SAN DIEGO — A San Diego teenager has been awarded a grant from Starbucks for helping the homeless population. In this Zevely Zone, I met a young leader who is making a difference. 15-year old Arden Pala is reminding us all that you can start helping your community at any age.
"This is another one of our sports clinics," said Arden. When the Rancho Bernardo resident was six years old, his parents took him to a homeless shelter to volunteer. "I am happy that my parents taught me about the other side of society," said Arden.
Nine years have passed and Arden never stopped volunteering. He has helped raise over $250,000 to assist more than 7,500 homeless people in need. He just received $3,000 from The Starbucks Foundation's Neighborhood Grants program. This 2024 grant was awarded to Sports4Kids from among 33,000 nominations submitted by Starbucks partners earlier this year.
"They've been an absolute pleasure to work with," said Arden. "We are incredibly grateful to receive the Starbucks Neighborhood Grant. This support will allow us to expand our sports programs for low-income and homeless youth, helping them build essential life skills and fostering a sense of community and empowerment."
His parents immigrated from Turkey and wanted more than anything to instill empathy in their son. "There's a lot of people going through a lot of stuff," said Arden, which is why he approached Fernando Hernandez the principal at Perkins K-8 School in Barrio Logan.
"Hey how you doing? It's good to see you," said Principal Hernandez while giving Arden a hug. Principal Hernandez told us 32% of his students are homeless.
"I'd have to say he is making a huge difference honestly he is," said Principal Fernandez. "One of the first things he did here was organize a backpack drive, but I was not expecting him to organize over a hundred people."
Four hundred backpacks were given away filled with school supplies.
"We had a line going all of the way around the school giving those backpacks away to each and every single student," said Principal Fernandez.
The young leader also founded the nonprofit Sports4Kids which brings after school athletics to underserved communities such as soccer, rugby and basketball clinics.
"The first year he did we were packed we had over 45 students," said Principal Hernandez who told us the clinics change lives because after school many of his students don't have a home to go to. "Our parents are barely able to meet their own personal needs. They are living in the shelters we have some of our families living in cars or living in tents," said Principal Hernandez.
Arden's parents remain grateful to the many people who helped them immigrate to the United States. Arden's father Serhat couldn't be prouder of his son's desire to feed and clothe people in need.
"When you see someone come out of your family do good things and make a positive impact it's very emotional," said Serhat.
Arden's mom and dad were with him when he was honored for 4,000 hours of volunteering.
"This is the San Diego City Council proclamation," said Arden. February 23, is Arden Pala day in the City of San Diego.
"Yeah, that's my birthday," said Arden.
Although he doesn't do it for the accolades and attention, awards keep raining down on a 15-year-old. Arden was recently honored with the Presidential Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award.
Arden is a sophomore at Francis Parker School. Sports4Kids mission is to allow youth volunteers to better the lives of the low-income and homeless through athletics and community engagement. To learn more about Sports4kids, click here.
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