For Immediate Release: Valley Teens Celebrate Giving Back!

Finishing Strong: The National League of Young Men Mid-Valley Chapter Focused on the Positive Throughout the Pandemic  

 

Strengthening bonds with the community, peers and between mothers and sons, the “NLYM” encourages Leadership, Philanthropy, Culture and Protocol in young men grades 9-12; the organization is wrapping up the 2020-2021 year with two live events, and a new membership drive for young men running through July 15, 2021.  

STUDIO CITY, CA -- The NLYM Mid-Valley Chapter is celebrating a strong finish to this challenging year, having just completed their elections for the coming 2021-2022 year. By getting creative about events and embracing Zoom for their monthly meetings, the organization’s young men continued to organize and contribute to charitable efforts in their immediate communities and beyond.  

This weekend, mothers and sons are reconnecting with fellow NLYM members for the organization's annual all-grade level Compass Brunch, a socially-distanced picnic style affair on Sunday May 16th. The Chapter’s 4th annual Senior Tribute Dinner took place in an outside setting at the Mulholland Tennis Club in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, April 25, 2021; it was a formal event, where the Mid Valley senior class young men were celebrated with commemorative dedication speeches by their fathers, a childhood pictorial montage slideshow, and each given a Compass embossed carrying case as a gift. In total, the Mid Valley senior classman volunteered more than 400 hours in philanthropic achievements during an unprecedented challenging year.  

 

The mission behind NLYM is to provide a unique program of leadership, service, culture and protocol opportunities, for the young men grades 9-12 in their community, while at same time strengthening the mother-son relationship as they mature into young men. Ventura Blvd Magazine featured the organization two years ago. 

 

Beginning last August, the Mid-Valley Chapter successfully pivoted to holding online Zoom meetings across all grade levels this year, for both the young men and their mothers. The young men’s meetings included guest speakers such as actor Michael Ian Black and retired Fire Captain Fred Lopez;  an online cooking lesson by  Dr. JJ Levenstein; planning sessions for cultural events and philanthropy activities; protocol lessons such as resume writing; the presentation of committee reports, and organizational coaching by volunteer grade level mothers. The member “Mother’s Meetings” included speakers on both fun and helpful topics such as wellness, self-care, and raising teens; in March, author and Certified Holistic Nutritionist Julie Hefner shared healthy insights from her book Nourishing Your Body & Soul for a More Radiant You. 

Volunteerism is a major tentpole of the nationwide organization, and young men at each of the four grade levels were tasked with generating safe and socially-distanced ideas for giving back to communities across the San Fernando Valley and beyond despite the pandemic.  In September 2020, each grade level group decided to embrace Zoom calls for their monthly meetings, and continued organizing charitable efforts in their immediate communities and beyond. Although they felt disconnected at time, and it was sometimes disheartening to find a place to contribute, the young men managed many good deeds and have a lot to celebrate as they wind up this year.

Some of the philanthropic activities successfully completed as an organization and individually include: 

• The Book Truck: NLYM donated 549 brand-new books, the most impactful single book drive any group has put together for The Book Truck, which delivers “Lit Boxes” filled with books and literacy materials to foster care, homeless, and low-income service organizations across LA County.  https://thebooktruck.org/ 
  
• Covenant House: NLYM compiled and donated over 1000 snack packs for teens. https://www.covenanthouse.org/ 
  
• Soles4Souls: NLYM young men gathered 1200 pairs of gently-used athletic shoes for the nonprofit, which keeps the shoes from going to waste and puts them to good use for those in need.  https://soles4souls.org/ 
  
• Tutoring for Speak UP: NLYM young men are contributing tutoring services to  Speak UP, which aids approximately 300 underserved students in LA.   http://speakupparents.org/tracy 
• My Stuff: The NLYM Mid-Valley class of 2022 made fleece blankets for My Stuff Bags Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps children who are removed from dangerous living situations such as households with domestic violence, homelessness, etc.  https://www.mystuffbags.org/ 
  
• North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry - NLYM members purchased, packed and donated 330 Hygiene Kits (approx. 1320 products) to The North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry, a coalition of Jewish and Christian congregations working to address the problem of hunger in the community.  NLYM members also unloaded trucks of canned goods and beverages donated to the pantry. https://nhifp.org/ 

These young men, guided by their mothers, will be acknowledged and celebrated by their community this weekend.  In addition to their philanthropy, the young men shared cultural events, guest speakers, and training in life skills. 

Developing a well-rounded appreciation of cultural activities is another goal for the young men. This year, it was achieved by attending online holiday concerts, virtually touring The Peterson Auto Museum, and watching and discussing films online, including “The Social Dilemma” and the Billie Eilish film “The World’s a Little Blurry.” 

 

The young men learned that leadership is not easy, especially in a pandemic, but the enthusiasm exhibited in last week’s round of elections for the year 2021-22 have shown that things will only get better in the coming year.   

 

The Mid-Valley Chapter is launching a membership drive to invite new young men to apply to the organization through July 15, 2021, welcoming applications from young men who live or go to school in the communities of Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Toluca Lake and Burbank, CA.  There are membership opportunities for young men and mothers in our rising freshmen class (Class of 2025) and rising sophomore class (Class of 2024) and limited space in the Class of 2023. Visit the website to access the membership information form: https://members.nationalleagueofyoungmen.org/?nd=vms_public_form&form_id=7&hierarchy=33  

 

ABOUT NATIONAL LEAGUE OF YOUNG MEN, INC. 

