High Schoolers Adjust Social Services Projects Due to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic may be demanding, but it’s definitely not stopping 51 motivated students from 20 high schools across the state who are planning 23 social service projects that will benefit thousands of people, including many living in challenged neighborhoods and/or are experiencing homelessness.

The teens make up the 2020 cohort of the Dragon Kim Fellowship Program run by the Dragon Kim Foundation, an Orange County-based nonprofit - http://dragonkimfoundation.org - whose mission is to inspire our youth to impact their communities while discovering and pursuing their passions.

Fortunately, the Foundation’s fear of losing the intimate experience of prior years’ training weekends turned out to be unfounded, and the teens have accepted the temporary changes in their lives, naming their cohort the United Visionaries.

Instead of having them meet in person, the Foundation is connecting the teens via Zoom videoconferencing and Slack instant messaging for three weekends of leadership training and hands-on guidance from mentors from the community as they flesh out the projects they hope to implement this summer.

The teams are also socializing through Netflix parties or virtual scavenger hunts -- fun activities run by Fellowship Program Manager Arie Lugo. "It's been a challenge, having to use the Internet to bring together a team of high schoolers that, before this, didn't know one another, but it's been really fun as well," said Lugo.

”We’ve had to be creative to keep our Fellows safe while helping them prepare their important projects,” said Dragon Kim Foundation Board Chairman Daniel Kim. “Fortunately, they have all grown up in the digital era and are quite adept at using computer-based communications tools and smart phones. The Fellows, all sheltered at home right now, seem to be hungering for this. They're relishing this opportunity to work on positive change in these anxious times."

Each of the projects will be supported by Foundation grants of up to $5,000. As always, the leadership training, which elsewhere can cost several thousand dollars, is provided for free to each Dragon Fellow.

The projects deliberately come from a broad spectrum of areas reflecting the diverse nature of the Fellowship Class and what the teens want to do to change their world. Many are relevant to the challenges of the times, including STEM, healthy living, and racial and cultural tolerance projects. Some projects have been modified to be immediately helpful during the pandemic.

At the end of the program, the top teams will present their projects to a panel of esteemed judges at the annual Dragon Challenge. One team will win additional funding to continue their project.

The Fellowship was founded in 2015 in honor of the late Dragon Kim, a talented young musician, athlete and scholar who wanted to help others. It has become a seedbed for the next generation of creative thinkers and entrepreneurs who want to create positive change.

For more information, visit http://dragonkimfoundation.org.

About the Dragon Kim Foundation

The Dragon Kim Foundation was established in 2015 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by Grace and Daniel Kim to honor the memory of their late son Dragon Kim, who had been attending the Orange County School of the Arts. The mission of the Dragon Kim Foundation is to inspire our youth to impact their communities while discovering and pursuing their passions. Visit the website at http://dragonkimfoundation.org.