Woodshop is making a difference
At Santiago Charter Middle School in Orange, woodshop and the life skills it can teach are offered. And evidence of the students’ skills stands out in the community.
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A project that began the year before was recently finished by student: building 20 beautifully crafted “Little Free Libraries.”
“To me, woodshop means personal freedom,” Emilia Medvitz, an 8th-grade student said. “It’s a class where you get to express your creativity while having fun with friends, plus, many of the projects we make, we give back to our community. I love to see others using things that I helped to build.”
The woodshop students and their teacher, Jason Askenaze, are excited for these little libraries to promote literacy throughout the city.
While technology seems to be moving at a rapid pace these days, Santiago’s Woodshop program teaches fundamental skills that stand the test of time, said Askenaze who has been the school’s woodshop teacher for 23 years.
“The life skills I instill in my students include, ‘always finish what you start’ and ‘keep going until you feel it’s perfect,” he said.
Another 8th grade woodshop student at Santiago, Isaac Bignami, said, “The most valuable thing I’ve learned in Woodshop is patience and the ability to overcome obstacles. In life, things don’t always go according to plan.”
Building compassion projects is not new to Santiago’s woodshop class. Every year the students build two custom toy cars. One car they get to keep, and one car they give away. Over the years, Santiago has sent thousands of hand-crafted toy cars to different orphanages around the world.
— Submitted by Jason Askenaze
Laurie Zagon, left, founder/director of Art & Creativity for Healing, appears with Joanna Kim, the nonprofit’s 2026 Volunteer of the Year honoree. (Courtesy of Tony Lattimore)
Laurie Zagon, right, founder/director of Art & Creativity for Healing, appears with Rainey Porras, the nonprofit’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. (Courtesy of Tony Lattimore)
Gianna Carlile, a senior at JSerra Catholic High School, has raised more than $60,000 to help fund clean water wells in rural Uganda through her work with Wells of Life. (Courtesy of Carlile family)
Members of the Laguna Beach Sister Cities Association delegation are pictured with regional leaders and hosts in Fuji Five Lakes, Japan, during their Friendship City visit. (Courtesy of Laguna Beach Sister Cities Association)
Connor Aakre continues assembly of a Little Free Library for the community in woodshop class at Santiago Charter Middle School. (Courtesy of Isaak Askenaze)
Twenty Little Free Libraries for the community are built by a woodshop class at Santiago Charter Middle School. (Courtesy of Isaak Askenaze)
2 O.C. women help others heal through art
Two Orange County women have earned recognition for their work with a local charity. Laguna Hills resident Rainey Porras and Irvine resident Joanna Kim found themselves in the spotlight at Art & Creativity for Healing’s event.
During Art of Hope and Healing Gala and Casino Night, Porras received the Teacher of the Year award for her dedication as an Art4Healing facilitator for two years, primarily working with at-risk teens in juvenile hall and alternative education programs.
Kim was recognized as the organization’s Volunteer of the Year at the same gala. Kim has been instrumental in the success of the nonprofit’s newer Down to Paint program, which serves Down syndrome teens and adults and their caregivers. Kim assists families with all aspects of the program and even captures photos of participants while they paint.
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Art & Creativity for Healing’s mission is to support emotional healing through art and creative expression for those living with pain, grief, fear or stress. Founded by Laguna Niguel resident Laurie Zagon in 2000, the Art4Healing curriculum contains strictly guided exercises, rather than loosely formatted art sessions.
More than 100,000 individuals served by more than 40 partner agencies have participated in the exercises, which are specially designed to encourage emotional responses, leaving participants encouraged with enhanced clarity and insight.
For more information about Art & Creativity for Healing, call 949-367-1902 or visit art4healing.org.
– Submitted by Barbara Kimler
O.C. student helps fund clean water wells in Uganda
Gianna Carlile, a recent senior at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, has helped fund 17 clean water wells in rural Uganda through her work with Wells of Life, raising more than $60,000 for the cause.
Carlile is working toward funding her 18th well. Her efforts address the global water crisis affecting more than 2.2 billion people, and she has expanded her impact by engaging fellow students through campus clubs and events like Walk for Water.
Carlile’s journey with Wells of Life began in 2016 when she was 8 years old and part of a small faith-sharing group called Precious Flowers. They chose Wells of Life as their mission outreach project.
After the group disbanded, Carlile continued being an advocate for Wells of Life, especially for the girls in Uganda, who fetch water from dirty ponds and carry it for miles, every day, often missing out on going to school. Every 21 seconds, a child dies from waterborne diseases due to dirty water.
Over the past decade, Carlile has participated in and organized multiple fundraisers to raise awareness and collect money for the cause. Her website, GiannaCarlile.com, links to her fundraising campaign, and all the donations go directly to building and restoring water wells.
“I want to make a difference and raise awareness about this fundamental human right,” she said. “Everyone should have access to clean water. It’s hard to believe so many people can’t just turn on a faucet and get water or take a shower … something so many of us take for granted.”
The Bravo! section highlights achievements of our residents and groups. Send news of achievements for consideration to [email protected].
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