Local Celebrities Serve to Benefit Underserved Youth

This Friday, San Diego Chargers, Padres players and Sheriff Bill Gore will be serving lunch and trying to earn tips they can donate to a nonprofit that supports underserved youth and is closely linked to our County Probation Department.

The 13^th Annual Celebrity Waiter Luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Market Creek venue in the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Ave. in San Diego. A silent auction will begin at 11 and the program and lunch will start at noon.

Not sure if you’ll be able to go or not, given Friday time or the donation asked for a ticket — $100 for individuals or a table for 10 for $1,000. But the nonprofit that benefits is a great organization, so feel free to pass the information to anyone who might be interested.

San Diego County Probation Officer Heather Rios said the proceeds go to STAR/PAL, a nonprofit organization that brings law enforcement officers and kids together in positive programs.  STAR/PAL depends on public employees for its programming.  Four members of law enforcement—Rios and three San Diego police officers—work there full time.

The organization’s philosophy is that building a positive relationship between officers and youth creates safer neighborhoods in the future. Rios, who has worked as a probation officer for 14 years, was assigned to work directly with the STAR/PAL program last December and supports the organization’s efforts.

 “I worked so long in Juvenile Hall and I felt like I was getting a hold of kids after I could have helped them. Here, I get a chance to get to the kids before they get to that step where they have to go to Juvenile Hall,” Rios said. “I get to have more of an impact on these kids before they make that mistake, so it won’t affect the rest of their lives.”

STAR/PAL offers kids free recreational and sports programs that include field trips and educational programming such as diversion classes. Field trips include entertainment such as Circus Vargas, Disney on Ice, surfing clinics, fishing derbies, Junior Chargers Training Camp and the Padres Baseball Camp.

Often, the field trips are an opportunity for some of the kids to do or see things they otherwise might not, said Rios.

On a daily basis, about 35 kids come into the STAR/PAL center in City Heights for sports programs and a homework tutor hour. Annually, more than 10,000 youth participate in STAR/PAL activities or programs across the county.

The six-week-long diversion classes are taught by Rios and the three police officers. The program is offered four times a year with separate classes for girls and boys, she said. The kids are ordered to take the classes usually after being arrested for violating the 10 p.m. curfew, Rios said.  The classes focus on safety issues such as the dangers of drugs and alcohol, preventing sexual assault, conflict resolution, and crime prevention.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts will be presenting a Superheroes for Youth Award to former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and his wife Rana Sampson.

To purchase a ticket for the Celebrity Waiter Luncheon, call (619) 531-2559 or email coleary@starpal.org. The STAR/PAL web site is at http://www.starpal.org.