Bakersfield Life

Tim Hackett - President, Junior Achievement

    “I’m just a normal guy,” Tim Hackett says shyly with a somewhat nervous laugh.
One of the new kids on the block in the world of nonprofit organizations and community philanthropy, Hackett is celebrating his six-month anniversary in Bakersfield as the President of Junior Achievement.
    “I really wasn’t looking for a job,” he says. “I was working for a nonprofit organization in Pasadena that dealt with developmentally disabled adults. Junior Achievement just happened to come into my life.”
    One day while his wife was browsing a job-posting site for nonprofit professionals, she came across the Junior Achievement position. She read the posting and urged Tim to take a close look at it. He did, now he’s helping implement the organization’s mission to better the lives of tomorrow’s future.
    “I was happy where I was at, but I thought it wouldn’t be a bad change and so I applied,” he says. “This has been the best interview I’ve ever had. I instantly fell in love with the organization and knew this is where I wanted to be.”
    Originally from Tempe, Ariz., Hackett found Bakersfield’s small-town charm to be reminiscent of his hometown, an obvious plus when deciding on making a major move for his family.
    “I would venture to say that almost no one intends to go into nonprofit work,” he says. “It’s something that once you are in the business you fall in love with what you’re doing and it becomes your life.”
    Junior Achievement opens the eyes of the children involved by teaching financial literacy, work readiness skills and entrepreneurship, mostly in school or after school and all is done by volunteers.
    “I know, it sounds like it can be a little dry,” he says jokingly. “But these subjects are important and aren’t normally addressed in academic life. Now, more than ever, getting a well paying job is a global concern. So preparing our kids for their economic lives is one of the most important tools they can use.”
    The organization serves about 17,000 kids annually. East High School is implementing Junior Achievement’s program as a part of their freshman boot camp. Hackett says the only way they can grow and thrive is with the help of volunteers.
“For some kids, we give them hope,” he says. “Their parents, or peers or society is telling them, ‘look, this is where you are from and this is all that is open to you.’ We are trying to show them a vista beyond those barriers.”
    Currently, Junior Achievement is pursuing what is called the Hispanic Initiative – the pairing of a Hispanic mentor with a classroom filled predominantly with Hispanic students. 
    “This will give them role models and help them see beyond any circumstance they may be in,” he says. “The Orange County Superintendent of Schools gave a speech that helped change our perception. He said, the greater the academic success among Hispanic students, there’s a big decrease in popularity among their peers. That’s terrible! We hope this initiative will address these issues.”


Chad Jackman  - Bakersfield’s Police Activities League

Chad Jackman says he is optimistically concerned about Bakersfield’s youth.
    It’s been awhile since Jackman has sat in the seat of executive director of Bakersfield’s Police Activities League, but it’s a seat he is quite familiar with.
While patrolling the streets of a heavily crime-ridden neighborhood, Jackman and another officer thought it would be a good idea to establish an after-school program for children.
    Established in 1994, Jackman was the organization’s original director until he was promoted and fulfilled another role in the Bakersfield Police Department. Although he was present at the center on a daily basis, Jackman made sure he stayed involved by participating on the board of directors. January of last year, he was able to return.
    “We got together with some other members of the department and members of the community after I did some research and found out about the Police Activities League, which is a nationwide organization,” he says.
    The organization started off small with a boxing program and has turned into a highly popular after school program that offers tutoring, mentoring, sports and creative arts activities for youth.
    “I figured, if you put cops, kids and sports together, it would grow,” he says. “It did and it’s gotten huge. I always wanted to be a cop and I think I am in a position that allows me to do a lot of good,” he says. “I like kids and I like coaching. This position not only allows me to coach, but it allows me to be a mentor and a teacher too.”
Unfortunately each day isn’t filled with cheers. Jackman says just this past year the organization took a financial hit with the loss of a large grant.
    “We lost, probably, about 70 percent of our funding,” he says. “So it’s been a challenge to work with the budget and work with what we had and not lose programs and people but administrate the fat out of the way, while making sure the doors stay open.”
    Jackman acknowledges that the community’s dollar is in high demand when it comes to donations and says he is thankful for every bit received by the Police Activities League.
    “I’ve never seen people like the citizens of Bakersfield that pour out their hearts more to really good charities that do really good work,” he says.
The Police Activities League has touched many lives and Jackman says those moments of enlightenment for the youth that pass through the organization’s doors make his job well worth all the hard work.
    “A couple of years ago I ran into a kid at the gym and he asked if I remembered him,” he recalls. “Being a policeman I meet or arrest a lot of people, so I told him no I don’t. And he told me his name and said he was in the original boxing program. He wanted to thank me. He graduated Cal State and was now a stockbroker. He said BPAL had a great impact on his life. That’s huge!”


