On July 31, students from Mountain View Elementary performed at the Woodcraft Rangers Excellence Gala at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo. The Gala offered a night of fine dining and entertainment in which all proceeds benefitted the programs of Woodcraft Rangers. Youth participants had the opportunity to showcase their hard work at an event to promote the agency while mingling with celebrities and honorees. Included in this year’s program was Woodcraft Rangers alumni and ESPN radio host Marcellus Wiley, one of many guests to receive awards during the night.

CEO Chris Johnson said, “Woodcraft Rangers’ Nvision programs offers a myriad of opportunities to have youth express themselves. By having our youth perform at the Gala, it gives the opportunity to the students we serve to show their talents and express their flair to an exceptional audience.”

Mountain View’s dance team, coached by Andrea Alejo, is one the many clubs that Nvision offers. The team has performed at the Granada Hills Holiday Parade and Woodcraft Rangers’ Annual Spirit Jam dance event. The Nvision program at Mountain View Elementary also offers a variety of other enrichment activities such as the digital media club, which creates the weekly newsletter Woodcraft Times, sports with free tournaments on weekends, urban dance and kindergarten activities including recreation and arts & crafts.

“We get outstanding support from Woodcraft Rangers and the on-site staff is excellent and they have a great rapport with our teachers, parents, staff, and administration,” said Mountain View Elementary Principal Richard Guillen.

All program activities at Woodcraft Rangers embody the new Common Core Standards.

The Nvision programs of Woodcraft Rangers involve children and youth (aged 5-18) daily, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in over 60 schools including the foothills communities of Sunland and Tujunga. Woodcraft Rangers has been serving local youth for over 92 years.

For further information, call (213) 249-9293 or woodcraft@woodcraftrangers.org. To learn more about Woodcraft Rangers go to www.woodcraftrangers.org.

Contributed by David PEREZ