Newsletter Spring 2019

Lift: The Campaign for The Wooden Floor, pg. 8

Support our 15th consecutive graduating class, pg. 10

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SPRING

Alexia finds her path, pg. 6

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Let's Move Together.

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his January, we held our Annual Board Retreat and led our Board Members and Senior Leadership Team through a history tour of our organization’s current and past locations. This gave everyone a real perspective on how our mission has grown over the years, and how at each juncture of growth, we kept young people and community needs central to our decision-making. It was a great way to set the stage for the main focus of the day—to begin to envision the impact The Wooden Floor can have in our students’ lives and within our community through our next Strategic Vision 2021-2031.

We have been asking The Wooden Floor students, alumni, parents, as well as our foundation partners and external Orange County stakeholders, "What issues do you see facing children now, and throughout the next 20 years?"

Dawn S. Reese

Chief Executive Officer @DawnSReese

Among the responses, we heard: • There is a growing need to prepare young people to enter the technology-centered workforce with demonstrable skills in critical thinking, collaboration, and communication—which the power of dance prepares them to do.

• The socio-economic challenges that poverty brings, coupled with a deep yearning to succeed both in school and in life, often lead to stress, depression, and other mental health challenges for young people. The Wooden Floor was noted by our students as a place they trusted to express themselves and release stress through movement.

• Parents asked us to keep setting the big vision for their children to go on to higher education. This year we will be celebrating the Class of 2019, and our 15th consecutive class to have 100 percent of its graduates on track to enroll in higher education!

As we culminate the last year of our four-year comprehensive campaign Lift: Inspiring Young People. Building Our Community, I would like to ask you on behalf of our students to learn about our bold plans for the future. As our long-term supporters and community advocates, you can continue making a difference in these plans through your gifts today, and in the future. (See pg. 8) Let’s move together to make the dreams of more children possible.

With gratitude,

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THE WOODEN FLOOR

Mission Moment

The Wooden Floor’s Alumni Professional Network gathered to connect with fellow graduates as well as participate in a feedback session to help shape our Strategic Vision 2021-2031.

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Newsfeed

SHOPPING SPREE WITH ANAHEIM DUCKS PLAYERS: This photograph captures the moment when students were surprised to learn that they would each be gifted a 40� TV from TCL. The students were taken on a holiday shopping spree to shop for gifts for themselves and their family, hosted by Anaheim Ducks players, their significant others, and staff from the Anaheim Ducks Foundation.

It was our 11th annual holiday shopping spree with the Anaheim Ducks.

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THE WOODEN FLOOR

Snapshots of our youth in motion.

Follow us on @TheWoodenFloor

ANNUAL AUDITIONS: Once again, hundreds of brave young people attended our Annual Auditions this fall with hopes of gaining enrollment to The Wooden Floor. Over the last four years, we have been unable to accept approximately 80% of students who audition, highlighting the need for us to provide services and opportunities to even more young people throughout our community.

HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONS CAREER NIGHT: Our first Career Night of the fall semester featured professionals from the healthcare industry, including a Registered Nurse, a Physical Therapist, a Nurse Practitioner, as well as a Certified Health Education Specialist. The at-capacity crowd of students were eager to get their many questions answered.

FIRST DAY OF CLASSES: Our “Newbies”—students accepted during our Annual Auditions—were very excited on their first day of class. We look forward to seeing these bright and beautiful faces for the next 10 years.

STUDENT HOLIDAY PARTY: We hosted holiday parties for all 475 of our students, featuring dancing, tamales, cookies, and, of course, a gift for each and every child.

Thanks to our supporters and Parent Leadership Council for helping us spread some holiday cheer.

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THE WOODEN FLOOR

In the First Person: Alexia, Class of 2019 “I would not be anywhere near the path I’m on right now if it were not for The Wooden Floor.

The most important thing I learned here is that there are different ways of expressing yourself, not on paper, not with words, but through movement. I could not have ever learned that in school. The Wooden Floor has also taught me a lot about prioritizing and helped me realize what I want to do with my life.

