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>>> Good evening.
I'm José Cárdenas.
We will talk about a program in
Glendale making sports,
mentors, and tutors accessible
to teens and kids.
Plus, learn about
an ASU student's idea to perk
up campus plant life in an
environmentally conscious way.
And at-risk youth get the
opportunity to play the sport
of handball.
All this, coming up next on
"Horizonte."
>>> Funding for "Horizonte" is
made possible by contributions
by the friends of eight,
members of your Arizona PBS
station.
>>> Thank you for joining us.
The Glendale Youth Project,
known as GYP, is an
organization helping at-risk
youth.
GYP provides a positive outlet
for exploring new
opportunities.
Joining me now to talk about
the program is founder and
director Carlos Meza.
Also here is Lena Meza, also a
founder of GYP.
Thank you both for joining us
on "Horizonte."
Carlos, as I understand, GYP,
Glendale youth project, this
all grew out of something you
started almost 20 years ago.
Tell us about that.
>> I started about 1996 out of
my house.
I started with the boy scout
pack and people from the
Glendale P.D.
They approached me and asked me
if I wanted to start a boy
scout pack.
I was young and I said, yeah,
I'll do it.
So I went on, I did it for five
years.
At that time, those kids were
five years old so when they
turned about five, they were
about 10, about 10 years old so
they started getting to sports
so that's when I started
kicking in, started doing
basketball, baseball.
>> Boxing.
>> Boxing yeah, I started
boxing.
In 1998 I started a boxing gym
out of my house where I was
averaging about 14 to 15 kids,
little small house that I grew
up at my grandma's right there
in the Glendale neighborhood.
And we took it from there.
>> And why?
What was the motivation for
getting involved because all
this time, you worked at the
Glendale school district.
High school district.
You have a day job and you're
doing this at night.
What is it that made you want
to do this?
>> I guess I love working with
kids and I guess I grew up in a
neighborhood and a lot of my
friends and their brothers were
going to prison or turning into
*** addicts and I didn't
that, a lot of these kids that
I got attached to doing boy
scouts.
When I started boy scouts I got
attached to these kids.
I fell in love with it and I
wanted to give more and more
and that's why we started doing
it.
>> And Lena, you're cofounder.
>> Uh-huh.
>> As Carlos said, you guys
were doing this out of your
house?
>> Yeah.
We started out of our house.
It goes back to, you know,
Carlos doesn't have a father,
and I think he's always had
that passion to, you know, lead
kids, show them the better way.
We were always involved in a
program with council member
Norman Alvarez.
It was called show them a
better way and we were with
that program for years, and I
think Carlos just got hooked
and there was kids that really
looked up to him.
He became a mentor really fast,
and I think that's when we
really kicked off.
So our house yeah, his
grandparents passed away, left
us their house in the heart of
Glendale, smack in the middle
of the barrio and kids were in
and out of our house.
We always had the -- our park
is in the middle, two houses to
the right we have a community
center, one house to our left
we have a park.
So we would take the kids, have
them just walk all the
equipment over to the park,
have practice, come back to the
house and unload, and then it
was just an open rec.
>> And I understand that you
mentioned you've got the
Glendale recreation center just
a few feet away, a few houses
away.
And Glendale came to you
because they noticed your place
was full.
>> Yeah.
>> And there were not very many
people using the recreation
center.
>> Yeah.
Me and Carlos both had
full-time jobs so it was just
to
at night, we finally said
you know what?
Why don't we just become our
own organization?
So we became the Glendale youth
project.
We gutted out the house, Carlos
actually -- I can't take any
credit for it.
He would go yard saling and he
found pool tables, ping-pong
tables, we would go
yard-saling, so we got the
center going.
>> You made your own center
basically, your house.
At some point you expanded to
use the Glendale facility?
>> Yes.
>> And we've got a few pictures
that we want to put up on the
screen showing the kids there
and what they're doing.
