Desert Recreation Foundation

The Youth Recreation Engagement Programs will serve youth in the communities of Coachella, Thermal, Oasis, Mecca, North Shore, Indio Hills, and Thousand Palms. Youth across the Coachella Valley will have the opportunity to participate in all the programs/events at no cost in their surrounding communities. The programs will occur throughout 2023-2024.

The projects will consist of the following:

Music- Youth will receive music introduction and Drum instruction for 12 weeks in Coachella. They will learn the fundamentals of Drums and will host a performance at the end of the program.

Dance-Youth will be able to enroll for a 12-week dance program in the communities of Mecca and North Shore. Youth will learn the history and culture and the music and dance of Mexico through Ballet Folklorico. Youth will also learn the basics of dance and movement in the Contemporary Dance program. Both dance genres will include a performance at the end of the program.

Kids in The Kitchen-Our afterschool youth in Thermal, Mecca, and North Shore will create delicious recipes monthly as they learn how to cook, bake, prep, and of course taste. They will be provided with ingredients available to them and the skills/ tools to incorporate a healthy and active lifestyle in their daily routines and family life. Youth will also receive information and presentation from CAL Fresh that will allow them to focus on developing healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle.

Silent Disco and Glow Golf Nights- The communities of Coachella, Thermal, Oasis, Mecca, North Shore, Indio Hills, and Thousand Palms will host Silent Disco and Glow Golf nights. Events will have youth dancing to music listened to on wireless headphones. Youth will also have fun as they play mini golf on the glow in the dark mini course will be set up to allow for maximum fun!

Art-Youth in Coachella, Mecca, and North Shore will be able to participate in a 6-week art instruction program that will include acrylic canvas art, clay work, and pencil art. In addition to the art program the monthly Art Scene will be offered in the community of Coachella. Youth will show their artistic skills on canvas with instructor led directions.

Desert Recreation Foundation

The Eastern Valley Youth Programs will serve the youth in the communities of Coachella, Thermal, Oasis, Mecca, and North Shore. Youth across the Eastern Coachella Valley will have the opportunity to participate in all the programs at no cost in their surrounding communities. The programs will occur throughout 2021-2022.

The projects will consist of the following:

Recreation programs such as Sports Fitness, Ready, Set, Run, Pickleball, and Frisbee Golf. Sports Fitness Program will consist of drills, body weight exercises, cardio and plyometrics geared to condition youth for any sport. Ready, Set, Run is a program designed to build confidence and character in its participants while working toward the goal of completing a 5K run.

Music programs such as Guitar and Drums. Youth will receive guitar and drum instruction and will be able to play a song.

Dance-Children ages 5-12 will receive weekly dance instruction.

Poetry-Weekly classes will be offered to youth grades 2nd-12th and will consist of the writing process, reading performance, and self-expression.

Robotics-Youth will work hands on with robotic kits and learn the basic concepts of robotic engineering. Youth will also participate in group activities and work in teams to design, build, and program their robots. At the end of the program, they will have a robot of their own.

Kids in The Kitchen-Children will create a recipe book with the meals they learn to make. Children will be provided with ingredients available to them and the skills/ tools to incorporate a healthy and active lifestyle in their daily routines and family life. We will partner with CAL Fresh and FIND Food Bank to offer additional presentations and fresh ingredients that will allow us to focus on developing healthy eating habits and healthy lifestyle.

Art- The Online Arts & Crafts program will continue from September 2021-June 2022. Children will receive all program supplies for the month. Paint nights will also be offered at various East Valley locations throughout the year. Youth will have the opportunity to have fun, get creative and learn how to paint, draw, etc. without having any artistic abilities. Each class will be led by an instructor, and they will receive step by step instructions to create their own masterpiece.

The First Tee of the Coachella Valley is a youth development organization dedicated to impacting the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf. The Nine Core Values of The First Tee are: Honesty, Integrity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy and Judgment. The First Tee Nine Healthy Habits are: Energy, Play, Safety, Vision, Mind, Family, Friends, School, and Community.

The program is open to children of all backgrounds and communities in the valley with an intentional emphasis on the needs of underserved communities. Each year, we serve approximately 1,200 children throughout our golf course facilities, at select elementary schools and through collaborations with local youth programs. More than one-third of our participants are on full or partial scholarships. No child is ever turned away for lack of ability to pay.

The First Tee curriculum is designed for youth ages 4-17, with both golf course and classroom lessons. National research funded by The First Tee shows that by participating in The First Tee program, young people will stay in school, lead a healthy lifestyle, give back to the community and be prepared for success in life. An added value is the positive image enhancement of golf here in the Coachella Valley.

In addition to our home at The Golf Center of Palm Desert, expanding our presence at our secondary facility, The Lights in Indio Golf Course, provides a more convenient location for the families of Indio and the East Valley. We look forward to adding more classes, providing a bilingual instructor, and providing all necessary equipment as well as many scholarships. Good Golfers, Better People.

The Desert Recreation District's goal is to serve and offer Coachella Valley youth a summer program that includes two very specific programs that will help develop and enhance mental training: a chess program and an art program. These activities will be available to 260 low-income teens in the communities of North Shore, Mecca, Oasis, Thermal, and Coachella. The goal is to meet the identified needs of productive, entertaining, and safe creative activities for youth during the summer months of 2016. These programs will provide youth with a resource and safe place where they can develop new skills and be challenged mentally throughout the summer when school is no longer in session.

Teens will express their creativity and give back to the community through a mural project at the Bagdouma Community Center. They will also be able to participate in art through developing, planning, and creating digital art at three identified locations. In addition, children will be eligible to learn the basic fundamentals of the game of chess and will receive lessons and education on the game at four different locations. Through this program they will learn chess skills and critical thinking, participate in team building activities, and compete in a tournament at the end of the summer. For the youth in this program, many of whom come from disadvantaged low-income families, summer activities allow children the opportunity to partake in safe, supervised activities that encourage physical activity and character-building skills while deterring at-risk behavior.

Our objective is to provide a summer music and art program for 200 youth in five of the lowest-income, under-served, Coachella Valley communities of North Shore, Mecca, Oasis, Thermal, and Indio Hills. Students will take part in two weeks of guitar lessons as well as two weeks of planning and creation of a public mural. These projects will allow children to creatively express themselves by learning the magical, universal language of music and connecting to their communities with the sense of pride they receive from creating a public art piece. Engaging in children in programming promotes higher success rates for high school graduation, and study of the creative arts is proven to make students more successful in other areas, especially math and reading.