Brian Mendiburu - Founder, Mendiburu Magic Foundation

For Brian Mendiburu, creating a successful and community-adored nonprofit organization has been a bittersweet accomplishment in his life. It was because of his mother, Nancy-Ann Mendiburu, whose death was due to ovarian cancer in 2000. In return, Brian formed the Mendiburu Magic Foundation.
    “I have always enjoyed nonprofit work and found that profession to be meaningful and filled with passion,” he says.  “The foundation is 100 percent volunteer and my paid job is with Kern High School District as Dean of Students at East Bakersfield High School. I love my job!”
    Brian is humble and will be the last person to give himself a pat on the back. That is quite possibly why so many community leaders and officials have willingly joined his efforts to fulfill the organization’s mission to aid ongoing medical research for cancer, help children and families affected by any catastrophic or life threatening illness and maintain community impact programs with an emphasis on positive youth development.
    “We have an outstanding Board of Directors and amazing group of supporters that believe in our mission.  The Chairman of the Community Advisory Board is Larry Reider and this man represents intellect, loyalty, work ethic, common sense, and integrity,” he says proudly.  “The organization is thoughtful and thorough when it comes to assistance…the goals and priorities that we set are close to anyone’s heart – I once heard a wonderful quote that said it is easy to make a buck, but a lot tougher to make a difference.”
    Those who know Brian know he is loyal, built with integrity and a man of his word. He is also driven to impact the lives of others.
    “The foundation has established separate and distinct monetary assistance funds at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital (CHW facilities), Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, UCLA Medical Center and Central California Children’s Hospital specifically for Kern County children and families. This fund has been made possible by the generosity and community support of the foundation,” he says.
    The foundation has just begun to spike on the radar of the community and shows no signs of declining in popularity. Regardless of what Brian may think, it’s all because of him and his love for his mother.
    “People who need help have a new direction to turn now, when all else seems to be hopeless; so many of us depended on my mom for this kind of amazing empowerment when she was around. As did my mom, I wear a rubber band on my wrist every waking moment. For me, this symbol represents her courage, hope, and willingness to stay optimistic and fight,” he says. “I can either cry each passing day or use my energy to fight this disease and help people in her community. Besides that with my wife Valerie, my mom is truly the most important relationship that I have ever had with a single person and this connection we shared will touch lives for years to come.”


Daphne Harley  - President, Bakersfield Downtown Rotary

    Daphne Harley isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel; she’s hoping to give it a new direction to spin. She’s driven. She openly admits to being too serious at times and fundamentally a perfectionist.
    Rotary is about civic service, first within your community and then across the globe. A well-polished Rotarian isn’t a member for prestige or constant accolade; they’re a member because they believe in making a difference in the world. That is why Daphne makes the perfect president of Bakersfield Downtown Rotary.
Inspired by her former boss, Rotary came into Daphne’s life as a simple invitation. Contemplating becoming a member, the timing was off. But the timing was off as Daphne was an avid volunteer with Kappa Alpha Kappa Sorority and various other local organizations including The Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Bakersfield program.
    “The timing had to be right,” she says. “I’m one of those people that likes to be actively involved in everything I am associated with. After joining, I jumped in with both feet and learned a lot about the club and did it fast.”
    Rotary has a separate foundation designed to aid in philanthropic donations. The group also has a scholarship fund, which Daphne helps oversee. “I like being a part of anything that helps students accomplish their goals through education,” she says.
    There are three things that are requested of Rotarians – to give of their time, their talents and their treasures.
     “As a single parent and a government employee, I don’t have a tremendous amount of financial resources that I can give, I can’t write the big checks,” she says. “But I can give my time and oftentimes our time is more valuable than money. You can’t buy time. And you can’t buy reputation. Those are two things I value.”
    Daphne’s visions and personal dedication are proof that anyone who wants to make a difference in the community can.
     “As president of my sorority, I’ve done a lot in terms of helping the community that looks like me, but didn’t have as many opportunities to help the community in general,” she says. “Rotary provided me this new opportunity and that meant a lot to me. I am so many more dimensions than the color of my skin, and too often that’s what people focus on.”
    By the end of Daphne’s term as president of Downtown Rotary, there’s one thing she hopes stands out in the community – the reinstallment of ethics.
    “There’s been an erosion of ethics in our country,” she says. “I can’t change the national problem; however, I believe our club by virtue of the quality of people in there, we can impact our youth and educate them on the value of ethics. How will we do this? We’ll do it by educating in schools through a program called Character Counts, which is already in place. We need to move the teaching to youth competition and sports. We’ll create a community dialogue. We’ll communicate. We’ll learn to pursue victory through honor.”


