As I reflect on my first six months as TGR Foundation’s CEO, I am energized by the incredible impact the organization made in 2023 and excited about our plans for 2024 and beyond. I’m especially thankful for our board of governors, executive leadership, team members and community of donors and partners whose dedication to empowering students to pursue their passions through education makes the important work we do possible.
It was exciting to see the TGR Learning Lab Anaheim in action serving more than 5,000 students in 2023. Our school day, after-school and summer programs helped youth connect their passions to career interests. New multimedia courses facilitated in the Find Your Grind Multimedia Studio were especially popular. Our team also hosted numerous community activities including the Empowered Health Wellness Fair in partnership with Providence and Promise to Talk.
Through an alliance with Providence, Anaheim Union High School District and the North Orange County Regional Occupation Program, we launched new career-connected learning opportunities for high school students this fall. The Community Health Academy and Healthcare Career Explorer Field Trip provided students with an interest in healthcare careers and unique educational experiences with Providence professionals. The success of the new opportunities was highlighted by student feedback in which 98% of participants gained a deeper understanding of healthcare careers and 91% felt the activities supported their career goals.
Our partnership with the Department of Defense STEM continued providing collaborative opportunities to support students and educators through two exciting new initiatives. The first bi-annual Pathways to College and Careers Conference was held at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. The event brought military-connected students and families together with educational institutions and speakers to help them prepare for life after high school. Our inaugural Educator Symposium educators across Southern California in a day of free, interactive workshops, professional learning and resources.
2023 also was an incredible year for TGR Live, which executed six amazing events, including the recently completed Hero World Challenge where our founder, Tiger Woods, returned to competitive golf. During the tournament, we were able to highlight several of our students on the national television broadcast, including Sammy Mohammed.
In 5th grade, Sammy began attending programs at the TGR Learning Lab where he connected his passion for computer science to tangible skills and career opportunities. He was later accepted into our Earl Woods Scholar Program and continued to receive comprehensive support while earning his undergraduate degree from Stanford, including mentorship by Tiger himself. Sammy is now a software engineer at Google and is paying his experience forward as an Earl Woods Scholar Program mentor.
The future of TGR Foundation is incredibly bright and 2024 is already shaping up to be another remarkable year. We will continue expanding our programs at the TGR Learning Lab Anaheim while also laying the groundwork for new TGR Learning Labs in Philadelphia, PA, and Los Angeles, CA, in 2025 and 2026, respectively. I am both excited and honored to be leading our mission-driven expansion efforts to provide more youth from under-resourced communities equitable access to educational opportunities and resources.
Thank you for being a champion for youth!
