Director's Message for February 2010

February 1, 2010

Hello friends,

A few weeks ago I sent out a message including the information about the telethon and links so that you could donate directly to help those ravaged by the horrific earthquake that struck Haiti. Last week my message included information about Andrew Soliz’s cousin Thomas and his medical condition requiring a trip later this month to take Thomas back to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota for some traditional medical treatment. Today, I bring you the sad news of the senseless loss of one of the boys from Helen Keller Park who attended the 2006 Call to Adventure Retreat. Marquise Ortiz was gunned down last Saturday (January 24th) night in a brutal murder as he was picking up his father from a party that had been shut down by the LAPD. Marquise was only days away from returning to college from his winter break. I’m including a message from Cameron Bonner and a You Tube video that expresses the love mixed with the deep pain that the family, friends and community are experiencing.

The funeral for Marquise will take place on Tuesday, February 2nd. Even though Victims of Violent Crimes will provide some money to help with the costs of the funeral there will be a shortfall. I know that many of you from our community have given generously to the Haiti relief efforts as well as to help Andrew and Thomas with the expenses for their trip. If any of you wish to make a donation to the Ortiz family to assist with their costs please make the check out to Sacred Path Fund and I will forward a check from our account to cover the accumulated donations along with a note detailing the names and amounts given by each contributor. You can mail your donation to Sacred Path Productions, 21243 Ventura Blvd., Suite 214, Woodland Hills, CA, 91364. Please write Marquise Ortiz donation in the subject line of your check.

I showed the You Tube video to my mother and she immediately offered a donation. I know that those of you that attended the CTA 2006 retreat will remember Marquise. One of the things that stands out in my mind in addition to his outstanding performance at the retreat is that Marquise and his mother attended the awarding of the certificates of completion event at Helen Keller Park following the retreat. Marquise dressed up for the event and was so proud to accept his certificate. His mother was one of only a few relatives in attendance that day to celebrate the boy’s achievement. That is not unusual. The fathers for the most part are missing in action and the moms are stressed to the max with the responsibilities of being single parents endeavoring to meet the demands of keeping the family on track. Marquise was so proud of his attendance at the retreat that he framed his certificate of completion and hung it in the garage where he had created his workout and friend’s gathering area.

I have been in discussion with community servant, Cameron Bonner, and Joe Mendoza, Deputy Director, County of Los Angeles Dept. of Parks and Recreation for the South Central LA area about the need to replenish our scholarship funds so that we can bring more boys from the community to the April retreat. At this point our coffers are empty. I’m hoping that Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas will help us by donating some funds. Joe has made an appeal to the Los Angeles chapter of Rotary and perhaps Brian Center; Director of Pete Carroll’s A Better LA will choose to help as well. Whether we will be able to have a Call to Adventure component to the April retreat is uncertain at this point in time.

We do know that we will host a Sacred Path Men’s Retreat this April 15-18th and whether we will include the CTA element remains to be seen. I am leaving that decision up-in-the-air for the next few weeks to determine if we will gather the necessary funding to give the green light for the CTA this year. I will also need to hear from the men in our community as to whether you were planning to attend CTA and to bring your sons or other family members and friends. If we don’t have a clear message that we can support the CTA part of the retreat for this year we will wait until next year and take the necessary time to develop the funding over the next 12 months. Personally, I’m hoping that we will be able to go forward with the CTA because I have seen the evidence of what it has meant and done for those that have attended over the past 10 years and I know that there are those that can benefit from it this year as well.

In the interim we have a wonderful Day for Men arranged for next Saturday, February 6th. As of today we already have 25 confirmed registrations and I have at least a dozen on my list that have indicated that they’re planning to attend so it appears that we’ll have a great turn out. If you haven’t enrolled for the day, it’s not too late but please do so now so that we can give a final headcount to Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino. If you’re planning to attend the April Sacred Path Retreat and will attend the Day for Men you will be able to pre-register on the 6th for the retreat at a special discounted rate. Partial scholarships are available for the Day for Men upon request.

In brotherhood,
Stephen

To Download the Flyer/Application for the February 6, 2010 DAY FOR MEN, Click HERE