January 2023 Recap: Education Month

January was the
Sharks Foundation's
Education month presented by
CalHOPE
! To kick off the month, the Foundation selected
Friends for Youth
(FFY) as the beneficiary for the
50/50 Raffle
presented by
Cache Creek Casino Resort
on January 7. FFY works to connect youth with a mentor that will empower them to live a healthier and more emotionally secure life. The $8,170 donation provided from the raffle will take 16 kids off their waitlist, and cover the costs to recruit, screen, and train mentors for them to be paired up with. Friends for Youth Development Associate and Alumni Mentee, Eunice Navarro explains "It's great to partner with organizations that are bigger than ourselves. It's encouraging and validating that we are doing good work."

On January 12, the Sharks Foundation partnered with
Western Digital
to provide a $30,000
Community Assist Grant
to
Scientific Adventures for Girls
to support their mission to dismantle systematic barriers to girls' participation in STEM.

Members of Team Teal and Western Digital packed 600 shark and hockey-themed STEM kits that will be distributed to female students in the After-School program at 20 elementary schools in West Contra Costa and Alameda counties on the last day of school to encourage continued learning over summer break. The kits will allow the girls to participate in fun and engaging activities such as making shark "rockets," exploring buoyancy by discovering the unique way sharks float, testing different mixtures and substances to make ocean slime, and using saltwater to create frost. The kits are designed to allow participation with the entire family!

From January 12-14, the Sharks Foundation hosted an auction featuring Sharks items and memorabilia. Net proceeds of $3,000 supported
Community School of Music & Arts
and their mission to provide access to high quality music and art education for all. The donation will assist them in providing weekly sequential art classes at nine Alum Rock Union School District schools, serving approximately 3,800 TK-8th grade students.
On January 13, the 50/50 Raffle presented by Cache Creek Casino Resort benefited
Summer Search
and their efforts to turn youth into thriving, financially stable adults with a strong sense of purpose in the world. Proceeds of $5,930 will support 101 high school seniors and 126 first-year, post-secondary students during the 2022-2023 school year. Summer Search Bay Area Executive Director Kenyon DeVault shared, "The (Sharks) Foundation's investment has been critical to our ability to remain an unwavering resource to our participants and ensures that more Bay Area young people will have access to the support, resources, and network they need to pursue their educational, professional, and life goals."
Then on January 16, the raffle benefited
Elevate Tutoring
and their goal to advance social justice for students by bridging economic and achievement gaps on the path to, and through, college. The raffle generated $3,385 which will support a scholarship for one of their Tutor Fellows. Each Tutor Fellow provides free tutoring to about 150 students in many different classrooms throughout their 210 hours in the program.

On January 17, the 2022-23
Anti-Bullying Program
presented by
Kaiser Permanente
kicked off with an exciting school visit to Norwood Creek Elementary with a special visit from Sharks defensemen
Erik Karlsson
, and team mascot
S.J. Sharkie
! This assembly-based program reaches 1st-3rd grade students and teaches them how to identify bullying, what it takes to be an upstander, and how to be a good teammate both in school and in the community.

In honor of the Sharks Lunar New Year Night on January 18, Sharks players wore custom jerseys during warm-ups created by local tattoo artist
Sarah Pham
. Pham is a first-generation Vietnamese American and San Jose native. She was excited to be able to create the design of this jersey and have the opportunity to transfer her experiences and culture over to a design that can be equally experienced by Sharks fans and the Bay Area's Asian community.

The jerseys were auctioned off and raised $13,500 for
Vitalant
to support their commitment to unite blood and biologics donors, talent, and innovation, to save and improve lives. Net proceeds from this auction will give Vitalant the opportunity to reach more donors and impact 125,000 lives through their work.
Additionally that evening,
Family Bridges
served as the 50/50 beneficiary. The raffle offered "Lucky Lunar New Year" special pricing of 88 tickets for $30 and raised $3,175 for the non-profit. The donation will support their mission to empower low-income, limited-English proficient, immigrant families to lead self-sufficient, independent lives by providing two children tuition assistance so they may attend Family Bridges' state-licensed childcare center.
On January 26, the Sharks Foundation presented a $25,000 Community Assist Grant to
Science is Elementary
(SiE) to expand their Books Project: Science of Sports Series, by creating, printing, and distributing 2,000 copies (including a Spanish version) of Jasmine and Jose Play Hockey, an inclusive STEM booklet where principles of hockey are integrated into science concepts that students can put into practice with provided materials included in an activity kit. In addition to the funds, members of Team Teal and CalHOPE packed the 2,000 kits to accompany the booklets which will be distributed to schools and community-based organizations supporting underserved youth across San Jose as SiE works to provide inspiring, innovative, high-quality science experiences to preschool and elementary school students who need it most.

From January 27-29, the Sharks Foundation hosted an auction featuring All-Star Game-themed items to celebrate the NHL's 2022-23 week in Florida. This auction benefited
Silicon Valley Urban Debate League
and their goal to support and empower high school students to become professional community leaders through speech and debate programming. Net proceeds of $2,900 will help them host their next fifteen-round speech and debate competition for up to 125 high school students of color from low-income backgrounds in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The donation will provide the food, transportation, judges, and materials needed to execute this event.
In total, the Sharks Foundation dedicated$95,060 and impacted 131,920 lives this January.