Louis Gill - Bakersfield Homeless Center & Alliance Against Family Violence

    As the Executive Director of the Bakersfield Homeless Center and Alliance Against Family Violence, Louis Gill’s focus is wide and he says simply, “I care and I try. That’s where I start.” His competitive nature shines when talking about his future projects for the Bakersfield Homeless Center and Alliance Against Family Violence. When he talks about the future there’s no doubt that he is determined to make his hopes for the nonprofit a reality.
    “I’m a fairly competitive person,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t like failing. So, we work really hard to avoid it. Failing in this job can hurt people. If we don’t provide the services that people need, it can negatively affect lives. We have to make sure we don’t fall down.”
    Gill’s entire professional career has been centered on nonprofit work. Originally from the Bay Area, he came to Bakersfield eight years ago and never looked back.
“Nonprofit work sort of found me and truthfully I never thought I would do it,” he says.
    While living up north, he found Saint Johns Educational Threshold Center, which was an after-school tutoring program for immigrant children, which would catch the students up to grade level.
    “I started working there and loved it… I enrolled in The University of San Francisco’s Master’s program for nonprofit administration. That set the stage for everything to come.”
    Despite Gill’s initial thoughts on the homeless population, Gill found his calling in Bakersfield saying every minute has been incredible and invaluable.
    “ I swore I would never work with the homeless,” he says. “That is something I always said, I’m not interested in. I had in my mind it was all drunk old men. That’s what I knew homeless to be. During my interview here I saw families and had to educate myself.”
    And in return he’s educated the community.
    “I don’t get credit for the growth of the organization, it’s a group effort,” he says. “We have an amazing board of directors that are very committed and then our staff is wonderful too. The thing that I have learned about management is, get really good people and then get out of their way.”
    Gill says the nonprofit has seen a lot of success over the years, but there are two instances that really stand out in his mind.
    “The first highlight would be opening the first licensed childcare at a homeless center in the state,” he says. “The second is, becoming affiliated with The Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault has been great. That organization was having some trouble and now that we have been with them, it’s stronger than it has been in years.”
    Nonprofit work isn’t easy, and Gill isn’t afraid to say it. But that’s not why he’s in the business of giving back.
    “Having an organization that is responsive to the needs of families that are in crisis has got to be one of the things I am the most proud of,” he says. “At the end of the day, there’s a group of people that have asked for help and they are safe, warm and they are fed. If that won’t get you out of bed, then nothing will.”


Judi McCarthy  - The Kern Community Foundation

Welcome to participatory philanthropy.
    It wasn’t long ago that The Kern Community Foundation assessed the need of Kern’s women and girls. As a result of the dire need of financial funding for education and health related programs, the Women and Girls’ fund was established.
    In 2004 Dave Parker, the Vice President of the Kern Community Foundation, canvassed a group of women throughout the city to generate feedback on the fund’s establishment and purpose in the community. Luckily for the foundation, it has Judi McCarthy paving the way for the fund’s present and future well-being.
Judi’s inquisitive nature propelled her into learning as much as possible about the fund, how it would be generated, maintained and help the community. A strong supporter of making your home a better place, Judi’s passion, intellect and pragmatic personality is the fund personified.
    “I was invited to join the board of directors with the task of exploring the fund’s feasibility,” she says. “Ever since I moved to Bakersfield in the ’80s, I have always volunteered. I’ve always been interested in community foundations. I wasn’t looking for it, it found me.”
    The timing was right for Judi to head the promotion of the new community fund. Having a newly emptied nest at home, Judi had wondered what her next step would be. Little did she know that she would nurture such an important fund for Bakersfield.
    “I thought, maybe this is what I am supposed to do,” she says. “It intrigued me. I liked the idea of a community working together to improve itself through the vehicle of a community fund.”
    Judi has quickly generated awareness for the fund over the past three years and not with any traditional means of marketing. She’s relied solely on word of mouth and taking any opportunity to speak about the fund and its work in a group setting.
The money given to various nonprofits from the Women and Girls fund is extra special to the organizations, Judi says. It’s an extra source of money added to the organizations’ yearly fundraising campaigns.
    “I hope someday, soon the Kern Community Foundation will be the leader of Philanthropy in Kern County,” she says. “I hope to see the fund as the premier funding entity addressing women and girls’ needs. I’d like to see us making grants in the arena of $50,000 a year. And that’s very ambitious. I’d also like to see more partnership opportunities in Kern County to address our needs.”
In total, the Women and Girl’s fund has 300 donors, and nearly 180 of those donors have given $1,000 or more. But don’t let the price dissuade you from donating. Judi says the fund is open to anyone at any donation value. Currently the endowment is at $375,000.
    “On a good day, I’m very focused,” she says laughing. “This fund means a lot to me. So I’m very organized, focused and dutiful when it comes to representing it.”