Honoring DreamBuilders: The Los Angeles Chargers

Their continued investment is part of a multi-year partnership, and we are so grateful for their support in expanding access to educational enrichment and wellness programs that unveil the full potential of the youth we serve.

“It is a tremendous honor to be named a 2025 inductee into the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles Hall of Fame,” said A.G. Spanos, President of the Board for the Chargers Impact Fund,

“Having the chance to play even a small role in the incredible work the Club does and to witness the growth of these kids over the past seven years has been nothing short of inspiring. While our goal has always been to inspire them, the truth is, they have been the ones inspiring us. Empowering future generations has always been central to our family’s values. It was a passion of my grandparents from the very beginning, and it is a true privilege to carry that legacy forward and help shape the future of our local youth.”

Together, we’ve created meaningful and inspiring opportunities that encourage Club members to develop their mental and emotional well-being, fostering personal growth and resilience.

Rhymes with Reason: Where Lyrics Shape Vocabulary

Especially at the Watts/Willowbrook Club, music is how young people understand the world, share their feelings, and tell their stories. When we partnered with the Chargers to launch Rhymes with Reason — a literacy program that uses hip-hop to teach vocabulary and reading comprehension — something clicked.

Throughout this curriculum, youth break down the lyrics of the artists they love, building authentic connections to language while discovering new ways to understand themselves and their place in the world. For many, it’s the first time their interests have been reflected in what they’re learning.

Thanks to this collaboration, we’ve engaged hundreds of Club teens through Rhymes with Reason, advancing literacy while affirming their voice, identity, and creativity.



Rhymes with Reason: Where Lyrics Shape Vocabulary



Our Director of Wellness and Support Services, Jocelyne Cortes, puts it best:

“Research shows that when youth have access to safe spaces and trusted adults, they’re more likely to build resilience, improve emotional well-being, and thrive. A single moment of support can transform struggle into strength and change the trajectory of a young person’s life.”

Mental well-being starts with caring spaces where young people can pause, reflect, and be reminded that they matter. In California alone, over 284,000 youth experience major depression, yet two out of three receive no treatment at all (Governor Newsom’s Master Plan for Kids' Mental Health, 2022). In our communities, we see the toll of this crisis on students’ ability to focus, believe in themselves, and succeed both in and out of the classroom every day.

So, we start with what matters most: creating a foundation of safety where healing can begin.

What started with a single Calm Corner in 2023 has evolved into a network of fully funded spaces in every BGCMLA Club, including Challengers/South LA, Venice, Bell Gardens, and Watts/Willowbrook. Each Calm Corner is purposefully designed to help Club members self-regulate, reflect, and develop coping skills. These spaces include sensory toys, noise-reducing headphones, calming visuals, art supplies, books, and technology that reinforces social-emotional learning.

This vital expansion has helped ensure that every young person who walks through our doors has access to tools that help their emotional well-being. As shared by one of our young Club Members:

"[The Calm Corner room] makes you laugh and helps you and your friends calm down. At first you might be nervous, angry, or sad, but everything in it cheers you up!"

Bolts Book Club: Stories That Reflect and Inspire



Through the Bolts Book Club, Club kids receive handpicked books that reflect their identities, spark curiosity, and foster a lifelong love of reading. Each story offers more chances for youth to expand their imagination and explore the world through words.

The best part is that reading becomes a shared experience. Group discussions and themed activities help bring each story to life, encouraging deeper thinking, creativity, and connection. Some of the most meaningful moments happen when Chargers players, including safety Derwin James, visit to read alongside youth and remind them that reading is a source of pride and power at every stage of life.

Lighting the Way for Youth

For our community, the Chargers are vital dream builders, advocates, and champions of youth equity. Their continued partnership fuels year-round programming that nurtures literacy, emotional resilience, and self-expression in the youth we serve.

That’s why we’re honored to celebrate the Chargers and the Chargers Impact Fund at our upcoming DreamBuilders Gala, as we reflect on all we’ve achieved together and imagine even more possibilities for Metro Los Angeles youth.

Because when we invest in young people, we’re helping them discover their power, their voice, and the confidence to lead for generations to come.

Celebrate with us at the DreamBuilders Gala on October 17, 2025 as we honor the Los Angeles Chargers and champion the life-changing impact of accessible, year-round youth programming. Your presence helps keep programs that encourage academic success, healthy lifestyles, leadership development, creativity, and mental wellness updated and relevant for generations.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Kim Washington, VP of Philanthropy & Marketing, at kimberly.washington@bgcmla.org.

For auction donations, contact Brianna Moeller, Resource Development Specialist, at brianna.moeller@bgcmla.org.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles (BGCMLA): Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles (BGCMLA) provides trusted safe spaces where young people can explore who they are, face challenges with confidence, and grow into their full potential. Since the 1960s, our caring mentors and culturally relevant programs have helped both children and teens succeed in school, develop as leaders, and prepare for healthy, fulfilling, and prosperous lives. By meeting each Club member where they are and nurturing who they can become, we ensure the next generation has the tools, guidance, and confidence to turn their dreams into reality. We serve thousands of members at our Club locations in South Los Angeles, Bell Gardens, Watts-Willowbrook, Inglewood, and Venice. For more information, please visit our website at bgcmla.org and follow BGCMLA on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

About the Chargers Impact Fund: The Los Angeles Chargers Impact Fund, a 501(c)3 public charity, focuses on two main pillars – Youth Empowerment and Community Advancement – to achieve its mission of creating opportunity in under-resourced neighborhoods so today’s dreams can become tomorrow’s reality. Founded by Alex & Faye Spanos in 1995, the Impact Fund is rooted in their belief that a solid family foundation, and the ability to lean on each other, is critical to future success. To date, the Chargers Impact Fund has awarded more than $12 million in direct community assistance and continues to honor Alex and Faye Spanos’ legacy by bringing fans, volunteers, players and donors together to create supportive environments in which the next generation can thrive. For more information on the Chargers Impact Fund, please visit www.chargers.com/impact-fund/.

About the Los Angeles Chargers: Entering their 66th season in Southern California, the Chargers continue to stretch the imagination and put on the most exciting show in football. But don’t let the idyllic West Coast setting and iconic powder blue uniforms – widely regarded as the NFL’s best – fool you. Behind the dramatic games, unforgettable highlights, beloved players and groundbreaking performances lies an uncompromising drive for success; one rooted in toughness, resilience and good old-fashioned hard work. Established in Los Angeles in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League, the team played in San Diego from 1961 to 2016 and advanced to five of the first six AFL Championship games, capturing the 1963 title. Joining the National Football League when the two leagues merged in 1970, the Chargers have since claimed an additional 10 division titles and appeared in Super Bowl XXIX. Owned by the Spanos family since 1984, the Chargers returned to Los Angeles in 2017, opened their multi-billion-dollar SoFi Stadium home in 2020, moved into their new quarter-billion-dollar El Segundo training facility in the heart of Los Angeles’ South Bay in 2024 and continue to redefine what an NFL franchise looks like in the 21st century. Learn more at www.chargers.com and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.