Happy House Successes

Honoring Jr. Cadets and Independence Day!

July 24, 2024

This past July, it so happened that the graduation of this class of outstanding young cadets from the LAPD Foothills Jr. Cadet Program landed on the same day of our 4th of July celebration. What better way to celebrate freedom and community than by recognizing these young individuals who have shown commitment, discipline, and a spirit of service to their community? 

Thanks to your continued support, these graduates are ready to lead with pride, embodying the values that make our country great. With your support, these cadets are prepared to carry forward the spirit of independence and responsibility.

Student of the Year!

July 2, 2024

Three years ago this young man arrived at the LAPD Junior Cadet program and even though he was waaaaay behind in school, he attended tutoring, participated in the Happy House/Good Choices program and worked very dedicatedly for all of those years. 

We are now happy to announce that at 12 years old, he is a recent graduate of his class with all As and Bs and is now on his way into the 6th grade! He also received 3 awards: the Presidential Award that is given to those students with excellent grades and behavior; Student of the Year that is given to the student who has had perfect attendance; and last but not least, a special award from his teacher for setting a good example for other students! 

He told us that his success was all due to Junior Cadets and the tutoring he received from the Happy House/Good Choices program, combined with the mentorship from the police officers who guided him in the right direction. 

We are all so very PROUD of YOU!

Recent LAPD Jr. Cadet Graduates!

June 18, 2024

We are thrilled to share these photos from a recent graduation ceremony, where 14 remarkable young individuals graduated from the LAPD Foothills Jr. Cadet Program. Your support has been instrumental in helping these cadets achieve their goals and prepare for a bright future. Together, we’re fostering leadership, discipline, and community spirit in the next generation.

WINS

The graduates provided success testimonials, describing the positive changes and the results they have seen from the Good Choices program. The kids were asked how they had improved their life using the Good Choices program; these are some of their responses:

I feel like I have improved taking care of myself, to love myself first and help children. Also to love and help my parents, not be rude. Next, DO NOT hurt a person who helps others.
– J.A., age 11

I was being very lazy but when I went to this program I started to help my parents and being more grateful.
–K.G., age 11

I feel happier because I can set a good example and I can take care of myself. I started getting ready for school by myself and make my bed.
–N.M., age 8

I feel I can help children more now because I stepped up and help a kid that was unstable and was being bullied. I told the bully to STOP and leave him alone and he listened to me! Now we are all friends! It feels good!
–M.F., age 12

Awards from LA City Council for Happy House Tutors!

June 6, 2024

These Happy House tutors received Certificates of Recognition from Los Angeles City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, recognizing their “outstanding service as a student tutor.” Well done, student tutors!

Love and Honor Your Parents

May 27, 2024

Check out these touching photos of kids learning to ‘love and honor their parents’ through creative activities. With your support, these children have crafted colorful thank-you notes, expressing their appreciation and love. Together, we’re instilling important values that will strengthen their family bonds and enrich their lives.

Celebrating Earth Day

May 22, 2024

We’re excited to share these photos of children participating in Earth Day celebrations with the LAPD Foothills kids! With your support of the Happy House Good Choices Program, these young learners are discovering the importance of environmental care and sustainability. Together, we’re nurturing a love for our planet and inspiring future generations to protect and cherish it.

Hard Work Pays Off!

April 1, 2024

Left: Our Junior Cadets from LAPD Foothills were awarded for their hard work using Happy House/Good Choices.

Below: Congressman Tony Cárdenas awarded 12 Junior Cadets from the LAPD Mission Station with iPads for their perfect attendance and hard work with the after-school tutoring program.

More Successes!

February 20, 2024

Our first Happy House Good Choices graduation group of 62 Jr. Cadets ages 8-12 from the LAPD Mission Station on Feb. 7, 2024! 

All 62 kids completed the program and received certificates. The children wrote testimonials about what they had learned and how they had improved their lives by following the Good Choices program. Here are some testimonial highlights as well as some photos of the graduates!

“I HAVE IMPROVED MY LIFE BY USING THE FOLLOWING GOOD CHOICES”

Helping others in need.
Behaving in school.
Helping my parents and being nice to them.
Not stealing or taking things that are not mine.   

–Y.G., age 11

 

I have improved my life being a nicer kid to mom and brother and sister and friends.
–I.S., age 10

 

I have improved my choices by being more neater, more nicer, and by doing everything my mom and dad tell me to do.
– C.C., age 11

 

I have improved my good choices and I am more nicer than before.
– E.M., age 9

 

My friends and  teacher said I am more respectful.
–S.R., age 10

 

I have improved my life by not procrastinating and doing all my homework from school.
I have also improved my life by helping my parents around the house more.
Lastly, I have improved my life by eating less junk food at school.
–J.L., age 12

Dear Mrs. Carol: Fantastic success from Happy House tutoring!

February 9, 2024

Happy House received a very heartfelt (and very long!) letter from a grateful mother of a recent tutoring student. The whole letter is overflowing with praise and thanks for the tutoring program and one-on-one care. The letter is too long to post here in its entirety, but here’s an excerpt to give you an idea of the improvement she’s seen in her son:

As you know Andres’s academic performance was very low at the start of this process. However, I feel it is very important that you must know that he has made great improvements. He has come home with lessons/quizzes of 92%. His Intervention Progress report states that he has progressed about 30% from his Pre-Intervention percentage score. This has not only positively impacted his grading scores and his school record but also his emotional well-being.