National League of Young Men, Inc. (NLYM), initially named Beach City Service League, was founded in 2007 in Newport Beach, California by Diane Edmonton and Mary Pat Lucas. Their goal was to provide a unique program of leadership, service, culture and protocol opportunities for the young men in their community, while at the same time strengthening the mother-son relationship. Today there are twenty chapters with over 2,000 Mothers, Young Men and Sustainers as members of the National League of Young Men, Inc. NLYM is committed to providing a quality program for young men in grades 9-12 and developing long-term partnerships that will provide benefits to not only the young men but also their surrounding communities. National League of Young Men, Inc. aspires to offer gratifying experiences for their young men and to help them learn that the greatest joy in life truly comes from serving others and discovering the confidence and courage to do so. 

 

For more information:  

NLYM Mid-Valley Chapter https://www.nationalleagueofyoungmen.org/chapter/mid-valley/  

NLYM Mid-Valley President: Stephanie Walter, smwalter(dot)mail(at)gmail(dot)com

NLYM Mid Valley Chapter Media Contact: Shelly Greenfield at shelly(at)reddoorhome(dot)net 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/nationalleagueofyoungmen 

Instagram: @nlyminc 

Twitter: @nlyminc 

National website: www.nationalleagueofyoungmen.org  

National Mailing address: PO Box 3403, Newport Beach, CA  92659-8403 

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FLOW Schedules Tour for May 2018

One of the most exciting new acts on the music scene, FLOW, announced The Arrival Tour, a series of live performances in select cities, including a kick-off at The New Orleans Jazz Museum on May 10, 2018 at 8 pm.  

FLOW creates music that feels somewhat nostalgic, yet fresh and energized. The ensemble is comprised of four innovative, critically-acclaimed and highly-awarded independent artists: legendary GRAMMY®-winning guitarist Will Ackerman, pianist/singer Fiona Joy, acoustic guitarist Lawrence Blatt and trumpet and flugelhorn player Jeff Oster. The group debuted live to a sold-out crowd at Carnegie’s Weill Hall last October and is slated to perform May 10, 2018 at The New Orleans Jazz Museum, and at the 14th Annual Zone Music (ZMR) Awards at Roussel Hall in New Orleans on May 12th, before commencing on their West Coast dates including Seattle, Novato, CA and Los Angeles’ famed GRAMMY® Museum.  

Simultaneously, the group is nominated for two key Zone Music Reporter Awards (“Album of the Year” and “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album”) and two International Music Awards (IMAs) including “Best New Age Album” and “Best New Age Song” for their self-titled track “Flow.”  This is must hear music for lovers of guitar, piano, flugelhorn and that sweet California sound made famous by Ackerman at Windham Hill not too long ago.

See more at https://www.flowthegroup.com/thearrivaltour/

FOODIE FRIDAY

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Lemonade

Recently, in need of a fast-yet-fun eatery for a casual meeting, I recalled that a new restaurant called Lemonade had opened up in Studio City, CA. We popped in after 8 pm, delighted to find the bright and welcoming space comfortably busy, smelling wonderful and the cafeteria-style line still brimming with fresh food.  My guest and I were amazed by the array of fresh salads, delicious appetizers, stews, breads and desserts, complemented by the fresh lemonade of your choosing (my fave: cucumber mint!).  

Lemonade is restaurateurs/entrepreneurs Alan Jackson and Ian Olsen's 14-location mission to redefine fast casual dining in So Cal, and they certainly seem to be succeeding. Guests surrounding us in the indoor/outdoor seating space ranged from a mother/son duo to hip couples and most notably, several tables of young guys raving about how much they love the simple/healthy menu, and, actually eat there every day. It's not surprising, as the flavorful yet simple food is served up without the usual "you're eating alone" stigma, and the seasonally-evolving menu is vast enough to make daily dining attractive. Check out your local Lemonade menu.

Our dinner, enthusiastically-shared, included six salad servings from quinoa to beets to kale to curried cauliflower and a peanut-based slaw; main servings of a Meditteranean-style chicken stew and a Basque chicken dish, herbed brown rice; and lemonade choices of Cucumber/Mint and Guava.  There were lots of leftovers, and takeout is encouraged with handy little containers available.  The total cost: $39.

Lemonade is creating a stir. It's hard to know if the clever restaurateurs planned it this way, but the well-lit decor and beautifully-designed food have Lemonade blowing up on social media.  It's "old meets new" as the Paleo-leaning dishes become the colorful subjects of cellphone images shared to their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages...a most relevant sign of success in our 2.0 world, reinforced by the impending opening of a space in Dubai.

Rating (crawl/walk/run): Run!

What to do in L.A. this Weekend

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 17th @ 3 p.m.

It's not often one enjoys a casual Sunday afternoon concert in L.A. featuring leading international female musicians jamming across genres from Contemporary Piano to New Age, Celtic, and World with a touch of Jazz. You can experience it for a song this weekend (free w/sugg. donation $15), at Hollywood Piano in Burbank, CA.  To reserve seats, email orders@littlehartleymusic.com.au. All ages welcome.

 An Afternoon with Fiona Joy Hawkins 

Special Guests Sapphron Obois on soprano sax, Sherry Finzer on alto flute, and fellow pianist Kori Linae Carothers.  

Rainy Days & Mondays

Just a week or so into the California rains, and we Angelenos are climbing the walls, doing all sorts of unusual things: staying inside and reading, driving the speed limit, tending to our own yards. Yesterday, a brief burst of sunshine brought us out like Puxatawny Phil on (hopefully for PA) Groundhog Day. My weekend celeb sightings included David Caruso at Carney's (the train restaurant) in Studio City, and Ed Begley Jr. strolling along, face tipped up, seemingly worshiping the sun. It was nice to see everyone back to normal, enjoying the day...and pretending not to see the celebs in our midst.