Summer Fiesta: Full Circle

We would like to send out a huge thank you to everyone who came to our Summer Fiesta this last Sunday, June 26th, to celebrate 10 years of success with us! A special shout out to Grooveline (instagram: @groovelinesd) for bringing the energy and playing some great throwbacks, to Omar and Christian for cheffing up over 500 tacos, and to all the volunteers who made the day possible!

Something that made this event particularly special was that it brought several sponsors and students together for the first time. Due to the pandemic in recent years, many students haven’t met their sponsors, so today was a great way for our sponsors and their students to get together and get to know each other better over a game of corn hole, or while waiting in line for tacos.

A few of these sponsors at the event were even former ABFK students who have now come full circle and sponsor, and mentor, their own students! Brianna Diaz, UCLA class of 2019, was a mentee at ABFK and now sponsors three kids of her own! It’s really moving to see students of our own spreading their wings and succeeding, but despite having flown far from their nest they still remember their home, and have come full circle - giving back to the family that helped them when they were in need.

Something that makes these types of student to sponsor relationships exceptionally powerful is that the sponsor can relate on an even deeper level and cater to their students' needs, because they went through it themselves. At the Fiesta, Brianna mentioned that she felt the need to give back to A Bridge for Kids because she sees a lot of herself in her own students. This idea was the dream that started A Bridge for Kids. ABFK’s founder, Mike Nance, built the organization around the idea that when he was a kid this would be something that he would have benefited greatly from. Seeing students who were sponsored grow up to sponsor their own students is so inspiring and instills hope for years to come.