Basketball in this picture and
I think we have a shot of
indoors what the kids are
doing.
This is a volleyball team?
>> This is our volleyball team,
our fourth through sixth grade
team.
>> We didn't make it to
championships but daisy, the
one in the glasses over to the
right-hand side, he was on our
volleyball team for the last
four years.
She's now a sophomore in high
school and she approached us.
So like I was mentioning
before, our purpose is to have
our younger kids, all our
smaller ones at the bottom,
hopefully, when they can't into
high school, I want them to
coach our younger guys so it's
like a cycle.
>> We've got a few more
pictures that we'll be showing
as we talk, another one of the
volleyball team.
As I understand it, that's a
big part of the program is you
get the kids who have been
through it to start working
with you and got another shot.
I take it some of these older
kids are involved helping you
coach.
>> That's a special guest.
>> He's the light weight mma
fighter.
>> Which person?
The one in the middle?
>> In the back.
>> And that is harper in the
back and they're also my teen
leaders now and they coached
the basketball team.
>> As I understand it, to this
day, this is all volunteer
effort.
>> All volunteer.
>> What role does the vote
play?
They provide the facility?
>> That's all pretty much.
They provide the facility.
The director for the parks and
recreation, he opened up the
door for us to pretty much run
all our programs and the
community center.
>> And so are you still using
your house?
>> Not no more.
>> You got it in this modern
facility, you're running these
programs.
And Lena I understand it's not
just sports.
You provide other services for
these kids?
>> So Carlos does the sports.
We have open rec.
So anyone is welcome in and
out.
It's not just the Glendale
area.
>> You're talking recreation.
>> Yes, we have cheer, we have
hip hop, we have boy scouts, we
have the mighty rangers, and
then we have a girls group.
So my daughter is teaching the
girls group and she's just, you
know --
>> Hang out and just talk.
>> You know, just proper
etiquette, manners, being
lady-like.
They talk about hygiene,
just -- we have a weight room
in the city in the facilities
so some of our high school kids
just come and hang out and they
left weights in there.
Carlos does boxing out of
there.
>> How many kids do you think
you touch in any given year?
>> Daily, daily I would say
anywhere from 60 to 70 come
rolling in and out of the
center.
Just football alone, we have
six teams and 25 on each team.
Our volleyball team we have two
volleyball teams and those
are -- one has -- they range
from 15 girls.
We have basketball teams that
range from 15 kids per team and
we have five teams.
So I would say maybe active,
Glendale youth project kids
that are rotating between
sports and programs, about 350
kids.
>> So we've talked a lot about
the kids.
What about the parents, Carlos?
Any involvement by them or what
kind of reaction do you get
from them?
>> We got some real good
parents that have been involve
with us like the harpers, lupe
harper.
They've been part of our life,
too.
I started coaching harper and
Manny when they were six, seven
years old.
And they've been with us since
then.
And they're a big part of it.
>> Coach Stacy.
>> Coach Stacy.
Lupe, dominguez.
>> It's very much a community
effort.
>> Exactly, it's a community
effort.
>> And where do you get
funding?
How do you provide for all of
this?
>> Our funding comes just from
our parents, our own
fundraisers.
We do a lot of car washes, a
lot of bake sales.
We do like this weekend, we're
going to have a horseshoe
tournament to raise money for
our spring football program.
>> But our main right now is
just we have a huge support
system with councilman ian
Hugh, he's been amazing.
>> He's been a blessing to us.
>> He came to us and, you know,
he did -- we didn't have a
ping-pong table so he kind of
went to the center just to see
what was going on and he says
what are these kids playing
with?
You don't have any ping-pong
tables.
He took us out and we got
basketballs, footballs,
basketball courts like the
stand up courts.
>> We have the website up on
the screen.
I assume people can go there
and get more information?
Make contributions if they
want?
>> Www.Glendaleyouthproject.com.
