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CITY NEWS
THE CHANDLER ARIZONAN | WWW.CHANDLERNEWS.COM | MARCH 21, 2021
ICAN partners with Hill Academy, gets $50K grant BY ALEXA TAYLOR Contributor
percentage of youth who qualify for free and reduced lunch is 87 and 84 percent, respectively. The expansion allows the opportunity for ICAN to bring the program directly to youth, at their schools. This also frees up much valued space at ICAN’s main facility to allow more youth to enroll in the highdemand program. The grant from Fiesta Bowl Charities will support this continued and evolving growth strategy, as ICAN has future plans to continue growing. “We are committed to enhancing the lives of Arizonans and by supporting ICAN and their amazing grassroots efforts, we are collectively making a meaningful difference,” said Patrick Barkley, Chair of the Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors. “Giving back to the Arizona community has been core to the Fiesta Bowl mission since we were founded 50 years ago, from our Board of Directors to Yellow Jacket Committee, volunteers and staff.” In partnering with the Chief Hill Learning Academy, ICAN said it hopes to reduce the number of students classified as “dropped out” of CUSD in the 85225 ZIP code. ICAN spokeswoman Katie Stringham said her organization is working to boost technology and resources for Hill Academy students, especially during after-school hours. “We accommodated anytime Chandler went online to increase our hours to full
days even though we are normally an after-school program, and we also provided technology resources to students,” she said. Hill Academy offers junior and senior high school classes and Principal Dave Constance says students “have the opportunity to overcome past challenges and start fresh on a path to achieve their goals.” ICAN focuses on drug and substance abuse, gang activity and juvenile delinquency by working with children and teens on social and emotional health strategies. “Our staff sits down and talks the kids through their challenges that they are facing and arm them with skills so that they can handle situations out in the community and in their homes in a better way,” Stringham explained. ICAN has said downtown Chandler is home to nine rival gangs and that 70 percent of families living in the downtown area have household incomes below the poverty line, and that at-risk children are susceptible to drugs, violence and hunger. City Councilman OD Harris said one of those top priorities is gun violence in the city. “Gun-related crimes in Chandler are a top priority of the Chandler Police Department,” Harris said. “With an increase in these incidents, enforcement, outreach, and crime analysis efforts will continue to be imple-
mented by our police department. We all have the same goal – making Chandler a safe place for everyone.” Harris noted that Chandler is ranked as one of the safest cities in the nation, and that it saw a 9 percent year-overyear decrease in crime last year. He said groups like ICAN are a key part of the city’s efforts to steer young people away from trouble. “I am really proud of the opportunities the city, our schools, and sports programs have provided our youth,” Harris said. “From robust arts and cultural programs to STEM groups to title winning sports teams, Chandler fosters an environment where anything is possible. It is our job to work together to ensure those opportunities remain attainable by all.” ICAN was among 44 nonprofit organizations across the state of Arizona that benefitted from Fiesta Bowl Charities grant funding in the 2020-21 season. “The last year has been incredibly challenging for us all and that is why it is very important that the Fiesta Bowl still deliver these necessary funds to ICAN,” said Fiesta Bowl Executive Director Mike Nealy. “The heroes are nonprofits like ICAN across Arizona who use these funds to improve people’s lives, right where they need it. We are part of this community and it’s our mission to give back to the community.”
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The park shooting has had a devastating impact on the neighborhood, Komso said, and everyone is on high alert for suspicious characters. “Nothing like this has ever happened in our community,” Komso noted. “This is absolutely unheard of.” As the investigation continues, Everett’s parents and five brothers have been trying to keep him comforted during his grueling recovery process. Watson has undergone several surgeries and wound cleanings at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in an attempt to salvage his injured leg. The bullet that pierced his thigh severed one of his arteries, which has slowed down the blood circulation in the rest of his leg. The gunshot resulted in severe tissue damage on Everett’s foot
that cannot be repaired. The teenager recently had to have his toes amputated and doctors are hoping the rest of his leg won’t have to be removed. “It’s all very intense,” Komso said. “We’re still unclear on what his body is going to look like once he gets out of that hospital.” According to a statement from the Watson family, Everett seems to be recovering well from the recent amputation and has already begun to meet with prosthetic specialists. His spirits seem to fluctuate from day to day, the family noted, but the teenager does have some good days. He’s still anxious and traumatized from the shooting, yet Everett has begun to accept his circumstances. Komso has accumulated about $16,000 in donations and plans to keep raising funds for Watson’s long-term rehabilitation.
Any funds not used on the $10,000 reward will be donated to Everett’s family for any medical expenses not covered by insurance. Komso said there’s been a huge outpouring of love and support for the teen over the last couple weeks. Community members have been making meals for Watson’s siblings, crafting greeting cards and dropping off gift baskets at the hospital. The community’s resilience in the aftermath of such extreme violence has been inspiring and uplifting, Komso added. So much so that she has a powerful message for the shooters who disrupted her neighborhood. “This is our community, you are not taking it from us,” she said. Anyone with information on the shooting can contact Chandler Police at 480-7824130 or Silent Witness at 480-948-6377.
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handler nonprofit ICAN has been serving the community for over 30 years and is now partnering with Chandler Unified School District to help kids in need. The partnership makes ICAN a satellite of CUSD’s Chief Hill Learning Academy, which is dedicated to providing for the educational needs of at-risk children. And last week Fiesta Bowl Charities gave ICAN a $50,000 grant to support its free afterschool programs for at-risk youth, which have expanded in the midst of the pandemic. “Throughout a year of so much uncertainty, ICAN was able to not only persevere, but to grow and expand services,” stated Shelby Pedersen, ICAN CEO. “ICAN’s dynamic team of dedicated individuals adjusted and changed the program continually throughout the year, adapting to meet the needs of the community. The investment from Fiesta Bowl Charities is helping bring our expansion goals to life.” The pandemic brought about an opportunity to enact ICAN’s expansion goals to serve more youth, as the program is historically on a waitlist for services. ICAN opened sites at Galveston and Hartford elementary schools, where the
maybe from Mesa,” Komso said. “We just want to throw as wide of a net as possible and put paper flyers up everywhere.” Shortly after the incident, friends and neighbors of the Watson family came together to hold an event at San Tan Park and asked police officers how they might prevent violence from happening again in their community. During the event, members of the Watson family got a chance to meet some of the officers who responded to the shooting and helped get the teenager airlifted to the hospital. Unprovoked random shootings are not common in this quiet area of Chandler, which is mostly inhabited by middleclass families and young professionals.