When I was in the eighth grade, The Wooden Floor had an opportunity for students to go to UCI’s robotics camp, and I took it! There was a special scholarship for The Wooden Floor students. For two weeks, I learned about robotics and how to code. I was able to meet a lot of new people and come up with projects, where what I saw in my head was able to come to life. I see art in coding, and I see coding when I dance. They aren’t binary, they are fluid.

I don’t think my mom could have pictured me going to a four-year university. It would have had to be a miracle. Now it is possible for me to go out of state, maybe even to one of the top schools in the country, and I don’t think my parents saw this coming. The biggest challenge I faced was the unknown. I knew I loved computer science, but I had no idea where to go, and no idea how to achieve it. Getting the help from The Wooden Floor has made it achievable.

The Wooden Floor offers kids like me a safe place to find themselves, love the people around them, and find a way to express themselves.

It is not a dance program, it is an “everything you’ll need for life” program. It’s a game changer.”

Alexia has been at The Wooden Floor for 10 years and will graduate this summer. She has applied to Swarthmore College, the University of California, Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon University, among others. She plans to major in Computer Science and Engineering.

She has a 4.1 GPA and credits The Wooden Floor’s tutoring program, and college and career readiness programs with helping her achieve her college dreams.

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“My husband Terry and I have been involved with The Wooden Floor for over 25 years and are pleased to participate in the Endowment Fund to ensure the organization’s future. Children and youth are the future of our communities and The Wooden Floor is a wonderful place for transformation to begin happening.”

Sharon Hartshorn, The Wooden Floor Board Emerita

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he Wooden Floor is in the final year of an extraordinary fouryear comprehensive campaign to raise $27.2 million by 2020.

This campaign enables implementation of our visionary strategic plan, provides a solid foundation for growth, and significantly increases our nimbleness to create a more immediate and long-lasting community impact. We have made incredible progress, raising nearly 60 percent of our goal to date, and your additional support this year will ensure that the great vision we have for our students and mission can be realized.

Together we have already accomplished the opening of our second location, The Wooden Floor at Depot at Santiago, allowing us to serve an additional 100 students and their families, totaling 475 served year-round. Due to the generosity of supporters and foundations, we have pre-funded 10 years of program expense for this second location so that we can grow without diminishing quality for our current students, our existing services, and our long-term outcomes. In 2019, we are now on to the second phase of Campus Expansion priorities to pre-fund 10 years of programmatic expenses for a third location. This will enable us to grow again by another 100 children, totaling 600 children served by our mission.

In addition, we are seeking to build upon our existing endowment to advance the mission and programmatic priorities of The Wooden Floor today and for the future. Our goal of $10 million in additional endowed fund investments will provide a more sustainable future and ensure opportunities exist for generations of deserving students.

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A few meaningful ways you can make a difference: • DIRECT GIFTS: A gift of cash or other assets such as appreciated securities (any amount) will help build The Wooden Floor Endowment Fund immediately.

• WILLS and TRUSTS: A gift of a percentage of estate assets or a set sum of money to The Wooden Floor Endowment Fund specified in your will.

• LIFE INSURANCE: Complete a Change of Beneficiary form to transfer ownership of an existing policy, or purchase a new policy and make The Wooden Floor Endowment Fund the owner and irrevocable beneficiary.

• RETIREMENT FUNDS: Complete a Change of Beneficiary form for an IRA or support us through your RMD disbursement.

To ensure all donors are acknowledged and recognized appropriately, we have and will develop special naming opportunities, in addition to annual support recognition, to show our deep gratitude for Lift Campaign gifts, and inclusion into The Wooden Floor Legacy Society for estate commitments.

To contribute or to find out more about our bold plans, please visit LiftCampaign.org or contact Dawn S. Reese, Chief Executive Officer, at Info@TheWoodenFloor.org.

