June is always an exciting time of the year as Summer begins to set in. With Summer comes a lot of celebrations, park trips and new beginnings for our community.

In this month's R-Guide, we have our 2022 Nonprofit of the Year, a new cultural arts center coming to SELA, and highlights of @rendon63rd in May.

Happy Summer!

I'm excited to announce that this year’s Assembly District 63 Nonprofit of the Year is Budding Artists.

Budding Artists was established in 2018 by close friends, Dakota McMahand and Sarah Tanberg. Both of them are educators who seeked to "create sustainable change in under-resourced communities of color." Their goal with Budding Artists was to provide free process-based art experiences to children ages 3-5 to prepare students for successful participation in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) programs during elementary school.

They have been great partners and I especially appreciate all of the work they did to ensure that our district's young children had access to the arts during the pandemic. The impact it had on our kids is undeniable.

On behalf of our SELA community, congratulations to Budding Artists for being this year's AD63 Nonprofit of the Year. Thank you for all that you do!

For the past few years, residents of Southeast Los Angeles have been working on something big.

Folks who live in SELA have been invited to participate and give their valuable input on the possible construction of a new, state-of-the-art Cultural Arts Center.

The focus and the goal of the Center is to celebrate, highlight and showcase the talents of artists in the SELA community. There is an amazing amount of talent and cultural richness in our communities, and the world needs to know about it.

World-renowned architect FranK Gehry has designed the SELA Cultural Art Center, and this would be the first time in history that a multi-arts facility with world-class architecture design could be built in SELA.

For generations, we have had to travel long distances to enjoy plays, concerts, or art exhibitions. However, with a center like the SELA Cultural Art Center in their backyard, residents will benefit tremendously and it could become the pride and joy of the community.

I hope you enjoy this video and are excited just like we are about the future of the SELA Cultural Art Center!

Southeast Los Angeles Cultural Arts Center

Here are some May highlights from my social media @rendon63rd!

I was proud to join Assemblymember Carrillo in welcoming Father Boyle of Homeboy Industries to the Capitol last week. Homeboy Industries is a nationwide model for gang rehabilitation and re-entry services, and has provided critical resources to thousands of people.

I had a great time touring Montara Avenue Elementary School in South Gate. I was able to award retiring Principal Juana Cortez with a resolution recognizing her many years of service to our kids. I also got the chance to check out Mrs. Figueroa's Reading Intervention classroom, which helps boost reading levels for kids. She's done a great job creating a warm, welcoming environment, and it was great to see that in person.

I'm giving Anthony Rendon of the Angels a run for his money – I got to throw the first pitch at the South Gate Junior Athletic Association's 70th Opening Day Ceremony! I had a ton of fun and even managed to get the ball over the plate. A big win for me and a great day in South Gate!

We welcomed PATH Ventures to South Gate for their grand opening of Path Villas.

Path Villas is a 60 unit permanent supportive housing development that will serve low-income, homeless veterans, and individuals living with mental illness who are transitioning out of homelessness.

It's great to have partners who are committed to end homelessness by investing supportive services and affordable housing to help our community members who are rebuilding their lives.

Thank you and congratulations Path Partners!

I had so much fun at our most recent Community Coffee event in Maywood! Thank you to everyone who came out to chat and to Egg N Bird for hosting us. Also, thank you to Eddie De La Riva for giving me this amazing present — an old Maywood Ave street sign that's no longer needed. Can't wait to hang it up in my office!