Posts Categorized: News

Teen Activist Arden Pala Wins Sodexo Grant and Partners with Starbucks to Combat Childhood Hunger

San Diego, CA, February 27, 2024 – Arden Pala, a dedicated 9th-grade student at Francis Parker School, is making remarkable headway in the battle against childhood hunger through his non-profit organization, Sports4Kids. The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation has recognized Arden’s commitment by awarding him a Youth Grant through Youth Service America (YSA), which supports his …

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Aspen Institute Announces 2024 Service Learning Through Sports Grant Recipients

MICRO-GRANTS TO HELP YOUTH SERVE THEIR COMMUNITY As proud recipients of a grant from The Allstate Foundation, the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program will support youth committed to making sport and play more accessible in their community. Inspired by our School Sports Equity Toolkit, Service Learning through Sports is a one-year program that provides …

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San Diego’s Most Remarkable Teens for 2023 Honored

The San Diego County Public Defender’s Office announced its list of 25 Most Remarkable Teens from around San Diego County and recognized them at a special ceremony Thursday. “In a world that’s constantly evolving, a group of remarkable teenagers is illuminating the path toward an inspiring future,” said Interim Public Defender Katherine Braner. “These young …

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14-year-old Volunteer Brings Sports To Schools In San Diego Wihtout Athletic Programs

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Arden Pala. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. At a young age, Arden Pala started volunteering with his family, and he immediately was hooked. Now, at the age of 14 years old, he is the founder of his …

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Column: ‘Incredible’ teen Arden Pala uses basketball to connect with kids, has a heart for the homeless

Program at Perkins K-8 School in Barrio Logan has opened doors for kids facing housing and financial challenges Rarely are you blown away in this business. In a sports world filled with bloated paychecks and equally out-of-proportion egos, self-aggrandizing agendas and look-at-me social media flexing, it’s easy to become jaded. Then you meet Arden Pala. …

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12-year-old filmmaker produces documentary on homelessness in San Diego

The 7th grader named his documentary “A Second Chance” after hearing stories of people from all walks of life. SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A 12-year-old Francis Parker student released a documentary about homelessness he produced all on his own.  The 10-minute documentary is called, “A Second Chance” and highlights stories of people from all …

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Rancho Bernardo 12-year-old seeks to help the homeless with his own documentary

While many people look away from the homeless population in San Diego, Arden Pala looks right at them. Although he’s just 12 years old, Arden wanted to do something to help. The result is a documentary, “A Second Chance,” which he wrote and directed. Arden Pala (Zeynep Ilgaz) San Diego has the fifth largest homeless …

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