Meet Vince Allen, Sharon Elefant and Ivann Acuna of Engage The Vision Foundation in South Central

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vince Allen, Sharon Elefant and Ivann Acuna.

On a fateful day in 2011, a couple of men walked into the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary in South Central Los Angeles. These men had one simple request—to mentor the male students of MLK so that they could transcend the negative influences of growing up in low-income minority neighborhoods. Within two years, this program grew into Engage the Vision. Eight years later, mentors have never missed a Friday and 2019 marked the initiation of a mentorship program for girls. Engage the Vision was established with love and so it provides an environment that teaches its young Kings and Queens to love, respect, and lift each other up towards success.

Has it been a smooth road?
Engage the Vision thrives on its mentors embracing human nature to spread love. Participation is never an issue for mentors and students are excited to learn from them. While Engage the Vision has been very successful with positive student/mentor interactions, there is need for more growth. As a non-profit, Engage the Vision relies on the love and charity of others to be able to do special events like field trips, provide healthier foods for students, and employ motivational speakers.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Engage The Vision Foundation – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Engage the Vision’s mission is to encourage and empower our youth through consistent weekly mentoring We work to educate and liberate inner-city boys and their families to reach their highest potential. The result of our work is building strong, effective, self-sufficient and safe communities for everyone to be uplifted in.

Our vision is to enrich our children and our communities through an abundant outpouring of love and resources flowing from our valued network of partners. Our uniqueness derives from perpetually operating with grace, acceptance, generosity, forgiveness, and love. We strive to respect and support each other’s individual paths and identities by combining our gifts for a synergy of progressive greatness. Ultimately, we want to establish our ETV mentorship program in as many schools as possible and promote that we are all equal in life and can face it together.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We love the amount of diversity Los Angeles has to offer in its people and even terrain. There’s no need to choose between climbing a mountain, chilling out at the beach, or exploring the desert when you can do all three. Every person is unique and there are thousands of incredible people to be met in Los Angeles. This city would be a paradise if only public transportation was more efficient and it did not have the worst traffic recorded in the United States.

Pricing:

• $29.99 Engage the Vision King Shirts – all proceeds go towards supporting youth in our program

Contact Info:

• Address: 11138 Del Amo Blvd
  Suite 363 Lakewood, CA 90715
• Phone: 5416023613
• Email: sharon@engagethevision.org
• Instagram: engagethevision
• Facebook: EngageTheVision
• Twitter: engagethevision
• Other: www.vimeo.com/vinceallen/GOLD

Image Credit:
Dean Zulich (@dee_riot)

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.