Category Archives: After School

Updates for our core after school program.

It’s Almost Time!

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All year long, our students have been learning about filmmaking, stop-motion animation and social awareness issues like domestic violence and recycling. The hard work of over 30 students has culminated in a lot of really entertaining short films. On June 6, at 5 pm, at the Bayside Community Center, they get to show off all of that hard work. Everyone is invited to this community potluck. There is no charge for the event, so bring a side dish to share. We will supply a main entree, some fantastic speakers, lots of entertainment and an opportunity drawing full of goodies from the area.
Create community with us and have a great time doing it. If you’d like to help us out with this event, future events or by sponsoring a youth during next year’s programming, please contact us.

Happy New Year! Big Things at Animate A Way!

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There has been so much going on and so much good news at Animate A Way, that we have barely had the time to share it!

Most importantly, we are proud to announce that we are now an officially recognized 501c3 organization. After much deliberation, we have made this big leap. With it, we vow that our funding will come from donors and grants and that we will continue to serve our vital mission in the community of San Diego of raising awareness. If you would like to become a regular donor to our cause, please contact us. We owe a huge thank you to Lee Ann Kim and the Pacific Arts movement, for being our sponsor and role model for the past two years as we grew and discerned the best path forward.

We are very happy to announce that we have a new board president in Norma Roth (pictured above on the left with Executive Director Steven Topham and Development Director Karla Duarte). She has been an active philanthropist and businesswoman in the San Diego community for over a decade. She is a Rotarian and consummate leader, all while being a mother too! We are excited to find out how she and the rest of the board will help lead Animate A Way and the communities of San Diego forward.

Classes at Montgomery Middle School have been going really well. The students have created a great script and began production on the set the week before heading off for Winter vacation. The open community program at Bayside is a blast with many regular attenders. We are back from the holiday break and meeting on Thursdays at 3:30 pm. Lately, the students have been making short films every singly week, and you can see lots of them on our Facebook page, so be sure and follow us!

The screening of Coraline at the Bayside Community Center was a lot of fun, with the hugely imaginative film being projected on our new large projection screen. The next screening is February 20 at 6:30 pm, so put it on your calendar now and we will see you then for a great evening.

Bringing Your Ideas & Your Community to Life

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With our new year of programming, comes a renewed focus on Community.
Community is everything. We come together in cities to live and work. We gather in public places to share in the beauty of what we can create. We sit in theaters together, laughing and sharing emotions. We tap our students into the community and endeavor to steer our communities towards greatness and safety. This year, we are partnering with the Bayside Community Center in Linda Vista to put on quarterly screenings. More importantly, we are holding community animation and filmmaking classes every Thursday from 3pm – 5pm. It all kicks off this Thursday with an open house. Since it is October 30th, we will of course have some trick-or-treat candy for all of our visitors.
These classes are open to all students from 4th grade all the way through college. We want to encourage those who do not have the resources to make the films they envision, to use our resources. Animate A Way will provide all of the tools as well as knowledgeable professionals, so that anyone who joins the class can see their project through.
No one will be turned away. We believe so strongly in the Linda Vista and San Diego community, that if a student comes to our doors desiring to unleash their creativity and vision, we will work with them. We will either find sponsors for each individual student, or students will make films commissioned by Animate A Way. Any student who can pay the classroom fees will be free to make their own film with our guidance. The classes will have a teaching structure, but will largely be focused around hands on steps towards the production of a film; just like we do in our after school classrooms.
We are so excited and proud to be in a position to give even further to the community and we can’t wait to hear all of the wonderful ideas that all of San Diego’s future filmmakers will come up with! Let’s bring your ideas to life.

I Believe…

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Fall is here in San Diego and our idyllic temperatures have given way to chilly evenings. As the climate changes, our sunsets seem to be soaking up all the perfection that our days use to hold. That is fortunate for our Summer continuing education documentary crew as they held their final shoot at Sunset Cliffs with one of the greatest sunsets any of us had ever seen. They are making a survivor story documentary. While there, their subject confided in them, that until she began being abused, she used to watch the sunset every night. This was the first sunset she had seen since her abuse began. It was a powerful moment for all of us.

As the year flies by, our program grows stronger. Our first classroom at Montgomery Middle School in Linda Vista has put together an incredible script and are now constructing the visuals. The girls in the program are growing in confidence and comradery with each other. While set backs with the school district and the board of education continue to plague us, we see the end in sight to begin two more classes in January. We believe that our perseverance through these road blocks have made us stronger and better prepared as an organization.

We believe… in the power of our students, in the hope inherent in our communities, in the end of violence in relationships and a future where our youth can love with respect. This holiday season, we are beginning the ‘I believe’ campaign. With our sponsors and partners we are expanding our presence in the community and officially unveiling our organization as Animate A Way, after working as Girls! Camera! Action! Our social media presence and new website are in place and we are excited.

December 3rd is our official launch, with a great community event organized at the Bayside Community Center in Linda Vista from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend this mixer, to hear from local politicians working towards an end to violence, to hear from us and our students and to enjoy some snacks and refreshments provided by our wonderful sponsors Nothing Bundt Cakes and Pappalecco’s.
Join us in creating change. There is always a way.