The LA Galaxy Foundation and Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) teamed up on Wednesday to launch a dedicated photography program at Santa Ana Police Athletic & Activity League (PAAL). The photography program will serve local youth through the Santa Ana PAAL, a crime prevention program that employs educational, athletic, and recreational activities for at-risk youth.
"Through our partnership with Southern New Hampshire University, the LA Galaxy Foundation is able to invest additional resources and tools that will one day create long-term education and career opportunities for youth in our local community," said LA Galaxy Community Relations Director Lauren Nowinski. "With the building of our recent mini-pitch at Andrew Jackson Elementary School and now the launch of this photography program at Santa Ana PAAL, the LA Galaxy and our partners like Southern New Hampshire University are committing to the expansion of soccer and education-based programming in the Greater Los Angeles area."
The event, which was be open to the local community and attended by various community leaders, featured the unveiling of numerous gifts to Santa Ana PAAL on behalf of SNHU and the LA Galaxy Foundation. An official unveiling ceremony kicked off the start of the photography program, which included LA Galaxy defender Daniel Steres, photographer Robert Mora and Sloan Kelly, SNHU Associate Dean of Faculty for Graphic Design & Communication.
Following the launch, LA Galaxy photographer Robert Mora was on site to offer first-hand tutorials on photography and photo editing to youth in attendance.
Earlier this year, the LA Galaxy Foundation, in partnership with MLS Works and SNHU, launched a mini-pitch at Andrew Jackson Elementary School in Santa Ana, where forward Giovani dos Santos was on hand to dedicate the mini-pitches as hundreds of local youth attended. After the mini soccer courts were unveiled, the Santa Ana PAAL has continued to utilize the courts by implementing ongoing soccer programming available to youth throughout the school year.
