Brick Breaking

“You should talk to Sandy on the Westside. She’s a mom and is really involved.”
“Have you met the Trujillos? They’re very involved at Harding School.”
“I should put you in touch with Mina. She lives in Oxnard, but she knows a lot of Westside contacts through her painting business.”
This last month I’ve felt a bit like the ball in the old ‘Brick Breaker’ arcade game. You know the one with the ball that you have to bounce off of your little paddle to hit and break the bricks? And with each brick it hits, the ball bounces in a new direction. I’ve been bouncing from Westside connection to Westside connection for the past month or so.
I’ve been spending a lot of my time the last month solely focused on building the Padres Creando Sueños team. And I’m not just hoping to add members by addition - I want to add members with strong leadership qualities who are going to multiply our work. To that end, I’ve been zigzagging all over the Santa Barbara community asking various community organizers, pastors, and residents “who should I talk to?”
You know what the best part of this experience has been? The best part has been that I’m getting to know some of the unsung heroes of the Westside, the folks who may not make headlines by winning elections or owning popular restaurants but who are leading community change efforts all over the Westside. I’m getting to see the best side of the Westside - its assets and strengths.
This month I will continue in developing the team, and then next month we will begin working to grow the new team members into even more powerful work on the Westside.