Emerging Light Foundation

emerging light foundation

The Emerging Light Foundation (ELF) is committed to enhancing the quality of the lives of children and families by providing them with love, support, education, and mentorship through real relationships that offer the opportunity to succeed! ELF is an entirely volunteer run and managed non-profit organization. We are 501c3 approved by the IRS.

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ABOUT ELF

Company Bio

Emerging Light Foundation (ELF) is a faith-based non-profit that opened in May 2008, and is based in Los Angeles County, California. ELF's immediate objective is to provide support services for youth in surrounding communities of all backgrounds and circumstances by creating real relationships to fill real needs. By creating these mentor relationships with volunteer adults, youth can be built up through instruction, tutoring, career mentorships, vocational training, training for independent living, and other related services. These services are designed to improve educational performance, personal achievement, and build better futures. ELF partners with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the local communities, schools and churches in providing these services to all youth. Due to our partnerships, we are able to reach out and collaborate with churches, schools, communities, foster families, group homes of all ethnicities to create free youth clubs where the relationships can be built!

The organization began when founders, Thomas Caldwell, Eric Garthoffner and Christopher Jahng created and volunteered for a foster youth program (Impacting Hearts - Youth Club Nights) and agreed that impacting a child's life involved more than two hours a week. They could not believe how much under-privileged youth suffered in personal achievement compared to the general population of family-raised youth. Also staggering, was the discovery that out of the 500,000 foster youth in America today, 100,000 (20%) were right here, in California. They immediately recruited some amazing volunteers who would become true partners in the battle against low expectations and the team continues to grow today!

In May 2008, ELF began a youth club program called Operation F.U.N. (Family United Network) at Greater First Christian Church in Torrance. This youth club is designed to feel like a family gathering, that allows all youth and volunteers to play games, enjoy dinner, attend workshops, and engage in an educational or spiritual message all in the foundation of creating real relationships. This model for a free public youth club hosted at a local church and provided to local communities was duplicated in August of 2009 with the opening of the "True Dat" youth club in Compton hosted at Church of Redeemer. ELF believes that through limitless love and guidance, all foster youth will be able to make boundless contributions to their communities.

In December of 2008, ELF also launched a new youth/young adult program called LSAP (Life Skills Advancement Program) which helps emancipated foster youth transition into successful adulthood by providing direct mentoring and support for real life-skills needs.

Every effort is built under the foundation of true relationships, where boys and girls can be raised up to men and women, under loving guidance and honest care as the adult volunteers give their time, experience, love and expertise to the youth, and then their families. ELF is an entirely volunteer run and operated organization.

OPERATION FUN
Every Wednesday night in Torrance!

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