find a suitable location.
With time not on our side, we discussed possible options that wouldn’t pose logistical issues for what we had planned. We decided to set out individually on a mission to salvage the HD Domino Tournament, Car Show and the Father’s in Hip Hop Awards. Each of us would take time to find possible locations. The new location had to accommodate all the components of the event, it had to be family friendly as this was a community event, and it had to meet our budget requirements. A few days passed without a viable option. We were up against the clock but we remained determined. When the news broke that the original location of the event was a no go, my personal stance was that the event was going to happen. My resolve was rooted in the fact that for over three decades, every personal and professional goal I’ve set has been achieved. Although the outlook was bleak, I had no doubt that the event would happen. My team members echoed the sentiment. One phrase in particular that was mentioned during the discussion was, “if it’s in God’s plan for it to happen, it will.” I firmly believe that.
Despite success in the past and a positive outlook, the days were passing and the only option to that point was an establishment that was asking for more money than any of us wanted to pay collectively and definitely not individually. I have to say the venue was nice and a hospitable place that we had all frequented before. However, it posed a potential challenge to the car show in terms of permits for available parking spaces. We still had to consider it as an option. The asking price wasn’t in our favor, especially since we would still need to launch a new marketing campaign due the location change.
A lot of money had already been expended on marketing and advertisement with the initial location prominently featured on all flyers, posters, websites and webpages, not to mention the word of mouth campaign. Many hours were spent informing community members that the event would be held at VVC. There were hundreds of flyers placed on community poster boards, car windshields and in barber shops, beauty supply stores, auto shops, corner stores, business offices, restaurants, churches and more. The word was out but the location had to change. A great effort was put into replacing as many flyers with new ones and communicating with community members about the new location.
With days to go, I received news that the potential new location would not accommodate the domino tournament, it was a deal breaker for me. If we paid the exorbitant amount of money being asked, we would still have the car show on shaky ground. No one wanted to pay that much as it would defeat the purpose of fundraising for students scholarships.Talk began of possibly postponing the event, which none of us wanted to do, but the possibility of that reality loomed,
That same weekend, I opened discussions with the proprietor of a venue where I previously filmed a band performance for OnWatch TV and had since begun to frequent. I now had to wait to hear back as they would be out of reach for two days. I steadied my team to the best of my ability. I told them to give me two days. After a second negotiations meeting it was agreed that we had the green light to move the event there. It had everything we needed; an outdoor space large enough to accomodate the mobile stage for the Fathers in Hip Hop Awards as well as the car show. It also had enough indoor space to accommodate the domino tournament along with attendees. I was happy to share the news with my partners. We did a couple of walk throughs along with a final on site meeting. New flyers were printed and distributed and we proceeded with the event. Thank you to my new community partner Korri and the crew at Cosbeeracy, located in Hesperia, CA
As you may have seen from event photos and videos, all in attendance had a great time. Attendees were treated to an impactful live performance, there was an array of great cars on display, vendors provided quality and useful information about their programs and services, and those who entered the domino tournament had a blast. The games reminded me of growing up with family all around laughing and having a good time. New friends were made and new business relationships solidified. It was all captured and live streamed by OnWatch TV to its Roku, Amazon Fire Tv and VIDAA TV channels and to multiple social media sites as well as to OnWatch TV’s live stream page at www.onwatchtv.net/live-events
As the day ended I sat down with my event partners to assess the event as well as the journey. We resolved that we were satisfied that we stayed the course throughout, especially during uncertain times. We also were pleased that we put on an event for our community where everyone had a great time. We then discussed challenges that a late venue change presented us such as some groups that did not or were not able to attend due to the change of venue.During the event, we also received calls from some folks who didn’t receive news of the updated venue. Some went to the college and then joined us at the new location, while others went to the college and did not. I want to thank them for their intentions and support of our students.
The whole point of this collaboration was to come together to support struggling students and to recognize fathers. While the fathers who were chosen were recognized, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that we did not reach our goal for fundraising for our students. We have many students struggling who could use our financial support to get them through school and onto successful college and career pathways. Their needs range from needing food to eat, a place to sleep, money for books and school supplies and for some the need may be tuition cost. For others their needs may exceed what we are able to do. However, we remain dedicated to doing all we can to help them. If you are able to or you know someone else who can, please consider making a donation to SCORE’s struggling student scholarship fund. As one who was homeless as a high school student, I know first hand how financial support can help. It may have meant a secure place to live; a place where I didn’t have to scavenge for money just to sleep in a sketchy motel, or ride a bus into the wee hours of the night, traveling through unfamiliar and often dangerous areas, huddled against the rear seat next to the bus’s motor to stay warm; it may have meant I had a decent meal to eat. Blessedly, and not without great challenges and irreparable physical and emotional harm, I was able to survive it. As you may have read in the testimonial linked above, I was finally able to pursue my dream of a college education when I enrolled in college at the age of 30. I completed three degree programs and teacher credentialing courses in the minimum time required.
When I was a new teacher, I was hard on my students. I believed and insisted upon them that If I could make it through those rough times in Detroit and South Central L.A. as a teen they could make it through school too. If I could overcome being shot as a teen, drug addiction among family members and all around me in the community, if I could resist gang involvement and navigate the violence, If I could deal with being homeless as a junior and senior in highschool and still graduate then surely they could too. I thought I had all the right answers to what I initially saw as apathy on their part. I thought I was the best teacher for pushing them so hard. It wasn’t until I was five or six years into teaching that I shared this particular approach with my wife. She looked at me and said, “I want to tell you something.” She said, “I’ve known you since you were 17 years old. I’ve seen you overcome so much in life. You’ve been knocked down and you get right back up; you get doors of opportunity slammed in your face and denied what you rightfully earned, and you keep on going.” She said, “ I’ve seen you do this over and over and over again.” She told me I was the most resilient man she’s ever known.” She then said, "What if they can’t be as resilient as you everytime they get knocked down?” “What if they can’t get back up over and over again?” She said not everyone has that type of resilience, strength, and determination.
My life as a teacher and as a person was forever changed. I immediately changed my thoughts about students. I resolved that if they can’t do what I did as far as having a strong resilience, determination and resolve to succeed, then I would do my best to help them until they can. As a professor of education for the past 12 years, I’ve been sure to instill this approach in all of my teacher candidates. As a highschool teacher for over 20 years, I have shared with and implored my colleagues to do the same.
This fundraiser event was very personal for me. It was great to have a good time. I loved every minute of it. I love community building and fellowshipping. However, this goes beyond the fun, this is for a purpose. Our students need us. I continue to pledge to do all I can for them. I am humbly asking that you consider doing whatever you can to support them as well. Don’t give up on them like a few teachers did me when I was homeless and my grades began to drop. Unlike what was being said about me when I would fall asleep during my first period class, I wasn’t a lazy inner city kid who didn’t care. I usually just got to sleep at 3 am or 4 am after working all day to try to keep a motel room or to have ice in a cooler to keep my bologna and cheese cold and from sinking into the water. To sum it up, you never know who your students can become. Never determine your care for them based simply on what you can see with your eyes. They are still kids. Imagine what our community could become if we invested in them.
Thank you all who supported our event.Thank you all who pledged to support our scholarships fund for struggling students. Thank you all who are reading this and will donate to this worthy cause. You may do so here.