THE WOODEN FLOOR

2018 - 2019

7th

Board of Directors Annual Breakfast®

Thank you to our 2019 Underwriters LEAD CLASS PARTNERS Annenberg Foundation Bank of America Charitable Foundation The Capital Group Charitable Foundation Suzi Chauvel Don Yoder Foundation Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros Foundation Ginnie & Rich Hunsaker Michelle & Robert Kargenian Emily & Jeremy Krout/EPD Solutions, Inc. Linda and Tod White Charitable Fund O.L. Halsell Foundation Gail & Peter Ochs PIMCO Foundation Rite Aid Foundation The Rudolph J. and Daphne A. Munzer Foundation Sharon D. Lund Foundation and From My Heart Fund Donald & Constance Sperling Ueberroth Family Foundation Willette Charitable Foundation

CLASS PARTNERS Charles & Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation Croul Family Foundation Sharon & Terry Hartshorn Yvonne & Damien Jordan Cindy & Robert Mairena/Office Solutions Judith F. Posnikoff Shady Canyon Golf Club Charitable Foundation TROY Group, Inc./The Dirk Family Charlie & Ling Zhang

INNOVATION UNDERWRITERS Crean Foundation Edwards Lifesciences Foundation Gochnauer Family Foundation Golden Eagle Foundation Nancy & Brian Hunsaker Trish O'Donnell Opus Community Foundation Target U.S. Bank Foundation Wells Fargo

CREATIVITY UNDERWRITERS Michele & Peter Duncan Joanne & Dennis Keith Ginger & Arthur Ong

ENCOURAGEMENT UNDERWRITERS Theresa & Jonathon Allen Mary & Gary Tolar *as of February 5, 2019

Underwriting opportunities are still available for 2019. For more information contact Tianna Haradon at 714.541.8314 ext. 124 or Tianna@TheWoodenFloor.org

Arthur Ong,* Chairman Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel PIMCO Saar Swartzon,* Vice Chairman Principal Attorney, Cohn & Swartzon, a Professional Law Corporation Judith F. Posnikoff, PhD,* Treasurer Managing Director, Martlet Asset Management Company, LLC Epiphany Owen,* Secretary Partner, Best Best & Krieger, LLP Theresa Allen,* Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, First Republic Private Wealth Management Sasha Ayloush, Director of Sales and Marketing, Hydraflow Falon Baltzell, MFA, Artistic Director, The Wooden Floor Joseph Chatelle, Principal, Mercer Michelle Dean,* Community Leader Bryan Green, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones Jehan Jayakumar, Founding Partner, Carlson & Jayakumar, LLP Jeremy Krout, President/CEO, Environmental Planning Development Solutions, Inc. Meg Lehmann, Vice President and Managing Director, Gochnauer Family Foundation Iris Lopez-Guevara, Parent Representative, Community Leader

Catherine M. MacIver, Community Leader Dale A. Merrill, Dean, College of the Arts, California State University Fullerton Alix Portillo, Alumni Representative, Compliance Specialist, Opus Bank Dawn S. Reese, CFRE, Chief Executive Officer, The Wooden Floor Rossi Tassev, Parent Representative, Community Leader Mary E. Tolar, Vice President and Senior Strategic Program Manager, American Funds/Capital Group Companies, Inc. Ernesto M. Vasquez, FAIA, NCARB, Partner & CEO, SVA Architects, Inc.

BOARD EMERITI Joan Beall, Community Leader Beth A. Burns, Founder of The Wooden Floor and Artistic Director (’83-’05) Sharon Hartshorn, Community Leader Richard C. Hunsaker, President, Hunsaker Management Virginia Hunsaker, Community Leader Damien M. Jordan,* General Manager, Retired, American Funds/ Capital Group Companies, Inc. Yvonne M. Jordan, Community Leader Socorro Vasquez, Community Leader *Executive Committee Members

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danceup Upcoming Event

From Left: Sean Devlin; Keep the Promise Gold Sponsor Nicholas Pardon; and Jesse Lo Re

7th

Annual Breakfast®

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 7:30am-9:30am The Westin South Coast Plaza 686 Anton Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 2019 marks our 15th consecutive graduating class to have 100 percent of students finish high school on time and immediately enroll in higher education. This is more than double the rate of their socioeconomic peers.

