Zeitgeist Community Learning Center is having its first online auction, featuring items from local vendors, through December 16 (www.zclc.org, under the Events section). The proceeds will help support the nonprofit organization’s free after-school and summer programs for elementary and middle school students in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, where the center is located. Local vendors contributing to the online auction include Boca Man, Denton Jewelers, Black Ink, Pearl Dragon, the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, the Pilates Fitness Center, Bambino Photos, and the Self Centre, and the accounting firm Johnson, Harband, Foster and Darling, who donated a free consultation and a tax return. Rare and high-end auction items include tickets to a film premiere, a gourmet five-course in-home dinner, a week-long retreat at a home in Sun Valley, and a day of beauty at Burke-Williams spa. Zeitgeist, which means “the spirit of the time,” utilizes the skills of high school mentors, many of whom are bused to school at Palisades High School from their homes in the Crenshaw area. “These talented high school students provide homework help, tutoring and guidance to younger students in a variety of enriching activities,” says Palisadian Jake Phillips, 29, who co-founded the organization with Jennifer Welsh, 28, about two years ago. Other local board members include Don Burgess, who attended PaliHi, and Bruce Dickieson, a partner at Johnson, Harband, Foster and Darling, which is located in the Washington Mutual building in the Palisades. “Our organization has grown to depend on support from the local community,” says Phillips, who was the owner of the Palisades-based Brain Storm Tutoring until February 2004 when he closed its doors to focus on the development of ZCLC. Students and families at the center participate in educational and fun field trips. Over the past year, the Santa Maria Trails & Parks Association has sponsored trips to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Malibu Lagoon and the Children’s Nature Festival in Temescal Gateway Park. “We will be taking a field trip to UCLA’s Stunt Ranch in the next couple of months,” says Phillips, a graduate of Duke who has been accepted to Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government but will be deferring admission to help ZCLC reach sustainability. Welsh grew up in the Palisades, attended Dartmouth College and is currently a doctoral student in education at USC, where she was recently recognized with an Award for Excellence in Teaching. ZCLC is currently facing financial difficulties and needs community support more than ever. For more information or to make a donation, go to www.zclc.org or call (323) 299-2194.
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