Throughout the tutoring process Andres has come home from a day of class testing and very excitedly informed me that he made huge progress in his reading comprehension, moving up 3 levels from where he was last scored. His confidence has elevated, and he has been motived immensely. He seems more caught-on with school lessons and comprehension thanks to the extra tutoring he is receiving.

I’ve noticed him very confident of himself and less nervous and stressed about facing any new lessons, school assignments or tests. All this thanks to you Mrs. Carol and your team of tutors at Delphi Academy. You all are making a huge difference in his life and future.

Thank you,
– Nereyda, Mother of Andres

And, from the students themselves, a couple of artistic thank-you notes from the kids being tutored:

The 2023 HOLIDAY TRAIN donation drive was a spectacular success!

January 20, 2023

We not only met our $10,000 target, but we nearly DOUBLED IT!

Thanks to all your support and contributions and one extremely generous couple, dozens of children are experiencing joy and happiness – not to mention TOYS! – who wouldn’t otherwise have a Christmas at all.

Thank you for making a difference and creating this special Christmas these kids will cherish for a long time.

Wishing you a joyful HOLIDAY SEASON and a bright NEW YEAR!

Meet The Happy House Tutoring Team from Delphi Academy of Los Angeles

October 12, 2023

Every week, these hotshots meet with at-risk students from across the Los Angeles area to help overcome their study troubles and get them flying in subjects such as math and reading.

Through Happy House, these students are applying the Good Choices Program’s precept to “Love and Help Children,” By helping the youth in their community they are ensuring a better future for all.

Good Choices of the Week!

September 22, 2023

This week the kids learned about “Loving and Helping Their Parents.” They were very excited to create a different kind of thank-you card! They had a blast and came up with these beautiful cards that they were proud to present!

Happy House Welcomes Delphi Academy!

September 13, 2023

Delphi Academy has started a Good Choices Club in the Lower School (grades 1 through 5) have been working hard in making Good Choices. Students were asked to give examples of when they have been applying the Good Choices lessons in their own life.

Responses to I have been following Good Choices and I feel Happier:

“I say please and thank you at all times. I listen and do all of my chores, I help my mom more often and nicer to my siblings” –M.G., 3rd grade

“Try to understand people more, I am taking better care of myself.” –O.M, 3rd grade

In response to How I set a Good Example:

“Shared my Lego with my sister. I stopped my baby sister from jumping on the bed. I feed my dogs to help out.” –I.D., 1st grade

Meet the Junior Cadets!

August 12, 2023

Meet some of our newest group of Junior Cadets at the LAPD Mission Station. Big smiles and excitement from everyone as they get started on their Happy House Good Choices journey.

Results from Happy House Tutoring 2023

July 1, 2023

Recently, Happy House tutored a group of students who were convinced that tutoring would be a waste of time. They had failed. They were stupid. End of story. Well…not quite.

The tutoring results tell a different story, and the kids are now smiling and eager to learn. The parents are happy too!

“My son was struggling with Math but since the tutoring he’s happy and has passed his year-end test with the highest score ever for him.” 

“I re-classified, which means I’m no longer in the special-needs class.”

And here are two young adults who benefited from Happy House tutoring!

“WOW!” ” IT DOES WHAT?”

June 30, 2023

The kids had a blast learning what happens when you mix different things together – it’s called Chemistry!

“I never knew how much fun Chemistry is! I just thought it was a big fancy word.” –KA 

“No way this is Chemistry, It’s cool!” –LS

Bringing in the Arts!

June 29, 2023

Many of our students aren’t normally able to enjoy the pleasure of creating art, so we brought in some projects to help them CREATE! Notice the intense look on many of their faces while painting and the proud look at the end of their project. It brings JOY to the heart! Great job all!

“This was really FUN! We don’t get to do art at school.” –KA

“I am so happy that we could have art today and want to say thank you because I was able to make my dad a present for Father’s Day!!” –MV

Good Choices Success from John Glenn High School!

June 3, 2023

Happy House congratulates sixty-two extraordinary students from John Glenn High School who are now making Good Choices in their lives. The Good Choices program is 21 real-world precepts to help people succeed in life, including setting a good example, not taking harmful drugs, treating others as you want to be treated, being worthy of trust, and many more. 

“Thank you, Nancy and Miss Carol! Coming back from distanced learning, The Good Choices Program has really helped teach the students to be courteous with each other and to act properly within a group. Hygiene has also been a big issue – washing hands, brushing teeth, and this was also gently and effectively addressed. These are just a couple of the many wonderful outcomes from the Good Choices seminars. I could not be more pleased.” – Ms. Soto, John Glenn High School

More Successes!

“When I learned how to make good choices, I started to be better like happiness, taking care of myself. My life has become better when I did this, my grades got better and I’m happier than before.”

–L.V.

“Getting tutoring from the Happy House tutor has helped me improve my multiplications, divisions, and fractions! But especially how to tell time… Now when I want to check the time I can look at the clock and FINALLY read it!!!”

–K.A.

“Doing Good Choices has helped me look at things differently. I think that I have gotten better at seeing that some situations have more than one solution. For example if you see someone getting bullied or picked on instead of staying quiet you can ask the person why they are picking on the other person.I also know how to be a little more patient with people and treat other people that way you want to be treated because how would you like it if someone treated you badly or said something rude? Last few things I learned was how to take care of myself better like being drug free, eating better and brushing my teeth! I learned a LOT with this program because now I can stop and THINK about what could happen if I make a bad choice!”

–G.A.