And money, we don't only ask
for money donations.
Used items, I tell Carlos all
the time, if you come across
anyone and they have used
basketballs, used board games,
anything they can just drop
off, we can use.
Right now, we're looking for
sponsorships so if they don't
want to just -- it's 100%
deductible but if they want to
sponsor a teen versus, you
know, just hey, here's a check
to help your organization, we
would rather somebody give us a
check to sponsor a basketball
team, because we have a lot of
kids that are coming to us on
scholarships that can't pay to
get on sports.
And, you know, it costs us
about $10 to get a shirt and if
we're going to get a team
together, it gets pricy.
We have to have equipment for
the coaches to practice with.
We have to have basketball
shorts and footballs, that's a
whole beast in itself.
>> Carlos we're almost out of
time so last question.
We talked a little bit
off-camera about the drug
problem in this area and it
seems to me that makes this
program all the more important.
How are you dealing with that?
>> I think that's one of my
reasons why I target so much
because a lot of my friends,
they became *** addicts or
went to prison and I want that
to happen anymore.
And our goal is to get these
kids educated.
Go to the service, go to
college or even a trade school.
You don't have to go to ASU, U.
of A.
You don't have to go to a top
college but become an A.C.
tech.
A.C. tech makes decent money in
Arizona.
Just become a good, moral
person in life.
>> And this gives them a way to
do that.
>> Exactly.
>> Thank you both so much for
joining us on "Horizonte" talk
about this wonderful program.
>> Appreciate it.
>>> ASU is committed to
minimizing waste through its
zero-waste campus initiative.
Producer Shana Fischer and
photographer Steve Snow tell us
about Grounds for Grounds, an
ASU student's idea to perk up
campus plant-life in an
environmentally conscious way.
>> He begins his day like most
of us, with coffee.
But he isn't drinking his.
He's collecting it.
>> Grounds for grounds is a
campus-wide recycling program
and we recycle the used coffee
grounds that come from aramark
and other cafes.
>> Vincente and his group
collect the used coffee
grounds, nearly 500 pounds each
week.
They're a perfect addition to
enrich the soil.
>> The idea of coffee grounds
is they feed the microbes that
are found in soil and they feed
on the protein content and they
give the nitrogen to the
plants.
>> Vincente came up with the
idea after seeing how well they
work on his own lawn and
garden.
He picked the idea to the
hospitality company that
provides food and supplies to
ASU dining.
They jumped at the chance to
become a part of this eco
friendly project.
>> The food industry in general
is very intensive in waste and
energy and water so it's
important we constantly week
ways to minimize our impact.
We're all very proud of it.
You can smell the coffee in the
flower beds and you can see how
vibrant they are and we can be
happy that that's a result of
the work we do and the
partnerships we have on campus
and that we are making not only
the campus a more beautiful
place but on a more global
level helping to make the world
just a little bit more
sustainable.
>> Vincente has won several
awards for the grounds for
grounds program but for him
it's seeing how well the plants
and flowers flourish that's the
real prize.
>> We do see a difference in
our planters.
We've been focusing them on our
flower beds recently and the
flower beds that we're using
them on, we see more organisms
inside, more bugs, more earth
worms, and, of course, the
plants look better but the fact
that we see more life within
our soil is a good sign.
>> It makes me proud.
Makes me a proud student, a
proud employee because I have
given back to my university and
yeah, just makes me feel proud.
>> The Grounds for Grounds
program is just one way ASU is
trying to reduce waste on
campus.
The entire campus aims to be a
zero-waste campus by 2015.
>>> Here at "Horizonte" we want
to hear from you.
If you have comments, story
ideas or questions, e-mail us
at horizonte@asu.edu.
>>> Success 4 Kids helps youth
with the opportunity to play
the sport of handball in a safe
and structured environment.
Joining me tonight to talk
about the program is James
Reitmyer, coach and mentor for
Success 4 Kids, and Ken
Dannenbaum, co-founder of
Success 4 Kids.
