Templo Calvario Community Development Corporation

Operation of community development programs:the banking on our youth program (boy) is a highly effective financial literacy and entrepreneurship program designed to help young people improve their understanding of financial concepts and services. The program aims to empower young people to make informed financial decisions, enabling them to improve their financial well-being while equipping them with the necessary leadership, teamwork, and entrepreneurship skills to succeed academically and financially. In line with our vision, tccdc created boy, an 8-month financial literacy and entrepreneurship program to provide high school juniors and seniors with the knowledge and tools to effectively shift the long-standing economic narrative among low- and moderate-income families and set a strong foundation for long-term economic mobility. After witnessing the tremendous impact this program has had on youth in santa ana for the past seven years, tccdc's strategic efforts this past year included expanding boy and other programming to other divested communities in orange county. Tccdc is proud to share that last year, for the first time, the boy program expanded to serve students from across the county! Legado academy - in response to the needs expressed by our families and community partners, last year tccdc made the strategic decision to merge its successful parenting and financial education initiatives into a single, comprehensive program called legado academy and to leverage our partnerships with community-based organizations to extend the reach of our programming. By focusing on two key drivers of economic mobility parent education and financial literacy and harnessing the power of collaboration with like-minded organizations, legado academy is empowering individuals and families to overcome financial stress, promoting generational financial health, and fostering long-term family resiliency. During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, tccdc hosted 15 cohorts, reaching 142 individuals across 8 sites throughout orange county! Our community partners included kidworks, girl scouts orange county, vista heritage global academy. These partnerships have been so well received that existing partners are looking to offer additional sessions and new community organizations are eager to partner with us. In just one year of offering this comprehensive program model, tccdc witnessed greater participation rates, less dropouts, and a greater impact on participants as evidenced by testimonials from our participants. To honor the individuals who completed legado academy during 2023-2024, tccdc hosted a graduation ceremony complete with caps and gowns for the first time. This year, tccdc looks forward to further advancing this program to address barriers to financial stability, break the cycle of poverty, and promote equity within orange county while supporting families in building a legacy by continuing to expand program offerings across orange county through community partnerships. Empowered scholars: during the 2023-2024 school year, tccdc served 268 ebc students through the empowered scholars program, an afterschool program that provides social, emotional, cognitive, and academic supports as well as leadership programs, sports, mentorship, and other enrichment opportunities delivered at critical times when children may otherwise be left at home unsupervised. By working to advance equity in education and halt the widening achievement gap among students from economically marginalized backgrounds in santa ana, empowered scholars effectively strengthens the bridge between school, parents, and the community to provide a pathway for students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds to remain on track towards pursing higher education. This past year featured a number of partnerships that enhanced programming for our students including girl scouts who partnered with empowered scholars to host a troop for students, child creativity lab who hosted a family steam night, second harvest food bank of orange county who provided daily snacks for students and monthly food distribution for the community, and parentis foundation whose 25 tutors supported 51 students through their reading program. Additionally, empowered scholars partnered with vanguard university to offer 10 internship positions for students studying education, nursing, and social work, bringing additional support for our students. Further, empowered scholars continued its popular summer camp and hosted 196 ebc students from june 10 to july 11. This camp featured fun fridays with different vendors, a reptile zoo, water day, rock wall and bungee jump, master mind gaming, and a food frenzy. Lastly, in response to the needs of our families, empowered scholars began providing transportation from our afterschool program to the students' homes, addressing pick up issues and enabling students to remain in the program. Empowered scholars looks forward to continuing to support our ebc students in a safe and supportive environment.