Morning Optimist Club of Moreno Valley Presents Letterman Jackets to MVHS Athletes

When Moreno Valley High School (MVHS) AVID Athletics teacher and volleyball coach Lea Snell noticed that not many students on campus owned a letterman jacket because they could not afford them, she devised a set of requirements that included improving GPA's and community service hours that would enable student athletes to earn one for free. She began asking for donations for the expensive jackets and contacted George Price, who was President of the Moreno Valley Morning Optimist Club (MVMOC) at the time. The club became the Letterman Jacket Program’s main supporter, raising money for 19 jackets over the course of the year. Member Janet DuHaime is the Chairman of the Letterman Jacket Program. At the beginning of the Moreno Valley Unified School District school board meeting on Nov. 12, the club presented jackets to seven student athletes. An eighth student received a jacket but was not able to attend. George Price called out the names of the students, along with those of their respective sponsors, who put the jackets on their students. Representing MVMOC, Price and his wife Vicki presented swimmer Riyun Rodriguez with a jacket. Also representing MVMOC, Ann Danowski sponsored basketball and volleyball player Alyssa Young, and Janet DuHaime sponsored swimmer Branson Bates. For Waste Management, MVMOC member Julie Reyes presented football player Joseph Wills and football and track team player Kobe Henderson with their jackets. School board vice president and MVMOC member Tracey Vackar presented a jacket to Iveth Alvarado, who plays softball for MVHS. Janet and Tim Lyons sponsored a jacket for swimmer Francisco Aguilar. Sophomore Kobe Henderson’s GPA jumped one whole grade level this year. “I had to work my butt off to get it,” he said. “Even though it was only three minor [requirements], it actually gave me the motivation to push myself more. So that’s why I feel good about it.” He had heard about the Letterman Jacket Program as a student in Snell’s AVID class. His older brother Kameron is a past recipient of the Letterman Jacket Program. Alvarado has played softball for eight years and is in her third year of playing at MVHS. “I’m really excited because I’ve been working really hard for it,” she said. “I’ve been wanting to get a letterman jacket since freshman year.” Alvarado hopes to play college softball at UCLA and eventually become a doctor. Junior Alyssa Young expressed her passion for both sports she plays: “Basketball’s challenging and volleyball’s fun.” At 4.4, her GPA was the highest of all the recipients. Her advice to students who want to stay motivated in school is to be wise with time management and “don’t ever, ever give up.” Francisco Aguilar, who joined the MVHS swim team just last year, is involved in the Interact Club at school and is one of Snell’s AVID students. He also hopes to join wrestling this year and study computer science in college. Junior Joseph Wills shared that the program made him more involved in school. “It made me (stay) on top of my grades and made sure that I never procrastinate with my grades,” he said. “My academic habits were already really good because my mother always pushed me very, very hard,” said sophomore Riyun Rodriguez. “But this gave me a little extra motivation to do better. I had a 4.0 at the time, and I was like hey, maybe I can try to make a 4.1. But in the end I didn’t have enough time. I overqualified for the GPA part so it was awesome.” Rodriguez, who is in the Interact Club and was involved in Artober Fest and the Halloween Festival in Moreno Valley, hopes to earn a degree at a UC (University of California) in Communications and Journalism. Sophomore Branson Bates shared that he learned about the Letterman Jacket Program through school announcements. “I wanted to sign up because I had community service and good grades. It wasn’t necessarily so difficult because I do a lot of community service because I’m going into a firefighter program, and I do a lot of stuff for the community,” he said. Both family and friends of the students showed their support at the school board meeting. “I’m honored. He’s worked really hard at it,” said Bates’ mother Tammy Barbier. “We were trying to figure out a way of getting one anyway, so this is a true honor.” Barbier said her son, who maintained a 4.0, has always been motivated in keeping up with both homework and sports, although he had initially struggled in AVID during his freshman year. “I think as long as parents want to back up their children, children can be successful in anything they need to do.” The students had been first presented with the jackets at the high school’s homecoming game this year, but Snell asked for them back so they could receive them again at the school board meeting. “We went to Moreno Valley High School’s homecoming game, and we were out there on a Friday night with a little table out there where all the people are walking by, you know, and we didn’t collect much money there because most of the people were kids,” said MVMOC President Tim Caszett. “We did get a few donations, and a couple of people took the information to consider and possibly fill out later and send it in.” He then explained that one member decided to donate $10 for every touchdown scored at the game, but soon had to stop. So three other members decided to match his donations, and the funds were raised for at least one more jacket that night. “When this opportunity came up and Lea told me about it, we were quick to join in,” said sponsor Janet Lyons, who had been a cheerleader at MVHS. Her husband Tim had been a three-sport letter winner at MVHS, and both were proud owners of letterman jackets. “We were going to bring them here, but I can’t even get my arm in it, so it’s still in the closet,” she joked. “I’m just really excited to be here today. My husband and I just feel really good about paying forward and giving back,” she said. “We’ve been in this community for over 35 years, and we always try to give back, so our hope is that these recipients of the jackets, when they grow older, they [will give back as well].” Snell shared that inside the pocket of each jacket was an inspirational message from the student’s sponsor. “You could see by the smiles on their faces that they get really excited, and that’s what I get to experience every time,” said Snell. “It’s not just a one-time thing. I get to see it, and I know how they’re going to feel about it. It never gets old; it’s like the kids opening presents on Christmas morning, you know?” Snell explained that the jacket recipients were in the process of writing thank you cards to their sponsors. “That’s their job to do now,” she said. “Write them thank you cards and then present it back to the sponsors - or I give it to them - so that they kind of learn some of the etiquette of receiving gifts.”