Gentlemen, thank you for
joining us on "Horizonte."
Let's start, ken, with the
founding of this program.
How did it begin?
>> We started this program
about 10 years ago, a young man
named Jerry Bernard who happens
to be my age, I decided to help
grow handball and help them
become better people.
>> Why handball?
There are many ways to help and
you chose this one in
particular.
>> Are well we both played
handball and we have a passion
for handball.
And there are eight handball
courts at every school in
western and south Phoenix.
Every high school in Phoenix.
And every day at the schools on
the west and south side of
Phoenix there's approximately
100 kids playing handball,
unorganized, maybe not playing
by the rules but playing.
So we realized that that was a
very easy transition for us
took back in.
>> Interest was already there.
>> Interest was already there.
>> And you guys got involved
with a little bit of a
different focus which was
indoor handball.
>> And the reason we did that
was because 98% of the people
that play four wall indoor
handball are on an extremely
positive path in life.
Today, these kids are playing
big ball outside, and there's
not quite as many people on a
positive path in life.
We try to transition them from
the three wall game to the
indoor game.
We take them to various
tournaments across the country
so they can interact with other
kids, and then they see how
successful they can be.
98% of people who play handball
are on a positive path in life.
>> I want to talk about some of
the successes your program has
had with some of these kids.
But one of the reasons for
handball as opposed to let's
say basketball or football is
it's kind of a great equalizer.
Anybody can play it.
>> It's one of the most -- we
call it the perfect game.
You can play it indoors,
outdoors, there's so many
different types of handball, as
well.
Ken touched on two of the major
ones but we have one wall with
the big ball, one wall with a
small play, it's Ireland's
national game and it's a game
you can play almost in a
gymnasium.
>> It doesn't matter how big or
small you are.
>> It seems like some of the
smaller guys get around the
court faster than the big guys.
It's a phenomenal game.
Been playing it for 55 years
myself and still play the game
and love it.
>> Let's talk a little bit
about some of the other
organizations involved in the
sport itself and how you
interact with them.
There's the United States
handball association.
>> United States handball
association is our major
company that we represent and
they provide coaching,
instructions, and
certifications.
And then the newest
organization, world players of
handball, wph, both of them you
can find online, they basically
are driving the game of
handball because a lot of
people say it's a dying sport
but I will be now it's a very
fast-growing sport.
>> And right now, you're
focused on three high schools.
>> We're focused on three high
schools.
There's about I would say 12
schools in the Phoenix area
that have eight to 12 courts.
And kids are playing there
every day.
So what we're trying to do is
find out how many players there
are, and try to guide them into
a competitive position.
You can start in elementary
schools, too, which is another
avenue we're looking for.
>> What is your involvement?
How many people are involved?
There's a number of coaches.
>> Our executive director Todd
Hollister and I are going to
two basic high schools right
now and we're going to try to
get our foot in the door with a
third, carl Hayden and we try
to find out how many kids are
just having fun on a lunch hour
and who would like to make it
more of a competitive game and
learn the rules of the game.
>> Once or twice a week.
>> Exactly.
>> And who are the other two
schools.
>> North high school and south
melon high school.
>> Now, ken, you touched on
this a little bit and tim has
mentioned the success, as well,
but your program, you've
touched several hundred kids
over the 10 years or so that
you've been involved.
You've produced some pretty
serious competitors.
>> Yes, we have.
We have a young man, went to
south mountain high school, he
won the national a division
championship two or three years
ago.
There are only 15 people that
can say they ever won a
national championship in the a
division in handball, maybe 20,
and we have other students that
have done very, very well.
We have young men and women who
have gone through college.
They've graduated through the
game of handball.
I talked to one of them's
parents last week and he's
number three in his class at
Maryville high school and he's
now an engineer, works for
adot.
We have another young man who
got a full ride scholarship to
Arizona state and we have
people that are on a positive
path in life.
