OCC has been a leader in incubating several programs and organizations in the City of Pasadena using the OCC Method:

Day One
Established in 1988, Day One provides substance abuse education and prevention services to children, youth and families in Pasadena and Altadena. The organization, often working in partnership with other entities, offers an organizational structure to reduce the problems associated with alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. In 1994, Day One and the City of Pasadena partnered to develop Youth Month, a month of free and low-cost activities and services offered every August. Today, more than 60 local organizations sponsor Youth Month programs valued at over $60,000.

Young & Healthy
Founded in 1990, Young & Healthy provides access to free, quality health care for uninsured and underserved children from low-income families in the greater Pasadena area through community and professional health care volunteers. More than 270 medical doctors, dentists, mental health professionals, optometrists, nurses, pharmacists and others are coordinated and matched with students who have been referred by school nurses. Over a thousand students are referred and treated each year, receiving up to 15,000 units of service valued at more than $700,000. Young & Healthy also provides outreach services including case management and advocacy, translation, transportation, education and prevention programs in the area of dental and mental health.

After School Activities Project & Schoolsout.org
In 1994, OCC began researching programs for children and youth in the Pasadena area that were available during the out-of-school hours and identified barriers to these programs for families in the community. A Youth Mapping project was launched and young people canvassed Pasadena and Altadena to map out programs and activities. In 1999, at the request of young people, OCC created the website schoolsout.org, which lists more than 300 local programs for children and youth.

CORAL Pasadena
CORAL (Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning) is an initiative of The James Irvine Foundation in five California cities aimed at improving the academic achievement of students through their involvement in quality after-school programs. In Pasadena, the Office of Creative Connections was asked to become the lead organization to plan, develop and implement CORAL. For six years, 500 Pasadena Unified School District students participated in CORAL after-school programs at neighborhood and school-based sites operated by community based organizations.

In 2006, after the conclusion of funding from The James Irvine Foundation, several of the sites continued to operate independently while we restructured two of the sites into one program, expanding it from elementary school students into K-12th grades in one location, the CORAL Innovation Center. (visit Coralcenter.org).

CORAL Center programs are now operated by New Vision Partners Inc., a non-profit organization created by All Saints Church. (visit newvisionpartners.org)

City Conversations
Since October 2004, OCC has been convening City Conversations, a diverse group of community leaders with a vision to “… promote policies and practices that create a just and peaceful community, and to identify and eradicate policies and practices that perpetuate racial and ethnic inequities.” Participants are City and School District officials often including the Mayor, the Superintendent of Schools, Chief of Police, directors of non-profit organizations, community volunteers and activists. This effort is the outcome of Creative Connections conducting 12 Roundtable discussions with 250 program providers as well as 50 interviews with individuals to understand deeply felt concerns about subtle racism and the need for cross cultural dialogue.

Meetings maintain a balance between conversation and discussion in large group gatherings and action in task forces. We have utilized diversity training by VISIONS to give us tools and skills for dialogue. We spent a year studying the report, “Structural Racism and Community Building” by the Aspen Institute, to see how institutions in Pasadena may be using policies and practices, that maintain racial inequity, and what we can do to eliminate them.

Cullture Shock
Culture Shock began in July of 2008 as a week of workshops for 30 high school students to engage them in conversation to understand and appreciate their similarities and differences. The curriculum includes sessions on (a) who am I? (b) who are you (stereotypes)? (c) what keeps us apart (anger)? (d) how can we work and live together?

Student Dropout
Student Dropout: Spent a year researching and writing a report comparing statistics on dropout rates in Pasadena with those of the state and the nation (compiled and written by Dr. Myra Booker). We then interviewed individuals and organizations that are addressing dropout in Pasadena and brought them together to a roundtable discussion with the Superintendent of PUSD and school board members.

All Saints / John Muir Mentoring Project
Over 100 parishioners responded to our Rector’s call on Easter Sunday 2008 to consider becoming a mentor to a student at John Muir High School. The Rector challenged us to make a difference in the lives of young people by responding to their needs with love and compassion. A committee was developed and implemented a structure to recruit, equip and support parishioners to become mentors to 9th grade students at John Muir High School. Mentors work through one of three community-based agencies that are experts in matching, training and guiding mentor-student teams.

Transformational Journeys
Transformational Journeys Ministry plans local and global journeys that challenge participants to go outside of their comfort zone to encounter people of different cultures who live in challenging circumstances. Locations include Armenia, Mexico, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Cuba & Kenya, areas in Los Angeles, and other cities in the US.

Theatre Camp
A special program for Pasadena High School students, the mission of Theatre Camp is to provide youth with an opportunity to stimulate and utilize their creativity through the performing arts, while developing confidence, self-discipline and team building skills in a safe, nurturing and supportive environment.