Help N.U.F. Launch The Success Lab!

Vinicius Tinoco is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Next Up Foundation.

Donation protected

Next Up Foundation is a nontraditional after-school program in Anaheim, California, built around the value of education through skateboarding. Youth from underserved communities in Anaheim are most vulnerable to school dropout, gang involvement, and substance abuse in the after school hours (March 2016 Newsletter, Connect OC). By exposing kids and teens to caring mentors and role models, we detach them from harmful environments and encourage the development of positive character traits, healthy lifestyles, and leadership. Through the resources and opportunities we provide, we create an outlet for kids to discover inner strengths and passions, learn to set goals, and accomplish dreams. With the inception of The Success Lab Headquarters in our new building, Next Up Foundation has risen to the next level. We need your help to launch the following new programs in January:

1. Academic Tutoring: We will offer weekly study sessions supervised by mathematics and English tutors in a non-threatening and motivating environment outside of the classroom.

2. Computer Lab: The computer lab serves as a study room and resource center in which students can complete homework, write papers, and perform research. We will offer workshops in basic Internet and Microsoft Office skills to strengthen students' performance in high school, college, and job search. The lab has ten computers with internet access, printing, and available software.

3. Workshops and Field Trips: We offer a wide range of activities that expose participants to a variety of fields, inspiring personal and career development. For the next three months, we will offer the following activities apart from our academic and computer tutoring:
• Yoga for Athletes
• Leadership Workshops
• Create-A-Skate Science Program
• Art & Music
• Educational field trips to action sports companies and events

The Success Lab is designed to provide highly influential benefits to our participants. Curriculum will:

• Support academic needs and encourage success in school
• Emphasize the power of collaboration
• Develop entrepreneurial mindsets
• Cultivate creativity and innovation
• Foster growth in the community

Next Up's participants and volunteers have worked day and night the last four months to get the building up and running (see video). Enrollment in the program has grown steadily since our grand opening. We hosted a few professional skateboarders at Next Up sessions, organized multiple field trips and events, and introduced weekly Yoga for Athletes workshops. In January, we plan to launch the tutoring and career development workshops described above. The money you help us raise will fund the next three months of Success Lab activities, field trips, and expenses (which include insurance, utilities, supplies, and stipends for our most active and committed volunteers).

To those of you who have supported Next Up in the past, we offer sincere gratitude. To those new to our endeavors, we are pleased to make your acquaintance and hopeful that we may, too, earn your patronage. We are on a mission to realize our vision of a brighter future for our children. We have reached this point because of the undying support of our collaborators, investors, and team members. Please consider how you might support our efforts.

Ways to help:

• Financial donations
• Donation of resources or equipment for our building and workshops (cameras, furniture, art/school supplies, etc.)
• Volunteer (We need tutors and are always open to creative ideas for collaboration!)
• Contact Anaheim to pledge your support of Next Up

In his Poptech talk in 2013, Getting Back Up, Rodney Mullen (who is renowned for his innovation, modesty, and passionate personality and famously dubbed 'the Godfather of modern skateboarding') describes what happens "when you take guys that are moderately talented and you surround them with characters that uplift their sense of belief… a way in the cultural environment that imbeds this sense that, 'Oh, it could be done.'" Our entire objective at Next Up Foundation is to demonstrate though skateboarding that setting specific, attainable goals and approaching them with determination allows us to build confidence, overcome obstacles, and exceed our own expectations. To empower youth and foster the leaders of future generations, it all starts with the belief that it CAN be done.