Arden Pala, Founder & CEO
My name is Arden Pala and I founded Sports4Kids. I am a 14 year-old San Diegan, and I attend Francis Parker High School located in Linda Vista. One of my many passions is to give back to the community, and I grew up surrounded by excellent figures who supported and inspired me to help the community. My first act of volunteering was at a dinner serving at Interfaith. Throughout all my volunteering , I slowly developed a love for giving back.
One specific time at a dinner serving, someone living in the shelter told me what his life was like before moving into the shelter. He lived in one of the many homeless communities in San Diego, and instead of a home ,he lived under a bright blue tarp.
This story blossomed my passion to help the homeless, and I started to take action.
I wrote three books, Noah’s Flying Car , about a young boy named Noah visiting various countries with his friends. I donated all of the proceeds from all three of the books to Interfaith and other homeless targeted organizations. After publishing three books, I wanted to focus on another project to bring more awareness to the issue. However, during this same time, the pandemic had spread to millions of people, and the US was forced into quarantine. The only option to bring more awareness to homelessness was to create something digital. Therefore, I produced and directed a ten-minute documentary focusing on the lives and the stories of some of the homeless in San Diego and what experts thought about the issue.
After quarantine ended – Sports4Kids was born.
Watch My Documentary: A Second Chance
Awards Received
- SoCal Film Awards
- Indie Short Fest
- Creators Film Festival
- WorldFest-Houston International Film
- Festival
- American Youth Film Festival
- Film fest LA
Advisors:
DREW MOSER, CEO, LUCKY DUCK FOUNDATION:
Drew Moser is the Executive Director for the Lucky Duck Foundation, a non-profit that funds, activates and leads high-impact, collaborative programs that alleviate the suffering of homelessness throughout San Diego City & County. He was born and raised in Spokane, WA. He graduated from the University of Redlands with a degree in Business and is currently working towards his MBA.
MICHAEL BRUNKER, FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JACKIE ROBINSON FAMILY YMCA
Michael served as the Executive Director of San Diego’s “inner-city” Jackie Robinson Family YMCA for twenty-two years, then on April of 2019, the YMCA of San Diego County announced he had been promoted to a new role as Vice-President for Mission Advancement to help the Y better serve all communities throughout San Diego County.
GREG ANGLEA, CEO, INTERFAITH COMMUNITY SERVICES
Greg’s career has been devoted to helping others. In 2006, he joined Interfaith Community Services as the Volunteer Coordinator and Faith Liaison, and went on to serve as the Director of Development for five years. In 2011, he moved to California State University San Marcos as the Director of Major Gifts, building community support for a regional guaranteed-admission program that provides a path to college for low- income, under-served youth.
Greg returned as Interfaith’s Chief Executive Officer in May 2014 and is currently the Board President of the Alliance for Regional Solutions, Board Member of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, Co Chair of the North County Live Well Leadership Team, and Immediate Past President of the North County Philanthropy Council.