Oscar Santoyo knows how to keep a promise. He's been doing so for
years at Save Our Youth, where he works as executive director.
Every year, he promises children at the center that if they raise
their grade point averages, they can cut or shave his hair.
Sometimes, they even dye it. In 1999, he said, "They gave me a Mr. T
cut. It looked pretty awful, but a deal's a deal."
The Estancia High graduate has also taken pies in the face from
time to time.
Santoyo and others at Save Our Youth have shown this kind of
commitment throughout the 10-year existence of the Westside center
and have encouraged those who use the facilities to do the same. And
it has paid off.
The nonprofit that provides an alternative to gangs and street
life does more than that. It provides recreational needs that are not
necessarily available in the area for low-income families. Those
include the fully-equipped boxing center and softball games against
the Costa Mesa City Council.
Save Our Youth also goes out of its way to help teens succeed. It
donates scholarships to make college a bit more accessible. It
provides after school tutoring for middle and high school students.
In an area of Costa Mesa that people constantly ask the City
Council to improve, Save Our Youth is doing just that. It's working
hard on a labor of love to enable those living on the Westside to
succeed. It's providing something that might otherwise not be
available.
Save Our Youth should serve as an example not only to other
nonprofits, but also to the various naysayers who claim that Westside
nonprofits only attract illegal immigrants and, thus, raise the crime
rates.
It seems Save Our Youth aims to do quite the opposite: lower crime
rates by reducing gang membership. Perhaps those who criticize the
city's nonprofits should do a little less arguing and a little more
volunteering. Save Our Youth and those who use the center would
welcome the help -- and benefit from it.