One of our young man from a few
years ago, Richard and I were
very good friends and he's a
very good handball player and
he now works for the sheriff's
department.
One day Richard, I used to have
a ford lightning pickup.
It will go zero to 60 in 5.3
seconds and I used to lend my
truck out to my kids and one
time Richard said thank you for
letting me use the truck.
I have two rules, the first
rule is that you be careful and
the second is that there's no
drinking and he said don't
worry, I don't drink.
I said what do you mean?
I've heard you talk about
drinking before.
He says yeah but if you play
handball, you can't drink.
>> And that's a big part of the
program right.
Because in addition to teaching
kids how to play the game,
exposing them to the
competitive aspects of it, as I
understand it you have life
coaches, as well.
>> That's correct.
>> Tell us about that.
>> We have a young lady, Alicia
Cooper, she's a life coach.
She's talked to our young men
about nutrition.
We hope to have her talk to our
people a couple of times every
two months or so.
She's allowing us to show the
video to all of the handball
groups around the country.
What I do, I'm 65 years old, I
had to quit playing the game
five years ago.
I don't teach very much about
handball anymore.
I leave that to jim.
Jim's 75 years old and he
can --
>> I don't believe it.
You look terrific, maybe
handball's the secret.
So other people watching the
program, that will be part of
it.
>> There are very few kids that
can beat jim in handball.
So I focus on life skills.
So one of the first things we
do is when we go out, we go to
a tournament, we talk about the
proper way to eat so we always
talk about your left hand goes
in your lap and this is the
hand that you eat with and you
can't put this one up here and
you can't go to sleep on the
table and things like that.
That's really huge.
I go to restaurants today and I
see young men and women, very
good-looking young men and
women and they're crunched over
like this eating and it looks
like they're at the chow hall
in southeast Asia which they're
not.
We teach them things like that.
>> Let me ask tim about that.
It's hard for me to believe
that you're 75, you look
terrific but what kind of
reaction do you get from the
kids when you talk about the
other stuff?
I can understand why they would
be excited about the sports
part of it but at least
initially do you see them
rolling their eyes and
wondering why you're even
talking about this stuff?
>> The sports part is a blast,
it's a fun thing to do.
But it gives me as a coach
along with our other coaches a
chance to physically, you know,
and mentally interact with one
another.
I talk about nutrition, I talk
about --
>> And when you talk about that
kind of stuff, what kind of
reaction do you get?
>> They agree.
They think it's a good idea and
in order to qualify for a
travel team, you have to have
good grades, you've got to
have -- I ask them regularly
how's your grades coming?
Well, we've got a little work
to do.
So we talk about that.
The kids are not -- they're
gaining some weight, we're
trying to monitor that and
we're trying to do everything
we can to just put them on a
positive path, not just to be
better handball players because
we can do drills all day long.
You've got to eat right, you
have to be in physically good
condition and have good habits.
>> So they respond.
>> And they absolutely love
Dr. cooper's presentations.
They were just flabbergasted.
>> We're almost out of time.
We did put the website up on
the screen.
How can people get involved and
how can they help?
>> Well, if they can send their
donations in to one of those
addresses, then we can reach
kids more.
We can reach more children.
More kids.
We do get funding from the usha
and various grants, the jake
plumber foundation is one of
the people that contributes
every year for us.
Jake plumber's a handball
player.
>> And if people want to get
involved in actual instruction,
they can do that, too?
>> They can do that also
because we need coaches.
>> We're looking for
volunteers.
>> We're out of time, thank you
for having us.
>> That is our show for
tonight.
From all of us here at eight
and "Horizonte," I'm José
Cárdenas, have a good night.
>>> Funding for "Horizonte" is
made possible by contributions
by the friends of eight,
members of your Arizona PBS
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>>> Ever wonder what makes a
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Or would you like to find out
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The event and activity info is
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