Dragon Kim Fellowship team shines a light

Though often taken for granted, street lights have a significant impact on communities. Not only do people feel safer in areas that are better illuminated, but statistics have also continuously proven that streetlights do ensure safety.

Seeing a need to improve lighting around San Juan Elementary School in their own San Juan Capistrano community, three teenagers created a public service initiative they called Illuminate Our Lives to address concerns of people walking in the area at night with the goal of improving lighting there, since it directly reduces night-time crime.

The teens are Gabriela Sanchez, 17, Italivi Diaz, 17, and Ulises Ramirez-Ruiz, 18, who all attend St. Margaret’s Episcopal School. Ulises had the idea to install lights because he knew how dark it is at the school at night and was worried about the safety of those walking in the area.

Last year, the teens were chosen for the competitive Dragon Kim Fellowship program of 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.

They received extensive training and a grant of up to $5,000 to implement the community project that eventually led to renovating 25 LED lights around the school campus.

Recently, a group of local officials, including Mayor John Taylor and school leaders, plus families and others, gathered at the school at dusk to celebrate the accomplishment and to cut a ceremonial ribbon under the bright new lights.

“The process of installing lights was a long one with lots of ups and downs, but it all started with a single idea we never gave up on,” said Gabriela during the event. “Throughout our project, we were faced with a lot of trial and error. At first, we tried contacting electrical companies and vendors, but we realized that because San Juan Elementary is public property, we could not directly install the light through them. Instead we had to turn to the help of the workers contracted by the school.”

Due to COVID restrictions, the teens began working with San Juan Elementary School Principal Carrie Bertini via Zoom. A few months into the process, they came to an agreement with the school by writing up a donation letter approved by the Dragon Kim Foundation, as well as the deadline for the installation by the end of year.

“Five months later, the work is done,” said project member Italivi Diaz. “San Juan Elementary School has better lighting all along Spring Street-- which will improve safety for the students and staff. We also want to thank our families, our mentor Austin Fan, and the Dragon Kim Foundation for supporting us and our goal.”

"What a beautiful event today to celebrate the successful conclusion of an important project,” said Grace Kim, Executive Director for the Foundation. “We are proud of the teens for all they've accomplished, contributing to San Juan Elementary School and the community.”

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

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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.