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Our CEO, Tash Brooks was honored to accept the 2023 @lakerscommunity YOU grant last Friday on center court. Thank you to our community for your support in making this win possible. We can’t wait to show you how much joy and hope this grant brings!

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Surf Day

Walk With Sally partners with the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation to host 120 attendees including families, mentors, volunteers, Walk With Sally program staff, and Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation staff for its annual day at the beach. Children filled with anticipation watch surfing videos all week to prepare. The day opens with a discussion from a surf therapist to discuss mindfulness, gratitude, and coping skills for handling negative emotions. Then, each child and mentor meet with their instructors to enjoy a day filled with boogie boarding, yoga, surfing, and lunch provided by Jimmy John’s.

Aquarium of the Pacific

Our mentors and mentees spent a day at the Aquarium of the Pacific exploring the exhibits including sea otters, sea jellies, frogs, and more. It was a day for them to bond and experience the beauty of wildlife together.

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Written by: Jen Tomo, Program Manager at Walk With Sally

A Day of Art and Yoga

Mentor Roundtable

For this Mentor Roundtable we chose 3 of our Veteran Mentors to be guest speakers. We had an open discussion about creating boundaries, opening up about cancer with your mentee, how to create a deeper connection, etc. Our Walk With Sally Social Worker was there for mental health support and the newer mentors were able to ask questions and gain insight from our panel.

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Written by: Jen Tomo, Program Coordinator at Walk With Sally

Mentor Roundtable

Walk With Sally hosts a quarterly Mentor Roundtable where are mentors come together to discuss the challenges in their friendship, gain insight and advice from one another and reconnect. The first Mentor Roundtable of 2022 was led by Walk With Sally Social Worker Sara Peral. The topic of discussion was “Creating Boundaries.” A lot of our mentors become part of their mentee’s family and it can be difficult to create boundaries when all you want to do is help. However, not creating boundaries can create burnout, affect your mental health and can be detrimental to the needs of the family. In this Mentor Roundtable we learned how to empower our families to help themselves while still being supportive, learning what we want our boundaries to look like and learned tools that we can implement to make sure those boundaries aren’t being crossed.

A Day of Art and Yoga

Walk With Sally partners with Resin Art Studio for a quarterly art healing program designed specifically for children impacted by cancer. The theme of this workshop was “Forgiveness.” The day starts with a yoga session led by a yoga instructor to connect the mind and body. From there, the mentees and mentors will have the chance to express themselves using their choice of art – photography, sculpting, painting, drawing, graffiti and music.

Mentor of the Year: Jeff Wilson

Congratulations to our Mentor of the Year, Jeff Wilson! Jeff has been matched with his mentee Chance since December 2018 at a time when support was needed most. Chance lost his father in November 2018 after a 3 year cancer battle that spread to his brain. Jeff is truly an awesome mentor!

“He goes out of his way to make time to have special experiences with us. For example, he has taken us surfing/body boarding at the beach and taught us new surf skills. He goes skiing with us annually to Mountain High and show us where to go and how to improve our skiing speed and smoothness as well as showing us where off the beaten path to go. He is always there for us when we need him. For example, Chance has a monthly cotillion dance and Jeff came to meet my dads good friends who were there, and show his support. He also helped me with my suit and especially my tie, which I didn’t know how to tie for the cotillion dance. He sets up game and family fun nights and spends quality time laughing and joking with us. He took us to an LAFC soccer match which was soooooo fun! He has taken us for bike rides and come to watch and support our basketball and baseball tournament games. He is always so upbeat and outgoing. He even met us at a surf shop to help select the best board for Chance’s next step in surfing. He is a try blessing to our family and we consider him part of our family. We feel “lucky in life” , (our family phrase), to have and know and love Jeff. We know we can trust, rely on and have dedicated loving support from Jeff. He is uniquely awesome as our mentor!” – mentee Chance (age 13)

Botanic Garden

Our mentors and mentees visited the South Coast Botanic Garden last month for a beautiful day of fun in nature. We began the day with a calming meditation led by our very own mentor, Miriam Stein. We explored the grounds and learned about the different flowers and exhibits. The Garden set up a “Sasquatch Hunt” where our mentees and mentors could follow clues to try and find Sasquatch. There was even a pond filled with turtles! This friendship activity gave our mentees and mentors a chance to bond, experience a fun day and take a break from the heartache they feel. When asked how she was enjoying the Botanic Gardens, 12 year old mentee Abby replied “It was really nice to get a chance to just be a kid.”

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Today, the Walk With Sally Board of Directors announced its Founder and CEO, Nicholas Arquette, will be stepping aside from day-to-day-operations after founding the nonprofit nearly 17 years ago. Nick will remain the active Founder of WWS, continuing to bring its programs and signature events such as Friendship Bowl and White Light White Night to new levels of success.

“After almost 2 decades at the helm as mentor, committee member, CEO and volunteer I am ready for a new challenge. Together we made the impossible possible. Our community created a one-of-a-kind mentoring program giving kids and adults a chance to heal. I am excited for the future growth of Walk with Sally and to accelerate our mission. Fresh, innovative talent will support our long-term growth vision,” Nick wrote in an e-mail to WWS’s stakeholders.

Nick’s time at WWS will be remembered as an era of growth, innovation, and monumental work for families throughout Los Angeles and beyond providing hope and mentorship to children experiencing trauma through a parent, guardian, or sibling’s cancer journey.

“In each of Nick’s many roles at WWS — founder, committee member, and CEO — he has served with an entrepreneurial spirit, vision, and most of all his insight of knowing what it is like to feel deeply affected by cancer. While this was a tough decision, his biggest priority was to leave at a time when the organization was very stable and is grateful to WWS’s board and staff for their dedication and hard work,” said Russell Hossain, WWS Board Chair. “We are incredibly appreciative for all he has done for families impacted by cancer. We look forward to working with him as we grow Walk With Sally in the future.”

Since creating WWS in 2004, Nick has been a tireless advocate for not only families impacted by cancer but bringing the community together as a whole. The Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce recognized Walk With Sally 2017 as Nonprofit of the Year at their Citizen of the Year Gala.

Nick’s outward-facing, community engagement approach resulted in extensive and durable relationships with organizations, businesses, and elected officials that proved instrumental to WWS’s success and affirmed the organization’s standing in the region.

During his tenure, the organization experienced dramatic growth and has transformed into the crucial nonprofit it is today. WWS has served over 1000 families under Nick’s leadership and he created the most memorable nonprofit event in the Southbay, White Light White Night, to support WWS’s wraparound services for families impacted by cancer.

Spending the last twenty years in Los Angeles working as an entrepreneur in the film, senior care, and nonprofit industries, Nick’s more rewarding experiences have come from his work leading to the growth of Walk With Sally. He had the privilege of mentoring three boys since the inception of the program. As an organization, WWS’s vision is to ensure no child walks alone in the face of a loved one’s cancer journey. Nick is confident the next phase of WWS’s journey will include vast expansion and is excited to continue his passion in the Founder role.

WWS has assembled a strong search committee to find the organization’s next CEO. Experienced nonprofit leader Mark Rothman will support the Board in its search, manage daily operations, and secure WWS’s foundation for its future growth and success.

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