Neighbor News
Dragon Kim Foundation Announces 2021 Teen Service Projects
This year, there are 62 motivated teens together comprising 28 teams that were selected from California and Nevada high schools.
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, has announced the 28 teams selected for the 2021 Dragon Kim Fellowship Program. These 62 teenagers comprise the Foundation’s 5th Fellowship Class.
The creative social service projects were culled from more than 150 submitted by teens from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicities who attend more than 40 different high schools throughout California and, for the first time, in Nevada. The number of projects submitted this year surpassed 2020 by more than 40 percent. Approximately two-thirds of the finalists are girls and nearly half identify as Latinx.
The projects deliberately come from a broad spectrum of areas reflecting the diverse nature of the Fellowship Class and what these teenagers want to do to change their world. This year, projects range broadly from STEM, special needs, art, mental and physical healthcare, seniors, and food insecurity to environmental concerns, crafting, cooking, college readiness, upcycling, gaming, small business, and COVID-19.
Find out what's happening in Orange Countyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The teams receive three weekends of leadership training and hands-on guidance from invested professional. Then this summer, the teams will implement their projects, supported by grants of up to $5,000 from the Foundation. As always, the leadership training, which elsewhere can cost several thousand dollars, is provided for free to each Dragon Fellow. The projects have the potential of benefiting thousands of people, including many living in challenged neighborhoods.
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.
Find out what's happening in Orange Countyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
”We're so excited by the projects that have been selected this year from a growing competitive field and sincerely thank all of the students who submitted their creative entries to the 2021 Dragon Kim Fellowship Program,” said Dragon Kim Foundation Board Chairman Daniel Kim. “We thank our sponsors, mentors and other supporters for their belief in our program.”
"We look forward to another year of helping these teens bring attention to important issues in their communities that need changing, and enabling them to strive to do that," added Grace Kim, Executive Director for the Foundation.
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.