Join us as we celebrate and support our Class of 2019.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Tam Nguyen and Linh Nguyen Tam and Linh are the brother and sister team currently serving as President and Vice President of Advance Beauty College, which has received numerous awards honoring its leadership, innovation and commitment to giving back to the community, including Orange County Business Journal’s Civic 50. As second-generation owners of their family-owned business, they are passionate about education. They both received their MBAs at California State University, Fullerton, and serve as active leaders in their industry and in the community. As a national leader in manicuring training, their vision is to be the premier nails training program in the country.

CLASS OF 2019 STUDENT ADDRESS: Donna Gaytan

Step Beyond Annual Breakfast® has been named one of Orange County Business Journal’s Top 5 Fundraising Breakfasts for five consecutive years!

The morning also includes recognition of Class Partners who help underwrite the college and career readiness journeys for each of our graduating classes.

For reservations and sponsorship information, contact Tianna Haradon at Tianna@TheWoodenFloor.org or 714.541.8314 ext. 124.

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I support The Wooden Floor because of the incredibly high-quality work they do for our community and their extraordinary impact on the lives of children, which has such positive and life-changing ripple effects on the students' families and future generations."

Nicholas Pardon

THE WOODEN FLOOR

Supporter Sightings 12th Annual Keep the Promise™ Wine Tasting Benefit September 13, 2018 Nearly 300 guests gathered at Big Canyon Country Club for Orange County’s premier wine tasting benefit, returning for its 12th year. The evening grossed a recordbreaking $410,000. Since the event’s existence, the benefit has grossed almost $3 million to support The Wooden Floor’s goal of transforming young people in lowincome communities through the power of dance and access to higher education.

The Wooden Floor’s 2018-2019 Board of Directors.

(See pg. 9 for complete listing)

Board of Directors Annual Retreat January 26, 2019 Our 2018-2019 Board of Directors gathered for their annual Board Retreat.

The day included a special bus tour of The Wooden Floor’s past and existing locations to aid in the planning for our next Strategic Vision 2021-2031.

3650 New Student Reception October 29, 2018

From Left: Ginny Ueberroth and Vicki Booth from the Ueberroth Family Foundation with Keep the Promise Co-Chair, Janice Markley

Board members, supporters, and staff gathered for our 3650 New Student Reception to welcome our newest students for day one of their transformative 10-year (3650-day) journeys at The Wooden Floor. Students and their families were welcomed to our campus, enjoyed tours led by current students, had fun in a photo booth, and received their very own The Wooden Floor t-shirt.

From Left: The Wooden Floor Controller, Veronica Avzaradel; Supporter Monica Guillena; and Board Member Catherine M. MacIver

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RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

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SANTA ANA, CA PERMIT NO. 949

1810 North Main Street Santa Ana, CA 92706-2727 714.541.8314 TheWoodenFloor.org

Come join us!

Inside The Studio Join our students and guest choreographers as they demonstrate works-in-progress from our 36th Annual Concert and take your questions on our dance-making process.

More information at TheWoodenFloor.org/InsideTheStudio.

MAY 2, 2019

7th Step Beyond Annual Breakfast® Gather to celebrate our 15th consecutive graduating class on track to have a 100 percent college enrollment rate and to support our college and career readiness programs.

More information at TheWoodenFloor.org/StepBeyond. (see pg. 10)

MAY 30-JUNE 1, 2019

36th Annual Concert: Of Knowing Where Be inspired by our young dancers as they perform new works co-created with leading contemporary dance choreographers.

More information at TheWoodenFloor.org/OfKnowingWhere.

Photography by Christine Cotter, Tony Lattimore, and Mindy Schauer. ©2019 The Wooden Floor. DanceUp is a trademark of The Wooden Floor.

MARCH 14, 2019