“Spark Day”
Henry and Susan Samueli founded the Samueli Foundation in 1999. From that, the Samueli Academy was born in Santa Ana- a tuition-free, public charter school for grades 7-12. Every year, the Samueli Academy hosts a “SparkDay”- an event created to connect student groups with local community organizations to volunteer and address real community needs. Through this experience, students develop a deeper sense of leadership, responsibility, and connection to their community. On Friday, March 27th, we had 15 High School Juniors from the Samueli Academy give an hour of their time organizing a large inventory of golf equipment for us at Dad Miller Golf Course. The next hour the teens had the opportunity to experience a First Tee class, learning about pursuing goals and hitting golf balls on the range- a first for many of the teens. We appreciate their support as volunteers and look forward to providing them with more new experiences like this!
“The students truly enjoyed their Spark Day experience. They quickly organized the clubs and had a great time hitting golf balls at the end, which was a fun and memorable way to wrap up the day. I would love for Samueli to continue offering Spark Days at First Tee, as this opportunity is especially meaningful for many students—some of whom may be experiencing golf for the very first time.”- Samueli Academy Staff, Dionicio Lopez
