GANJOSE
Dear City of San Jose Councilmembers,
My name is Antonia Pimentel, anc I'm the Acting Executive Director for the San Jose Police Activities League. I have been involved with PAL in various capacities for the last 15 years. Both of my kids were involved in PAL programs for many years. One of the reasons I'm so passionate about PAL and its mission, is because of how PAL positively influenced my kids during their formative years.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss some of the wonderful programs at PAL. I wish I could be here in person but today happens to be my birthday and I'm out of town for the weekend.
Traditionally, this is the busiest time of year at PAL. Currently, PAL has open registration for soccer, cheerleading, and football. These programs will start in July. At present, we are providing coed football camps, soccer clinics and a baseball league. Our Boxing and Tae Kwon do programs are running at full capacity. A total of approximately 400 kids are participating in these programs with the assistance of 50 adult volunteers.
Although historically PAL's primary focus has been youth sprots, PAL recognizes there is great opportunity to develop programs or collaborate with other organizations to further serve the community.
PAL has recently formed a partnership with Latinas Contra Cancer. They have begun to host a series of workshops at PAL lasting four weeks.
Furthermore, PAL was able to promote and host an event that provides low-cost internet services to qualified individuals. As part of the program, PAL will host a 3-day class on internet instruction.
Individuals who complete the class will be eligible to receive a laptop computer at no cost.
In the past, PAL hosted the Parent Project, which was usually facilitated by a San Jose Police Officer.
This program provided immense benefit to families and PAL hopes to bring this program back to our location in the near future.
Although PAL's financial situation is stable, during the next 12 months, PAL will aggressively seek funding via grants. I have recently completed and submitted applications to Costco, PGE, Santa Clara Valley Water Company, and Kroger. Also, I just opened an account with the City of San Jose to apply for City grants.
We have also started to actively attend various local community and business events with the intention of networking and building relationships that have a high likelihood of leading to sources of revenue, donations, or grants.
PAL has also been exploring the possibility of hosting revenue generating one day events at PAL. For instance, a Lucha Libre wrestling event or a community orientated music concert.
In orderto ensure PAL remains successful in serving the families in the community, it is essential that PAL recruit individuals who have the passion and experience that aligns with PAL's mission. The executive board has been actively recruiting candidates who will enhance the board's ability to provide governance to the organization. Likely, 3 to 4 new board members will be joining the board within the next 6 to 12 months. In addition, it would be beneficial to have San Jose Police Officers join the board. PAL has a goal of recruiting 4 to 6 officers.
We are very excited about the future of PAL. Even though we are already providing numerous programs to members of the community, we are constantly looking for additional programs to enhance the quality of life of our families.
In closing, I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. At PAL, we value collaboration, and we are committed to working with the City to implement and sustain worthwhile programs that benefit families within our community.
Thank you for your time,
Antonia Pimentel
San Jose PAL, Acting Executive Director